Gravlax Python client

The gravlax-client package is a small, dependency-free wrapper around the aie executable. It uses argument arrays—never a shell—and parses the versioned project, resolved-plan, doctor, result-envelope, and MEX contracts. The Rust executable remains the only implementation of archive semantics.

Install

Build or install aie, ensure it is on PATH, then install the client from a checkout:

python -m pip install ./python

Install only the integrations a notebook needs:

python -m pip install './python[pandas,arrow]'
python -m pip install './python[anndata]'

Projects, plans, and diagnostics

from gravlax import Client

aie = Client()  # or Client(binary="/opt/gravlax/bin/aie")

project = aie.project_show(project="analysis")
resolved = aie.plan_check(
    "analysis/plans/replay.yaml",
    project="analysis",
    explain=True,
)
for step in resolved.steps:
    print(step.id, step.args)

report = aie.doctor(["analysis/data/sample.aie"], project="analysis")
for check in report.checks:
    print(check.status, check.summary, check.remedy or "")

if report.ok:
    aie.plan_run("analysis/plans/replay.yaml", project="analysis")

The client reads resolved-plan v3, v4, v5, and v6. Version 4 adds biological intent, assembly-compatibility evidence, output-schema IDs, and conservative I/O estimates. Version 5 adds paired annotation-comparison intent and validates the annotation roles and typed output schemas for comparison and transcript- equivalence steps. Version 6 exposes each explicit uniform result/report format, stdout or atomic-file publication mode, and destination through step.uniform_io. All preserve access to resolved.producer, embedded cohort- design resources, typed prior-step inputs, and every step's named inputs, canonical prepared inputs, final outputs, semantic output roles, and staging paths. These provenance fields are validated rather than silently ignored by the client. Plan fields accept step:<id> or step:<id>:<output-name> to consume a compatible output from an earlier declaration.

Use project_add(..., external=True) only for an intentional absolute, read-only input outside the otherwise portable project. An interrupted plan can be continued with plan_run(..., resume=True); aie verifies the input, step, and output identities in its versioned completion records before it skips anything.

doctor() returns its complete report even when checks fail; inspect report.ok or report.exit_code. Other unsuccessful commands raise CommandError, whose .result retains stdout, stderr, return code, and the exact argument vector.

Command-specific JSON and large output

Commands with their own --json modes retain those command-specific schemas for byte compatibility. Parse one without treating it as a shared envelope:

raw = aie.result_raw([
    "query", "sample.aie", "region", "chr1:1000000-2000000", "--json"
])
print(raw["schema"])

For a large JSON, TSV, or binary response, stream stdout to a new file instead of retaining it in Python memory:

written = aie.run_to_file(
    ["query", "sample.aie", "junctions", "chr1:1-100000000", "--tsv"],
    "junctions.tsv",
)
print(written.bytes)

The destination is installed only after a successful command and is not overwritten unless replace=True is explicit.

Uniform named-table bundles

Region and exact-junction queries have dedicated Python convenience methods for their opt-in uniform JSON interface. They return a strict named-table bundle; other commands that emit this contract can use the generic bundle methods shown below:

region = aie.query_region(
    "sample.aie",
    "chr16:89550000-89575000",
    top=20,
)
print(region.summary.umis, region.summary.cells)

counts = region.table("counts")
print(counts.semantics.row_semantics, counts.semantics.key)
print(counts.selection.available_rows, counts.selection.truncated)
print(counts.records())

query_junction() returns the corresponding typed junction summary and the same count-table shape. top=0 means all rows in this uniform interface. Physical row order remains distinct from logical set/multiset/sequence semantics; the parser validates declared keys and ordering-field references but does not invent an ordering.

Use the file variants when a result may be large. They keep subprocess stdout out of Python memory and atomically install the completed file:

written = aie.query_junction_to_file(
    "sample.aie",
    "chr16:89562391-89562883",
    "junction.json",
    top=0,
)
bundle = aie.result_bundle_from_file(written.output_path)

For any command that emits the same JSON contract, result_bundle(args) and parse_uniform_bundle(document) expose unique named tables, typed fields, row semantics, and exact or deferred selection metadata. A deferred one-pass selection represents unknown availability and truncation explicitly as null; it is never silently treated as complete.

Shared typed results

The package also implements the gravlax.result-envelope.v1 contract for producers that explicitly advertise it. It is deliberately separate from result_raw() because each command's own --json output keeps its own schema:

from gravlax import ResultEnvelope

resolved = aie.resolve(
    "gencode.v49.aic",
    ["TP53", "transcript:ENST00000269305"],
    assembly="GRCh38.p14",
    annotation="GENCODE 49",
)
print(resolved.table.records())
print(resolved.provenance.annotation_digest)

comparison = aie.compare_annotations(
    "sample.aie",
    "gencode.v44.gtf",
    "gencode.v49.aic",
    assembly="GRCh38.p14",
    annotation_a_label="GENCODE 44",
    annotation_b_label="GENCODE 49",
)
print(comparison.count_deltas.records())

ecs = aie.transcript_ecs(
    "sample.aie",
    "gencode.v49.aic",
    assembly="GRCh38.p14",
    annotation_label="GENCODE 49",
    feature="gene:ENSG00000141510",
    aggregation="bulk",
)
print(ecs.catalog.records())

result = ResultEnvelope.from_file("typed-result.json")
records = result.table.records()  # dependency-free list of dictionaries
frame = result.to_pandas()        # requires the pandas extra
arrow = result.to_arrow()         # requires the arrow extra
observations = result.to_anndata(obs_names="cell")

Annotation comparison is exact only within the retained archive quotient and fixed alignment/barcode policy; its causes are non-additive explanations. Transcript ECs are retained-evidence compatibility sets rather than abundance, isoform calls, or phasing. They are derived from the representatives retained in the archive rather than every source read. Their conflict and no-compatible-transcript flags are non-exclusive.

Command-specific query --json responses retain their own schemas. Every supported result-streaming query family exposes the typed contract explicitly through --format=json. Commands that advertise a separate typed operation report use --report-format=json; that is a per-command interface, not a rule for every artifact producer. Native Arrow IPC is not yet a general CLI output, and no R client is currently provided.

The AnnData conversion above preserves a row-oriented envelope in .obs and does not guess a count matrix. For a MEX result carrying the shared metadata.json completion marker, use the matrix-aware reader instead:

from gravlax import read_mex

mex = read_mex("analysis/results/counts")
matrix = mex.to_scipy()       # exact feature-by-barcode orientation
adata = mex.to_anndata()      # conventional cell-by-feature orientation

MEX loading requires metadata.json, validates every coordinate, bounds, duplicate, declared nonzero, label count, and file path, and carries the result schema and provenance into adata.uns["gravlax"].

Test

The core test suite needs no optional scientific Python packages:

cd python
PYTHONPATH=src python -m unittest discover -s tests -v