Agent skill

Unibind Database

by google-deepmind in google-deepmind/science-skills

Queries the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedMedia & Creative

Install Unibind Database

skills CLI
$ npx skills add google-deepmind/science-skills --skill unibind-database -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install google-deepmind/science-skills unibind-database --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/google-deepmind/science-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/unibind_database .claude/skills/unibind-database && 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/

Facts

Skill name
unibind-database
GitHub stars
3.2k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
519 words
Files
3 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
40
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Queries the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites.

  • Works in 6 steps: List Species → List Collections → List Cell Lines & TFs (large output —… → …
  • Retrieving direct TF-DNA interaction datasets
  • SKILL.md covers Prerequisites, Quick Start, Core Rules and Utility Scripts, plus 1 more section
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls uv and uvx

What it does

Unibind Database is an agent skill from google-deepmind/science-skills. Queries the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Use when retrieving direct TF-DNA interaction datasets, downloading binding site coordinates (BED/FASTA) for local analysis, or listing available datasets by species, cell line, or TF name. Don't use to query specific intervals, locations, genes, motif models or expression data.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 4 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `scripts/unibind_api.py`).

It sits in Media & Creative, covering Transcription. The repository describes itself as: GDM Science Skills to speed up agentic scientific workflows with better grounding and higher token efficiency. Integrate insights from AlphaGenome, AFDB, UniProt and 30+ other… The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Retrieving direct TF-DNA interaction datasets
  • Downloading binding site coordinates (BED/FASTA) for local analysis
  • Listing available datasets by species
  • Query specific intervals

Example prompts

  • “Use the unibind-database skill to query the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites”
  • “/unibind-database”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. List Species
  2. List Collections
  3. List Cell Lines & TFs (large output — use jp)
  4. List and Filter Datasets (and Profile-Specific Datasets)
  5. Get Dataset Details
  6. Download TFBS Files (BED / FASTA)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 6883275. 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

    Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • uv
    • uvx

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • unibind.uio.no

    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

Unibind Database loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 99 tokens; SKILL.md has 519 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~99
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.3k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~1.5k

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); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from google-deepmind/science-skills at commit 6883275, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© google-deepmind). 519 words, ~1,327 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/unibind-database/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
unibind-database
description
Queries the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Use when retrieving direct TF-DNA interaction datasets, downloading binding site coordinates (BED/FASTA) for local analysis, or listing available datasets by species, cell line, or TF name. Don't use to query specific intervals, locations, genes, motif models or expression data.

UniBind Database Skill

UniBind is a database of direct TF–DNA interactions across 9 species, integrating ChIP-seq peaks with JASPAR TF binding profiles via the DAMO framework.

Prerequisites

  1. uv: Read the uv skill and follow its Setup instructions to ensure uv is installed and on PATH.
  2. User Notification: If .licenses/unibind_database_LICENSE.txt does not already exist in the workspace root directory then (1) prominently notify the user to check the terms at https://unibind.uio.no/ and https://unibind.uio.no/api/overview, then (2) create the file recording the notification text and timestamp.

Quick Start

Query commands print JSON to stdout by default. Most outputs are small enough to read directly. For large outputs (list_cell_lines, list_tfs), pipe through jq to extract only the fields you need.

bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_species

The download_tfbs command writes BED/FASTA files to --output-dir instead. You may optionally use --output <path> on any query command to save results to a file if needed.

Core Rules

  • Use the Wrapper: ALWAYS execute the provided helper scripts to query the database rather than accessing the database directly. The scripts automatically enforce the required rate limit gracefully.
  • Output: Query commands print JSON to stdout. Most responses are compact and can be read directly.
  • Large Results: list_cell_lines and list_tfs produce large output. Pipe these through jq to extract specific fields rather than reading the full output into context.
  • Saving to File: Use --output <path> when you need to reference the data later or when processing very large results with jq.
  • Pagination: Use --page and --page-size (max 1000) to chunk large result sets.
  • Ordering: Use --order field_name (prefix with - for descending) on any list command.
  • Notification: If this skill is used, ensure this is mentioned in the output.

Utility Scripts

Replace <SKILL DIR> with the absolute path to this skill's directory.

1. List Species
bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_species
2. List Collections
bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_collections
3. List Cell Lines & TFs (large output — use jp)

These commands return large datasets. Use uvx --from jmespath jp to extract only the fields you need.

bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_cell_lines | uvx --from jmespath jp "results[].name"
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_tfs | uvx --from jmespath jp "results[].tf_name"
Show full SKILL.md (200 more words)Show less
4. List and Filter Datasets (and Profile-Specific Datasets)

Filter datasets using the following arguments:

  • --species (e.g., "Homo sapiens")
  • --tf-name (e.g., "CTCF")
  • --cell-line (e.g., "mESC")
  • --collection (e.g., Permissive, Robust)
  • --search (a search term)
  • --biological-condition (biological condition or source)
  • --data-source (source of data, e.g., "ENCODE")
  • --has-pvalue ("true" or "false")
  • --identifier (e.g., "GSE60130")
  • --jaspar-id (JASPAR database profile matrix ID)
  • --model (prediction model)
  • --summary (summary filter)
  • --threshold-pvalue (p-value threshold)

Use list_datasets for standard datasets, or list_specific_datasets for profile-specific queries.

bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_datasets --species "Homo sapiens" --tf-name "CTCF" --data-source "ENCODE"
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_specific_datasets --species "Mus musculus" --cell-line "mESC"
5. Get Dataset Details
bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py get_dataset "EXP047889.HMLE-Twist-ER_breast_cancer.SMAD3"
6. Download TFBS Files (BED / FASTA)

Downloads all TFBS files for a dataset to a local directory. Use --format bed (default) or --format fasta.

bash
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py download_tfbs "EXP047889.HMLE-Twist-ER_breast_cancer.SMAD3" --output-dir /tmp/tfbs --format bed

Anti-Patterns

  • DON'T attempt to use the UniBind API to query specific genomic intervals, locations, or genes.
  • DON'T guess or hallucinate genome coordinates. Always use ensembl-database as an external check if you're pulling local BED tracks for offline bedtools intersection.
  • DON'T use for motif models (PFMs). Use the jaspar-database skill instead.
  • DON'T use for gene expression data. UniBind only stores binding events.
  • DON'T assume tissue-specific expression from dataset lists alone.
  • DON'T use cat to read large JSON output files into context. The output is too large. Use jq or write your own code to parse the output files.

© google-deepmind, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files (scripts, references) in skills/unibind_database of google-deepmind/science-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/citation.bib
  • scripts/unibind_api.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 6883275

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 google-deepmind/science-skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

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Questions about Unibind Database

What does Unibind Database do?

Queries the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Unibind Database is an agent skill from google-deepmind/science-skills. Queries the UniBind database for experimentally validated transcription factor (TF) binding sites.

When should I use Unibind Database?

Unibind Database fits situations like: retrieving direct TF-DNA interaction datasets; downloading binding site coordinates (BED/FASTA) for local analysis; listing available datasets by species; query specific intervals.

How do I install Unibind Database in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add google-deepmind/science-skills --skill unibind-database -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/unibind_database in google-deepmind/science-skills) into .claude/skills/unibind-database in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Unibind Database in Codex?

Run `npx skills add google-deepmind/science-skills --skill unibind-database -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/unibind_database in google-deepmind/science-skills) into .agents/skills/unibind-database in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Unibind Database 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 google-deepmind/science-skills --skill unibind-database -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/unibind-database, .gemini/skills/unibind-database, .github/skills/unibind-database and .opencode/skills/unibind-database in your project.

What does Unibind Database need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Unibind Database needs Python for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (uv and uvx). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Unibind Database access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. As links in the text: unibind.uio.no. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Unibind Database 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. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Unibind Database use?

Unibind Database is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Unibind Database use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 187 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Unibind Database?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Unibind Database: Native Subtitle Quote Image (chengyi-ai/native-subtitle-quote-image, 2.2k stars), HyperFrames Media Use (heygen-com/hyperframes, 59k stars), Videodb (affaan-m/ECC, 275k stars) and Edu Math Video (wy51ai/edulab, 1.4k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Unibind Database?

google-deepmind (a GitHub organization) maintains it in google-deepmind/science-skills, which has 3,220 GitHub stars. The repository holds 40 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 15, 2026.

Source: google-deepmind/science-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.