Agent skill

Nsf Award API Guide

by wentorai in wentorai/research-plugins

Search NSF awards and grants with free public API, no auth required

Install Nsf Award API Guide

skills CLI

$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins nsf-award-api-guide --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide .claude/skills/nsf-award-api-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "nsf-award-api-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide into .claude/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "nsf-award-api-guide", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins nsf-award-api-guide --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide .agents/skills/nsf-award-api-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "nsf-award-api-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide into .agents/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "nsf-award-api-guide", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins nsf-award-api-guide --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide .cursor/skills/nsf-award-api-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "nsf-award-api-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide into .cursor/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "nsf-award-api-guide", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git --path skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins nsf-award-api-guide --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide .gemini/skills/nsf-award-api-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "nsf-award-api-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide into .gemini/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "nsf-award-api-guide", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins nsf-award-api-guide

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide .github/skills/nsf-award-api-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "nsf-award-api-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide into .github/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "nsf-award-api-guide", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins nsf-award-api-guide --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide .opencode/skills/nsf-award-api-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "nsf-award-api-guide" agent skill from https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins/tree/main/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide into .opencode/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "nsf-award-api-guide", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: nsf-award-api-guide
GitHub stars: 298
Used in: 1 other repo
Token cost: ~1.4k tokens
SKILL.md length: 420 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 405
Repo updated: Jun 19, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Search NSF awards and grants with free public API, no auth required

Backend & APIs work in your project
SKILL.md covers Overview, Authentication, Core Endpoints and Common Research Patterns, plus 2 more sections
Calls curl and python3; reaches api.nsf.gov

What it does

Nsf Award API Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins. Search NSF awards and grants with free public API, no auth required

Its SKILL.md is about 1.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Backend & APIs. The repository describes itself as: 350+ academic research skills, MCP configs, and plugins for Research-Claw and AI agents. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Backend & APIs work in your project

Example prompts

“/nsf-award-api-guide”

Requirements

Python 3

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bf44b3c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- curl
- python3
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- api.nsf.gov
Also links to:
- nsf.gov
- research.gov
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Nsf Award API Guide loads about 1.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 22 tokens; SKILL.md has 420 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~22
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.4k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from wentorai/research-plugins at commit bf44b3c, republished under its MIT licence (© wentorai). 420 words, ~1,407 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/nsf-award-api-guide/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: nsf-award-api-guide
description: Search NSF awards and grants with free public API, no auth required

NSF Award Search API Guide

Overview

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Award Search API provides free, unauthenticated access to a comprehensive database of NSF-funded awards spanning decades of federally funded research in the United States. This API is invaluable for researchers seeking to understand funding trends, identify potential collaborators, or find precedent awards in their field.

The API covers all NSF directorates including Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Biological Sciences (BIO), Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Education and Human Resources (EHR). Each award record includes principal investigator information, award amounts, abstracts, and institutional details.

No API key or authentication is needed. The service returns JSON or XML and supports a wide range of query parameters for precise filtering.

Authentication

No authentication is required. The NSF Award Search API is completely open and free to use.

bash

# No API key needed -- just make the request
curl "https://api.nsf.gov/services/v1/awards.json?keyword=quantum+computing"

Core Endpoints

Search Awards

GET https://api.nsf.gov/services/v1/awards.json?{params}

Key Parameters:

keyword: Full-text search across award title and abstract
piFirstName, piLastName: Filter by principal investigator name
awardeeCity, awardeeStateCode: Filter by institution location
startDateStart, startDateEnd: Date range (format: MM/DD/YYYY)
fundProgramName: NSF program name
awardeeName: Institution name
offset: Pagination offset (default 1)
printFields: Comma-separated list of fields to return

Example: Search for machine learning awards at MIT:

bash

curl -s "https://api.nsf.gov/services/v1/awards.json?\
keyword=machine+learning&\
awardeeName=Massachusetts+Institute+of+Technology&\
printFields=id,title,piFirstName,piLastName,startDate,awardeeName,fundsObligatedAmt,abstractText&\
offset=1" | python3 -m json.tool

Get Award by ID

Retrieve details for a specific award by its NSF award number.

bash

curl -s "https://api.nsf.gov/services/v1/awards/2345678.json?\
printFields=id,title,piFirstName,piLastName,startDate,expDate,awardeeName,fundsObligatedAmt,abstractText" \
  | python3 -m json.tool

Python Example: Funding Trend Analysis

python

import requests
import time

base_url = "https://api.nsf.gov/services/v1/awards.json"

def search_nsf_awards(keyword, year_start, year_end, max_results=100):
    """Search NSF awards and return structured results."""
    results = []
    offset = 1

    while len(results) < max_results:
        params = {
            "keyword": keyword,
            "startDateStart": f"01/01/{year_start}",
            "startDateEnd": f"12/31/{year_end}",
            "printFields": "id,title,piFirstName,piLastName,startDate,awardeeName,fundsObligatedAmt",
            "offset": offset
        }
        resp = requests.get(base_url, params=params)
        data = resp.json()
        awards = data.get("response", {}).get("award", [])
        if not awards:
            break
        results.extend(awards)
        offset += 25
        time.sleep(0.5)

    return results[:max_results]

awards = search_nsf_awards("large language models", 2022, 2025)
total_funding = sum(int(a.get("fundsObligatedAmt", 0)) for a in awards)
print(f"Found {len(awards)} awards, total funding: ${total_funding:,}")

for a in awards[:5]:
    print(f"  [{a['id']}] {a['title']} — ${int(a.get('fundsObligatedAmt', 0)):,}")

Show full SKILL.md (192 more words)Show less

Common Research Patterns

Grant Prospecting: Search for awards in your field to understand typical funding amounts, common program solicitations, and successful framing of research projects. Analyze abstracts of funded proposals for vocabulary and scope.

Collaborator Discovery: Search by keyword and explore the PI network to identify active researchers and institutions. Cross-reference with publication databases to find potential collaborators.

Funding Landscape Analysis: Track funding volumes over time for specific keywords or programs to identify emerging priorities and declining areas. Useful for strategic planning and grant writing.

Institutional Benchmarking: Compare award counts and funding totals across institutions for a given field or directorate.

Rate Limits and Best Practices

No formal rate limit is published, but be respectful; add 0.5-1 second delays between paginated requests
Default page size: 25 awards per request (use offset to paginate)
printFields: Always specify printFields to reduce response size and improve performance
Date formats: Use MM/DD/YYYY format strictly
Pagination: The API uses 1-based offset; increment by 25 for each page
Large datasets: For bulk analysis, consider using the NSF data download at https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download.jsp

References

NSF Award Search API Documentation: https://www.research.gov/common/webapi/awardapisearch-v1.htm
NSF Award Search Web Interface: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
NSF Data Downloads: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download.jsp

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide of wentorai/research-plugins.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bf44b3c

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in wentorai/research-plugins, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skillsskills/43-wentorai-research-plugins/skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide

Compare with similar skills

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Firecrawl Build Onboardingfirecrawl/firecrawl	190k	1 repos	~1.4k	Automated safety check: Notes	ISC	today
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Questions about Nsf Award API Guide

What does Nsf Award API Guide do?

Search NSF awards and grants with free public API, no auth required. Nsf Award API Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins.

When should I use Nsf Award API Guide?

Nsf Award API Guide fits situations like: backend & APIs work in your project.

How do I install Nsf Award API Guide in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .claude/skills/nsf-award-api-guide in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Nsf Award API Guide in Codex?

Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/research/funding/nsf-award-api-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .agents/skills/nsf-award-api-guide in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Nsf Award API Guide in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill nsf-award-api-guide -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/nsf-award-api-guide, .gemini/skills/nsf-award-api-guide, .github/skills/nsf-award-api-guide and .opencode/skills/nsf-award-api-guide in your project.

What does Nsf Award API Guide need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Nsf Award API Guide needs the command-line tools its instructions call (curl and python3). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Nsf Award API Guide access the network?

SKILL.md names 3 domains. In commands or code: api.nsf.gov; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: nsf.gov and research.gov. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Nsf Award API Guide safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Nsf Award API Guide use?

Nsf Award API Guide is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Nsf Award API Guide use?

About 1.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Nsf Award API Guide?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Nsf Award API Guide: Configuring Horizon (coollabsio/coolify, 63k stars), Nestjs Best Practices (rolling-scopes/rsschool-app, 10k stars), Sub2API Admin (Wei-Shaw/sub2api, 44k stars) and Firecrawl Build Onboarding (firecrawl/firecrawl, 190k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Nsf Award API Guide?

wentorai (a GitHub user) maintains it in wentorai/research-plugins, which has 298 GitHub stars. The repository holds 405 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 19, 2026.

Source: wentorai/research-plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Nsf Award API Guide

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

NSF Award Search API Guide

Overview

Authentication

Core Endpoints

Search Awards

Get Award by ID

Python Example: Funding Trend Analysis

Common Research Patterns

Rate Limits and Best Practices

References

Files

Used in 1 other repository

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from wentorai/research-plugins

Related

Questions about Nsf Award API Guide