SRASeqFetcher: A Lightweight Linux Tool for Streamlined NCBI SRA Data Query

For researchers in bioinformatics and phylogenetics, efficiently identifying suitable species-specific sequencing data from the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) is essential, yet manual web-based retrieval is tedious due to the need to check each entry individually. I developed SRASeqFetcher, a lightweight Linux command-line tool to address this pain point. This tool streamlines SRA data querying by eliminating the hassle of web searches, retrieving RUN-level data with counts consistent with NCBI web results, and presenting key details (accession numbers, sequencing metrics, sample metadata) in an intuitive tabular format—no need to open entries one by one. SRASeqFetcher only provides query functionality: users can obtain required data accession numbers via the tool and then download corresponding data using other software. With user-friendly features including permanent email configuration (to meet NCBI API requirements) and automated dependency installation, this tool reduces technical barriers, facilitating efficient data acquisition to support downstream phylogenetic and bioinformatic analyses.