---
title: ANARCI inputs and parameters
description: Submit up to 100 variable-region sequences and pick the scheme that sets CDR boundaries — imgt, chothia, kabat, aho or wolfguy — or name a known antibody.
tags:
  - anarci
  - inputs
---

You provide one or more antibody variable-region sequences — heavy, light, or both — and choose a numbering scheme. The scheme is the parameter that most affects how you read the result: it decides where CDR and framework boundaries fall and which position labels every downstream tool will use. Everything else has a sensible default.

## Sequences

ANARCI accepts a list of antibody variable-region amino acid sequences (heavy or light). Submit between one and 100 sequences per job; name them if you want the labels carried through to the result card.

- `sequences` (string[]) —
Antibody variable-region amino acid sequences. One to 100 per job.

- `sequence_names` (string[]) —
Optional names for each sequence, carried through to the result.

## Numbering scheme

The scheme determines the canonical position labels and where CDR and framework boundaries fall. IMGT is the default and the most common choice; pick another only when a downstream tool or lab convention requires it.

- `scheme` (string) —
Numbering scheme: `imgt`, `chothia`, `kabat`, `aho`, or `wolfguy`.

## Germline and compute

- `assign_germline` (bool) —
Assign the closest germline V and J genes to each chain.

- `ncpu` (int) —
CPUs to use for the HMMER alignment step (1–8).

## From a therapeutic name

The `anarci_number` tool also accepts a `therapeutic_name` — name a known antibody (for example `nivolumab`) and the platform resolves its VH/VL from Thera-SAbDab before numbering, so you don't have to paste sequences.

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