> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.idm.illumina.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.idm.illumina.com/dragen-microbial-amplicon/dragen-microbial-amplicon/start.md).

# How to start

1. Launch the DRAGEN Microbial Amplicon BaseSpace application.
2. Choose the analysis name and destination project to save results to.
3. Choose either Biosample or Project as input method. Selecting Project will result in all biosamples in the selected project being analyzed.
4. Choose the appropriate Amplicon Primer Set that matches the primer design used to prepare your samples or choose Custom to provide your own. See this [page](/dragen-microbial-amplicon/dragen-microbial-amplicon/custom.md) to learn more about the custom option.
5. If needed, uncheck the appropriate boxes to disable Pangolin and Nextclade analyses. These tools perform phylogenetic analysis and lineage assignment for SARS-CoV-2 (Pangolin) and other viruses (Nextclade). Depending on the chosen Amplicon Primer Set, these tools may not be applicable.
6. If needed, expand the Advanced Workflow Settings box to change default settings. Click on the "i" circle next to each setting for more information.
7. If needed, expand the Additional DRAGEN Command Line Arguments to provide additional arguments to default DRAGEN commands.
8. Click “Launch Application"


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