f49623d03093fdc8e7f06b65abb0b77efad6a3b9
Merge parents bbabbd5d256 7ec5fd8d353
mspeir
  Sun Oct 26 12:19:55 2025 -0700
fixed merge conflict.

diff --cc src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/hubBasics.html
index 9ddd7a5821a,19df6a02d91..e09ea0f79b0
--- src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/hubBasics.html
+++ src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/hubBasics.html
@@@ -1,401 -1,406 +1,412 @@@
  <!DOCTYPE html>
  <!--#set var="TITLE" value="UCSC Genome Browser: Hub Basics" -->
  <!--#set var="ROOT" value="../../" -->
  
  <!--#include virtual="$ROOT/inc/gbPageStart.html" -->
  
  <h1>Track Hub Basics</h1>
  
  <p>
  Track Hubs are web-accessible directories of genomic data that can be viewed on
  the UCSC Genome Browser.  They allow you to display a set of custom annotations
  on an assembly (or assemblies) of your choice and offer several advantages over
  custom tracks, including more display configuration options, more track
  organization options, more control over your data, and easier updates to that
  data.
  </p>
  
  <p>
  This page covers the basics of setting up your own hub:
  <ol>
    <li><a href="#create">Creating your hub.txt</a>
    <li><a href="#types">Common track types and their configuration</a>
    <li><a href="#grouping">Grouping tracks</a>
    <li><a href="#description">Creating description pages</a>
    <li><a href="#sharing">Sharing and linking to your hub</a>
  </ol>
  </p>
  
  <p>
  As you build your hub, use the "Hub Development" tab on the <a
  href="/cgi-bin/hgHubConnect#hubDeveloper">Track Data Hub</a> page to
- check your hub for errors or to disable file caching to
+ check for errors or to disable file caching to
  see your changes immediately, rather than after the 300ms refresh
  rate.
  </p>
  
  <h2>Example hub.txt</h2>
  <p>
- To begin, we want to provide an example hub.txt that has been created in a way
+ To begin, here is  an example hub.txt that has been created in a way
  to make it easy to swap in your data URLs in place of our examples. It
  indicates what settings are required and includes many optional settings that
  can help elevate your tracks beyond the basics. Alongside these settings, it
  includes short explanations of how those settings work and how to configure
- them, but there is also a version provided without these.
+ them. There is also a version provided without the explanations.
  
  <p>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="examples/hubExamples/hubBasicSettings/hub.minimal.txt"
    target="_blank">Minimal hub.txt</a>
    <li><a href="examples/hubExamples/hubBasicSettings/hub.txt"
    target="_blank"><b>Detailed hub.txt with setting explanations</b></a> or
    <a href="examples/hubExamples/hubBasicSettings/hub.noExplanations.txt"
    target="_blank"><b>without explanations</b></a></li>
    <li><a href="/cgi-bin/hgTracks?db=hg38&position=chr7:155799529-155812871&hubUrl=https://genome.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/help/examples/hubExamples/hubBasicSettings/hub.txt"
    target="_blank">Visualize this example hub.txt</a></li>
  </ul>
  
  <a name="create"></a>
  <h2>Creating your own hub.txt</h2>
  <p>
  The first step in creating a track hub is to create your hub.txt file. Download the
  <a href="examples/hubExamples/hubBasicSettings/hub.txt">example hub.txt</a>
- and use this as a starting point, changing our default values to those for your hub. But, we'll also
- provide the necessary settings here. These settings control how your hub is labeled in the interface
+ and use this as a starting point, changing our default values to those for your hub.
+ These settings control how your hub is labeled in the interface
  and contact information:
  <pre><code>hub myExampleHub # a short, unique internal identifier for your hub, no spaces
  # shortLabel and longLabel are how your hub is labeled in the Genome Browser interface
  # shortLabels should be under 20 characters and longLabels under 70
  shortLabel Example Hub
  longLabel Example Hub for useOneFile option
  useOneFile on
  email genome-www@soe.ucsc.edu
  
  genome hg38
  </pre></code>
  <p>
  If you have tracks across multiple assemblies,
  see the <a href="hgTrackHubHelp.html">full track hub documentation</a>.</p>
  
  <a name="types"></a>
  <h2>Common Track Types</h2>
  <p>
- The most common <a href="/FAQ/FAQformat.html">track types</a> are bigBed and bigWig, compressed, binary versions of
- corresponding plain-text formats. Together they should cover much
+ The most common <a href="/FAQ/FAQformat.html">track types</a> are bigBed and bigWig. Compressed, binary versions of
+ the corresponding plain-text formats. Together they should cover most
  of what you might want to display in the Genome Browser, from transcription peaks to
- RNA-seq results.
+ RNA-seq signals.
  
  <h2>bigBed Tracks</h2>
  <p>
  You can use <a href="bigBed.html">bigBed</a> tracks to display discrete annotations, such as genes, transcription
  start sites, or conserved genomic elements. The bigBed format builds off the
  plain-text <a href="/FAQ/FAQformat.html#format1">BED format</a> and is thus flexible in terms of what fields are included.
- Your file must start with a set of 12 standard fields (though not necessarily all of them), but
+ Your file must start with a minimum of 3, and up to 12, standard fields, but
  can also extend the format with any number of additional fields.
  
  <h3>Building a bigBed</h3>
  <p>
- Next, we'll discuss how to build a bigBed from a bed file. 
  
  <ol>
    <li>Download the <code>bedToBigBed</code> utility for your system type from
 -      our <a href="https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/downloads.html#utilities_downloads">download
 +      our <a href="https://hgdownload.gi.ucsc.edu/downloads.html#utilities_downloads">download
        server</a>.
    <li>Use <code>bedToBigBed</code> to build your bigBed:
        <pre><code>bedToBigBed -sort in.bed chrom.sizes myBigBed.bb</code></pre>
      <ul>
        <li>If your assembly is a UCSC-hosted assembly (e.g. hg38), chrom.sizes can
++<<<<<<< HEAD
 +          be a URL (replace &quot;genNom&quot; with the assembly name (e.g. hg38)):
 +          http://hgdownload.gi.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/genNom/bigZips/genNom.chrom.sizes.
 +          If you're working with a GenArk assembly hub, then the chrom.sizes
++=======
+           be a URL (e.g. hg38):
+           <a href="https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg38/bigZips/hg38.chrom.sizes">
+           https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg38/bigZips/hg38.chrom.sizes</a>.
+           If you're working with a <a href="https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/hubs/">
+           GenArk assembly hub</a> (e.g. GCF/GCA), then the chrom.sizes
++>>>>>>> 7ec5fd8d353ae3486915167a5d57c84cb0cb918f
            file can be found under the "Data file downloads" section on the
            <a href="/cgi-bin/hgGateway" target="_blank">assembly gateway page</a>.
        <li>If you have custom fields in your bed file, you will need to create a custom .as file.
            You can download the <a href="examples/bed12.as">basic BED .as</a>
            and modify this by adding new fields below those in your file.
      </ul>
    <li>Put your bigBed file alongside your hub.txt in a web-accessible location,
        either through <a href="/cgi-bin/hgHubConnect#hubUpload">the 10GB of space we
        make available to users</a> or through one of <a href="hgTrackHubHelp#Hosting">several
-       other services</a>
-   <li>You will use the file name (e.g. &quot;myBigBed.bb&quot;) with the <code>bigDataUrl</code> setting in your hub.txt
+       other services</a>.
+   <li>You will use the file name (e.g. &quot;myBigBed.bb&quot;) with the <code>bigDataUrl</code> setting in your hub.txt.
  </ol>
  
  <h3>bigBed track hub configuration</h3>
  <p>
  Once you have built your bigBed files, it is time to create a stanza in your
  hub.txt file for that track. Here is what the required settings discussed above
  might look like for a basic bigBed track:
  <p>
  <pre><code>track bigBedRequiredSettings
  shortLabel bigBed Required Settings
  longLabel A bigBed Example with Required Settings
  visibility pack
  type bigBed 12 +
  bigDataUrl gtexCaviar.chr7_155799529-155812871.bb
  </code></pre>
  <p>The type line consists of three parts: 
  <ul>
-   <li>&quot;bigBed&quot; is the basic track type
+   <li>&quot;bigBed&quot; is the basic track type.
    <li>&quot;12&quot; indicates how many standard BED fields are included in
    your file. You may need to change this to match the number of standard BED
    fields in your file.
    <li>&quot;+&quot; tells the genome browser there are extra fields beyond the
    standard fields. If your file has no extra fields, replace this with a
-   &quot;.&quot;.
+   &quot;.&quot; (e.g. type bigBed 12 .).
  </ul>
  <p>Here is a screenshot of what this basic bigBed track looks like displayed in the Genome Browser:
  <br>
  <img src="/images/bigBedReqSettings.png">
  
  <p>
  The bigBed format also offer a wide range of customization options for the
- display, from decorators to highlights. Additionally, they offer extensive
- filter controls, searching options, and mouseover configurations. Our <a
+ display, from decorators to highlights. Additionally, it offer extensive
+ <a href="/goldenPath/help/hubQuickStartFilter.html">
+ filter controls</a>, <a href="/goldenPath/help/hubQuickStartSearch.html">
+ searching options</a>, and mouseover configurations. Our <a
  href="trackDb/trackDbHub.html"
  target="_blank">trackDb documentation</a> contains a full listing of
  settings available for the format.
  
  <p>
  Here is the bigBed configuration with some commonly used settings, including
  filtering and mouseover configuration.
  <p><pre><code>track bigBedCommonSettings
  shortLabel bigBed Common Settings
  longLabel A bigBed Example with Commonly Used Settings
  visibility pack
  type bigBed 12 +
  bigDataUrl gtexCaviar.chr7_155799529-155812871.bb
  filterLabel.cpp CPP (Causal Posterior Probability)
  filter.cpp 0
  filterLabel.geneName Gene Symbol
  filterText.geneName *
  mouseOver $name; CPP: $cpp
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>
  And here is what that track looks like in the Genome Browser:
  <br>
  <img src="/images/bigBedCommonSettings.png">
  
  <p>
  These common settings added options to the track configuration pop-up:
  <br>
  <img src="/images/bigBedCommonSettingsPopUp.png">
  
  <h2>bigWig Tracks</h2>
  <p>
  You can use <a href="bigWig.html">bigWig</a> to tracks to display continuous
  annotations, such as RNA-seq expression, conservation scores, or other
- genome-wide scores. You can build a bigWig using one of two plain-text formats:
+ genome signal scores. You can build a bigWig using one of two plain-text formats:
  <a href="wiggle.html" target="_blank">wiggle</a> or
  <a href="bedgraph.html" target="_blank">bedGraph</a>. 
  
  <h3>Building a bigWig</h3>
  <p>
- Next, we'll discuss how to build a bigWig from a wig or bedGraph file. 
  
  <ol>
    <li>Download the <code>wigToBigWig</code> utility for your system type from
 -  our <a href="https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/downloads.html#utilities_downloads">download
 +  our <a href="https://hgdownload.gi.ucsc.edu/downloads.html#utilities_downloads">download
    server</a>.
    <li>Use this utility to build your bigWig:
        <pre><code>wigToBigWig in.bedGraph chrom.sizes myBigWig.bw</code></pre>
      <ul>
        <li>If your assembly is a UCSC-hosted assembly (e.g. hg38), chrom.sizes can
-           be a URL (replace &quot;genNom&quot; with the assembly name (e.g. hg38)):
-           http://hgdownload.gi.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/genNom/bigZips/genNom.chrom.sizes.
-           If you're working with a GenArk assembly hub, then the chrom.sizes
+           be a URL (e.g. hg38):
+           <a href="https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg38/bigZips/hg38.chrom.sizes">
+           https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg38/bigZips/hg38.chrom.sizes</a>.
+           If you're working with a <a href="https://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/hubs/">
+           GenArk assembly hub</a> (e.g. GCF/GCA), then the chrom.sizes
            file can be found under the "Data file downloads" section on the
            <a href="/cgi-bin/hgGateway" target="_blank">assembly gateway page</a>.
      </ul>
    <li>Put your bigWig file alongside your hub.txt in a web-accessible location,
        either through <a href="/cgi-bin/hgHubConnect#hubUpload">the 10GB of space we
        make available to users</a> or through one of <a href="hgTrackHubHelp#Hosting">several
-       other services</a>
-   <li>You will use the file name (e.g. &quot;myBigWig.bw&quot;) with the <code>bigDataUrl</code> setting
+       other services</a>.
+   <li>You will use the file name (e.g. &quot;myBigWig.bw&quot;) with the <code>bigDataUrl</code> setting.
  </ol>
  
  <h3>bigWig track hub configuration</h3>
  <p>
  The basic trackDb configuration for a bigWig track is similar to a bigBed track as
- all tracks required the same basic settings (<code>track, shortLabel, longLabel, type, bigDataUrl</code>). 
+ all tracks require the same basic settings (<code>track, shortLabel, longLabel, type, bigDataUrl</code>). 
  This is what the configuration for a bigWig track might look like (the example
  hub.txt includes other useful settings):
  <p><pre><code>track bigWigExample
  shortLabel bigWig Example
  longLabel A bigWig Example with Commonly Used Settings
  visibility pack
  type bigWig -20 10.003
  bigDataUrl hg38.phyloP100way.chr7_155799529-155812871.bw
  color 60,60,140
  </code></pre>
  <p>The type line consists of two parts: 
  <ul>
    <li>&quot;bigWig&quot; is the basic track type
    <li>&quot;-20 10.003&quot; indicates the minimum and maximum of the data in the bigWig
  </ul>
  
  <p>
  Here is what this looks like visualized in the Genome Browser:
  <br>
  <img src="/images/bigWigReqSettings.png">
  
  <a name="grouping"></a>
  <h2>Grouping tracks</h2>
  <p>
  Next, we'll provide a basic overview of how to group your tracks using
  composite tracks and super tracks. This will allow you to pull similar data
- together under a single track.
+ together under a single container.
  
  <h3>Composite Tracks</h3>
  <p>
  Composite tracks can hold multiple tracks of the same type. For example, you
  use a composite to group together a set of RNA-seq experiments including
  replicates.
  
  <p>
  Here's what the configuration might look like for a composite containing two
  bigWig tracks. There are two key components of a composite: (1) the line
  "compositeTrack on" in the parent track stanza, and (2) including "parent
  compositeName" for each track that will be part of the composite.
  <p><pre><code>track compositeExample
  shortLabel Example Composite Track
  longLabel Example composite track using bigWigs
  visibility dense
  type bigWig
  compositeTrack on
  
      track compositeBigWig1
      bigDataUrl a.chr7_155799529-155812871.bw
      shortLabel bigWig #1
      longLabel bigWig in Composite Track Example #1
      parent compositeExample
      type bigWig 0 1
      color 255,0,0
      autoScale group
      visibility dense
  
      track compositeBigWig2
      bigDataUrl c.chr7_155799529-155812871.bw
      shortLabel bigWig #2
      longLabel bigWig in Composite Track Example #2
      parent compositeExample
      type bigWig 0 1
      color 0,255,0
      autoScale group
      visibility dense
  </code></pre>
  <p>
  This composite track configuration will display like so:
  <br>
  <img src="/images/compositeBigWig.png">
  
  <h3>Super Tracks</h3>
  <p>
  Super tracks are a more general type of container. They can contain tracks of
  different types and even composites. 
  
  <p>
  Configuring a basic super track is quite similar to composite tracks. 
  There are two key components of a composite: (1) the line
  "superTrack on" in the parent track stanza, and (2) including "parent
  superTrackName" for each track that will be part of the super track.
  <p><pre><code>track superTrackExample
  shortLabel Super Track Example
  longLabel A super-track of related data of various types together: individual, multiWig, and composite
  superTrack on show
  html examplePage
      
      track superTrackbigBed
      parent superTrackExample
      bigDataUrl gtexCaviar.chr7_155799529-155812871.bb
      shortLabel ST bigBed example
      longLabel A super-track-contained bigBed
      type bigBed 12 +
      visibility squish
      priority 30
      
      track superTrackCompositeBigWig
      parent superTrackExample
      compositeTrack on
      shortLabel ST Composite bigWig
      longLabel A composite track in a super track grouping bigWigs
      visibility dense
      type bigWig
      priority 60
          
          track superTrackCompositeBigWig1
          bigDataUrl a.chr7_155799529-155812871.bw
          shortLabel ST bigWig composite #1
          longLabel A composite-contained bigWig in a super track example #1
          parent superTrackCompositeBigWig on
          type bigWig 0 1
          
          track superTrackCompositeBigWig2
          bigDataUrl c.chr7_155799529-155812871.bw
          shortLabel ST bigWig composite #2
          longLabel A composite-contained bigWig in a super track example #2
          parent superTrackCompositeBigWig on
          type bigWig 0 1
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>
  Loading the example hub with this super track onfiguration looks like this:
  <br>
  <img src="/images/superTrackEx.png">
  
  <a name="description"></a>
  <h2>Creating description pages</h2>
  <p>
  If you plan to share your track hub more widely, you will want to create a description page for your tracks.
  A description page could contain a short description of what the data represents, how the data was generated,
  a link to the associated paper, or a contact email for questions regarding the data.
  
  <p>
  We provide an <a href="examples/hubExamples/templatePage.html">example description html</a> that you can modify with
  the details for your track. Once you've modified this example html for your
  track add an <code>html</code> to the corresponding track stanza:
  <p><pre><code>track bigWigExample
  shortLabel bigWig Example
  longLabel A bigWig Example with Commonly Used Settings
  type bigWig -20 10.003
  bigDataUrl hg38.phyloP100way.chr7_155799529-155812871.bw
  html bigWigDescription.html
  </code></pre>
  
  <a name="sharing"></a>
  <h2>Sharing your hub</h2>
  <p>
  Once you have a functional hub that you would like to share with others, you
  can create links that you give to others in two ways.
  
  <p>
  The first option is to create a <a href="hgSessionHelp.html">session</a> link,
  which requires a <a href="/cgi-bin/hgLogin">Genome Browser account</a>.
  Load your hub, configure the genome browser as you'd like (e.g. position and
  data tracks), select "My Sessions" under "My Data", and use the option to save
  the current settings as a session. You will then be provided with a URL that
  you can share with others. 
  
  <p>
  The other option is to create a URL to the Genome Browser that loads your hub 
- on the assembly of interest. There are three URL parameters you will want to use:
+ on the assembly of interest. There are three <a href="/FAQ/FAQlink.html">URL parameters</a>
+ you will want to use:
  <ul>
    <li><code>db</code> - UCSC assembly name (e.g. hg38)
    <li><code>position</code> - chromosome position to load
    <li><code>hubUrl</code> - URL to your hub
  </ul>
  <p>
  You will then append these to a genome browser URL. For example, this url with load the example hub:
  <pre><code>https://genome.ucsc.edu/cgi-bin/hgTracks?db=hg38&position=chr7:155799529-155812871&hubUrl=https://genome.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/help/examples/hubExamples/hubBasicSettings/hub.txt
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>
  If you feel that your hub would be of general use to the research community,
  you can contact us about making it a public hub. Note that public hubs have to meet
  more stringent requirements than the basics described here.
  Check that your hub meets the <a href="publicHubGuidelines.html">public hub requirements</a>
  and then follow the directions on that page for submitting it to us for review.
  
  <!--#include virtual="$ROOT/inc/gbPageEnd.html" -->