Extract text from genomic or image files (CRAM)
To convert CRAM data files to another format, you need SAMtools or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Bioinformatics Sequence Alignment" file type, you need software like SAMtools or a similar tool.
The .CRAM file format is a highly compressed, reference-based genomic alignment format heavily used in bioinformatics. Developed by the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, it stores DNA sequencing data far more efficiently than legacy formats. You can manipulate these files using command-line suites like SAMtools. In a secondary, unrelated context, a .CRAM file can also function as a compressed ROM filesystem image (cramfs) used in embedded Linux environments.
While .CRAM delivers excellent compression (saving up to 50% of storage space), it introduces major usability hurdles. It is completely dependent on an external reference genome. If the exact reference sequence (typically a FASTA file) used during the initial alignment is missing, moved, or disconnected from the internet, the .CRAM file cannot be decoded or read. Additionally, the computational overhead required to decompress the data on the fly makes it slower to process, and many older bioinformatics pipelines completely lack native support for it.
To ensure full compatibility with legacy pipelines or to simplify data sharing, you must convert these files. Convert to BAM for a standalone, widely supported binary alignment map that does not rely on external references. For direct human-readable text inspection, convert to SAM. If you only need the raw sequencing reads, extract the data to FASTQ. Just drag and drop your file here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing complex command-line software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CRAM file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted CRAI, TBI, AVI, PDF, BAM, ZLIB, LAZ and VCF files.
If you want to convert CRAM file to BAM, VCF, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF or DAT, you can use SAMtools or similar software from the "Genomic Alignment Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to CRAM, try SAMtools or another comparable tool in the "Genomic Alignment Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CRAM converter.