[upgrade] Ficture: migrate seqscope/ficture (Python) → Yichen-Si/punkst (C++)

[an-altosian]

Current state

• Pinned: Python ficture package via Wave container community.wave.seqera.io/library/pip_ficture:ad8a1265a51b53cf
• Source: https://github.com/seqscope/ficture
• Distribution: pip install, containerised
• Modules: ficture/preprocess, ficture/model
• Pipeline modes: segfree (when --method ficture)

Proposed upgrade

• Target: Punkst — C++ rewrite of the FICTURE algorithm by Yichen Si (FICTURE author).
• Distribution: Docker image philo1984/punkst:latest (project notes "the Docker image is not always up to date"), or CMake from source.
• Project state: 99.4% C++, 164 commits at audit time. No formal release tags yet.
• Inputs: project mentions "http(s) / s3:// input support". Direct parquet support TBD — needs investigation.

Why upgrade

1. C++ rewrite — "substantially more efficient and (hopefully) easier to use" per project description. Matches our Atera scale concerns.
2. Potentially eliminates PARQUET_TO_CSV — if Punkst accepts parquet directly, we can drop the conversion step in FICTURE_PREPROCESS_MODEL. (TBD per investigation.)
3. Smaller container surface — Python ficture pulls a heavy dependency tree; C++ static binary is much leaner.
4. Active maintenance — Punkst is where FICTURE development is moving.

Migration plan

• Confirm Punkst accepts parquet (or what input formats it supports) — open question to the upstream
• Map ficture_preprocess.py CLI to Punkst CLI (negative_control_regex, transcripts path, features, min_phred_score)
• Pin a specific Punkst commit hash — there are no release tags yet (this is risky; should also open an upstream issue requesting tagged releases)
• Update ficture/preprocess module container + invocation
• Drop PARQUET_TO_CSV in FICTURE_PREPROCESS_MODEL subworkflow (if Punkst takes parquet)
• Validate algorithmic equivalence — Punkst output should match Python ficture for the same input

Risks

• No formal release — pinning a commit hash is brittle for a public nf-core pipeline. Request tagged releases upstream first.
• Container freshness — philo1984/punkst:latest "is not always up to date"
• CLI / output schema may differ — downstream FICTURE process consumes preprocess outputs
• Documentation gap — Punkst's docs are sparser than ficture's

Cross-links

• Related (paired): Baysor C++ migration — together these eliminate PARQUET_TO_CSV entirely.
• Triggered by: Atera compatibility session 2026-05-28 (user note: "ficture has a new version called Punkst which support parquet").