RNK Converter

Extract text from GSEA ranked lists (RNK)


Drop or upload your .RNK file

How to extract text from your RNK file

  1. Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your RNK file.
  2. You’ll see a preview, if available.
  3. Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert RNK to another file type

To convert RNK Ranked lists to another format, you need GSEA software or other Data software.

Convert a file to RNK

To convert other file formats to the "Gene Ranking File" file type, you need software like GSEA software or a similar tool.


About RNK files

The .rnk file is a tab-delimited plain text file used primarily for Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). It stores a list of genes alongside a numeric ranking metric. Researchers use this format to determine whether an a priori defined set of genes shows statistically significant, concordant differences between two biological states.

The primary tool for creating and consuming this format is the GSEA software developed by the Broad Institute. Because the file relies on standard text encoding, users can also view it using code editors, specialized bioinformatics pipelines, or spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel.

However, working directly with .rnk files outside of specialized tools presents annoying limits. The raw format is not suitable for presentations, reporting, or sharing with non-technical stakeholders. More dangerously, opening a raw .rnk file in a spreadsheet without strict data typing often triggers auto-formatting errors. The software may convert valid gene symbols (like 'MARCH1' or 'OCT4') into calendar dates, permanently corrupting the scientific data.

To safely view, edit, or share this data, conversion is the most pragmatic solution. For general editing and broad compatibility, convert to CSV or XLSX. For archiving research results or sharing static reports, convert to PDF. If you need to integrate the data into custom programming scripts, convert it to a standard TSV or TXT.

Convert.Guru analyzes your RNK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted TXT, VCF, C and HOT files.


FAQ

If you want to convert RNK file to , you can use GSEA software or similar software from the "Gene Set Enrichment Analysis" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert files to RNK, try GSEA software or another comparable tool in the "Gene Set Enrichment Analysis" category.



The RNK Converter Story

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 RNK converter.