HTSlib-js: Developer toolkit for a client-side JavaScript interface for HTSlib

BackgroundAn increasing number of bioinformatics tools are developed in JavaScript to provide an interactive visual interface to users. However, there are no tools yet that enable fast client-side analysis of large, high-throughput sequencing file formats, such as BAM and VCF files.\n\nResultsWe present HTSlib-js, an asm.js-based JavaScript wrapper for HTSlib, the de facto standard for processing BAM and VCF files. HTSlib-js exploits recent technological advances in web browser engines that dramatically increase the performance of browser-based tools to enable swift processing of files in the aforementioned formats. HTSlib-js enables quick development of JavaScript-based applications that include processing of aligned sequence reads and variant calling data.\n\nConclusionsHTSlib-js constitutes a toolkit for developers to easily write fast, accessible, browser-based applications that place an emphasis on data visualization, interactivity and privacy. Real-world examples demonstrate the capabilities of HTSlib-js and serve as guide for own developments.