Getting Started with mzTab-M
Prerequisites
You need a plain-text editor and either the jmzTab-m command-line tool or the online web validator to check your files.
Understanding the Format
An mzTab-M file is a UTF-8 plain-text, tab-delimited file with the extension .mztab.
Each line starts with a two- or three-letter prefix that identifies its section:
| Prefix | Section | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
Metadata |
Experimental context, software, databases, assay definitions |
|
Small Molecule Summary |
One row per reported small molecule |
|
Small Molecule Feature |
One row per detected feature (optional but recommended) |
|
Small Molecule Evidence |
One row per identification evidence entry (optional but recommended) |
MTD and SML are mandatory; SMF and SME SHOULD be included to fully represent identification evidence.
Validating a File
Use the web validator to check a file against the specification without installing any software. For command-line use, see the jmzTab-m documentation.
Next Steps
-
Read the file format overview for a detailed description of each section.
-
Browse example files to see how real datasets are represented.
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Review the validation profiles to understand which fields are required for your reporting level.