... A VLT instrument pipeline is a complex system that has to be able to identify and classify each produced FITS file, optionally retrieve calibration files from a database, use an image processing software to reduce the data, compute and log quality control parameters, produce FITS images or tables with the correct headers, optionally display them in the control room and send them to the archive. ... This paper describes the different pipeline tasks with some real examples. ... 139-148 (2003) . ...