GDC Data Transfer Tool

The GDC provides a standard client-based mechanism supporting high-performance data downloads and submission. Raw sequence files, typically stored as BAM or FASTQ, make up the bulk of data in the GDC. The size for a single file can vary greatly depending on the specific analysis; However, some of the whole genome BAM files in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) reach sizes of 200-300 GB. In such cases, a high-performance data download and submission tool, such as the GDC Data Transfer Tool, is essential.

The GDC Data Transfer Tool provides an optimized method of transferring data to and from the GDC and enables resumption of interrupted transfers. The GDC Data Transfer Tool consists of:

• GDC Data Transfer Tool Client – A command-line tool supporting both GDC data downloads and submissions. Recommended for users with more command line experience that require large data transfers of GDC data or need to download a large numbers of data files.
• GDC Data Transfer Tool User Interface (UI) – A graphical interface to the GDC Data Transfer Tool Client for downloading data from the GDC.

Below are basic instructions and links for downloading the GDC Data Transfer Tool Client and UI. For additional instructions, please visit the GDC Data Transfer Tool User's Guide.

Downloading the GDC Data Transfer Tool

System Recommendations

• OS: Linux (Ubuntu 14.x or later, CentOS 7), OS X (10.9 Mavericks or later), or Windows (7 or later)
• CPU: Two 64-bit cores, Intel or AMD
• RAM: 8 GiB or more
• Storage: Enterprise-class storage system capable of ≥1 Gb/s (Gigabit per second) write throughput and sufficient free space for BAM files, most of which are in the 50 MB - 40 GB size range, with some reaching sizes of 200-300 GB.

Binary Distributions

Platform	GDC Data Transfer Tool Client Release Notes | User's Guide	GDC Data Transfer Tool UI Release Notes | User's Guide
MAC OSX x64 (Intel Processor)	gdc-client_2.3.0_OSX_x64-py3.8-macos-12	gdc_dtt-ui_v1.0.0_mac_x64.zip
MAC OSX x64 (Silicon Processor)	gdc-client_2.3.0_OSX_x64-py3.8-macos-14	--
Windows x64	gdc-client_2.3.0_Windows_x64-py3.8-windows-2019	gdc_dtt-ui_v1.0.0_win_x64.zip
Ubuntu x64	gdc-client_2.3.0_Ubuntu_x64-py3.8-ubuntu-20.04	gdc_dtt-ui_v1.0.0_linux_x86_64.AppImage.zip

If you are a user of RedHat Enterprise Release 6 and wish to use the Data Transfer Tool Client, please contact the GDC Help Desk for assistance. For building the binaries from the source code, please refer to the GDC DTT Client GitHub Repository.