PubMed REST API Search
davila7/claude-code-templates
Searches PubMed directly through its E-utilities REST API, with guidance on Boolean and MeSH query syntax, batch retrieval and citation data.
Programmatic PubMed access via NCBI E-utilities REST API. An agent skill from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.
$ npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills pubmed-database --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database .claude/skills/pubmed-database && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "pubmed-database" agent skill from https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database into .claude/skills/pubmed-database/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pubmed-database", 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 install https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-databaseType 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.
$ npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills pubmed-database --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database .agents/skills/pubmed-database && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "pubmed-database" agent skill from https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database into .agents/skills/pubmed-database/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pubmed-database", 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.
$ npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills pubmed-database --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database .cursor/skills/pubmed-database && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "pubmed-database" agent skill from https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database into .cursor/skills/pubmed-database/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pubmed-database", 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 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git --path skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills pubmed-database --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database .gemini/skills/pubmed-database && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "pubmed-database" agent skill from https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database into .gemini/skills/pubmed-database/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pubmed-database", 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.
$ gh skill install jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills pubmed-databaseInstalls 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).
$ npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database .github/skills/pubmed-database && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "pubmed-database" agent skill from https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database into .github/skills/pubmed-database/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pubmed-database", 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.
$ npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills pubmed-database --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database .opencode/skills/pubmed-database && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "pubmed-database" agent skill from https://github.com/jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills/tree/main/skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database into .opencode/skills/pubmed-database/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "pubmed-database", 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.
pubmed-databaseProgrammatic PubMed access via NCBI E-utilities REST API. An agent skill from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.
Pubmed Database is an agent skill from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills. Programmatic PubMed access via NCBI E-utilities REST API. Covers Boolean/MeSH queries, field-tagged search, endpoints (ESearch, EFetch, ESummary, EPost, ELink), history server for batches, citation matching, systematic review strategies. Use for biomedical literature search or automated pipelines.
Its SKILL.md is about 4.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files, including reference files (for example `references/common_queries.md` and `references/search_syntax.md`).
It sits in Research & Science, covering Academic paper search, Literature review and Citation management. It works with PubMed and NCBI. The repository describes itself as: 197 bioinformatics & life science skills for Claude Code and AI agents — BixBench 92.0% accuracy. RNA-seq, single-cell, drug discovery, proteomics, and more. Powers OmicsHorizon. The licence is CC-BY-4.0.
6 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 82c862c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
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.
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
pipFrom the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAlso links to:
ncbi.nlm.nih.govpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govFrom URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
API_KEYFrom names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Pubmed Database loads about 4.4k tokens when it runs, and up to ~7.9k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 79 tokens; SKILL.md has 807 words of instructions outside code blocks.
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.
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.
The full file from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills at commit 82c862c, republished under its CC-BY-4.0 licence (© jaechang-hits). 807 words, ~4,423 tokens.
.claude/skills/pubmed-database/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.PubMed is the U.S. National Library of Medicine's database providing free access to 36M+ biomedical citations from MEDLINE and life sciences journals. This skill covers programmatic access via the E-utilities REST API and advanced search query construction using Boolean operators, MeSH terms, and field tags.
Bio.Entrez) — this skill covers direct REST API usagepip install requests # HTTP client for E-utilities API
# Optional: pip install biopython — Bio.Entrez wrapper (higher-level API)API Rate Limits:
User-Agent header with contact emailimport requests
import time
BASE_URL = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/"
API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY" # Optional but recommended
def pubmed_request(endpoint, params):
"""Reusable helper for E-utilities API calls with rate limiting."""
params.setdefault("api_key", API_KEY)
response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}{endpoint}", params=params)
response.raise_for_status()
time.sleep(0.1 if API_KEY != "YOUR_API_KEY" else 0.34) # Rate limit
return response
# Search → Fetch workflow
search_resp = pubmed_request("esearch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "term": "CRISPR[tiab] AND 2024[dp]",
"retmax": 5, "retmode": "json"
})
pmids = search_resp.json()["esearchresult"]["idlist"]
print(f"Found {len(pmids)} articles: {pmids}")
fetch_resp = pubmed_request("efetch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "id": ",".join(pmids),
"rettype": "abstract", "retmode": "text"
})
print(fetch_resp.text[:500])Build PubMed queries using Boolean operators, field tags, and MeSH terms.
# Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT (must be uppercase)
queries = {
"basic": "diabetes AND treatment AND 2024[dp]",
"synonyms": "(metformin OR insulin) AND type 2 diabetes",
"exclude": "cancer NOT review[pt]",
"phrase": '"gene expression" AND RNA-seq',
"field_tags": "smith ja[au] AND cancer[tiab] AND 2023[dp]",
}
# Common field tags:
# [tiab] = title/abstract [au] = author [mh] = MeSH term
# [pt] = publication type [dp] = date [ta] = journal
# [1au] = first author [lastau] = last author
# [affil] = affiliation [doi] = DOI [pmid] = PubMed ID
# Date filtering
date_queries = {
"single_year": "cancer AND 2024[dp]",
"range": "cancer AND 2020:2024[dp]",
"specific": "cancer AND 2024/03/15[dp]",
}# MeSH terms — controlled vocabulary for precise searching
mesh_queries = {
# [mh] includes narrower terms automatically
"broad": "diabetes mellitus[mh]",
# [majr] limits to major topic focus
"focused": "diabetes mellitus[majr]",
# MeSH + subheading
"therapy": "diabetes mellitus, type 2[mh]/drug therapy",
# Substance name
"drug": "metformin[nm] AND diabetes mellitus[mh]",
}
# Common MeSH subheadings:
# /diagnosis /drug therapy /epidemiology /etiology
# /prevention & control /therapy /genetics# Basic search
resp = pubmed_request("esearch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"term": "CRISPR[tiab] AND genome editing[tiab] AND 2024[dp]",
"retmax": 100,
"retmode": "json",
"sort": "relevance", # or "pub_date", "first_author"
})
result = resp.json()["esearchresult"]
pmids = result["idlist"]
total = result["count"]
print(f"Total hits: {total}, Retrieved: {len(pmids)}")
# With history server (for large result sets > 500)
resp = pubmed_request("esearch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"term": "cancer AND 2024[dp]",
"usehistory": "y",
"retmode": "json",
})
result = resp.json()["esearchresult"]
webenv = result["webenv"]
query_key = result["querykey"]
total = int(result["count"])
print(f"Stored {total} results on history server")# Fetch abstracts as text
resp = pubmed_request("efetch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"id": ",".join(pmids[:10]),
"rettype": "abstract",
"retmode": "text",
})
print(resp.text[:500])
# Fetch XML for structured parsing
resp = pubmed_request("efetch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"id": ",".join(pmids[:10]),
"rettype": "xml",
"retmode": "xml",
})
# Fetch from history server (batch processing)
batch_size = 500
for start in range(0, total, batch_size):
resp = pubmed_request("efetch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"query_key": query_key,
"WebEnv": webenv,
"retstart": start,
"retmax": batch_size,
"rettype": "xml",
"retmode": "xml",
})
print(f"Fetched records {start}–{start + batch_size}")
time.sleep(0.5) # Extra delay for large batches# ESummary — lightweight document summaries
resp = pubmed_request("esummary.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"id": ",".join(pmids[:5]),
"retmode": "json",
})
for uid, data in resp.json()["result"].items():
if uid == "uids":
continue
print(f"PMID {uid}: {data.get('title', '')[:80]}")
print(f" Journal: {data.get('fulljournalname', '')}, "
f"Date: {data.get('pubdate', '')}")
# ELink — find related articles
resp = pubmed_request("elink.fcgi", {
"dbfrom": "pubmed",
"db": "pubmed",
"id": pmids[0],
"cmd": "neighbor",
"retmode": "json",
})
# Links to other NCBI databases
resp = pubmed_request("elink.fcgi", {
"dbfrom": "pubmed",
"db": "pmc", # PubMed Central
"id": pmids[0],
"retmode": "json",
})# Search by identifiers
id_queries = {
"pmid": "12345678[pmid]",
"doi": "10.1056/NEJMoa123456[doi]",
"pmc": "PMC123456[pmc]",
}
# ECitMatch — match partial citations to PMIDs
# Format: journal|year|volume|first_page|author_name|key|
citation = "Science|2008|320|5880|1185|key1|"
resp = pubmed_request("ecitmatch.cgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"rettype": "xml",
"bdata": citation,
})
print(f"Matched PMID: {resp.text.strip()}")
# Batch citation matching
citations = [
"Nature|2020|580|7801|71|ref1|",
"Science|2019|366|6463|347|ref2|",
]
resp = pubmed_request("ecitmatch.cgi", {
"db": "pubmed",
"rettype": "xml",
"bdata": "\r".join(citations),
})# Filter by publication type
type_filters = {
"rcts": "randomized controlled trial[pt]",
"reviews": "systematic review[pt]",
"meta": "meta-analysis[pt]",
"guidelines": "guideline[pt]",
"case_reports": "case reports[pt]",
}
# Filter by text availability
availability = {
"free_text": "free full text[sb]",
"has_abstract": "hasabstract[text]",
}
# Combine filters
query = (
"diabetes mellitus[mh] AND "
"randomized controlled trial[pt] AND "
"2023:2024[dp] AND "
"free full text[sb] AND "
"english[la]"
)
resp = pubmed_request("esearch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "term": query, "retmax": 100, "retmode": "json"
})
print(f"Free RCTs on diabetes (2023-2024): {resp.json()['esearchresult']['count']}")| Endpoint | Purpose | Key Parameters |
|---|---|---|
esearch.fcgi | Search, return PMIDs | term, retmax, sort, usehistory |
efetch.fcgi | Download full records | id/query_key+WebEnv, rettype, retmode |
esummary.fcgi | Lightweight summaries | id, retmode |
epost.fcgi | Upload UIDs to server | id (comma-separated) |
elink.fcgi | Related articles, cross-DB | id, dbfrom, db, cmd |
einfo.fcgi | List databases/fields | db (optional) |
egquery.fcgi | Count hits across DBs | term |
espell.fcgi | Spelling suggestions | term |
ecitmatch.cgi | Match citations to PMIDs | bdata |
For result sets >500 articles, use the history server to avoid URL length limits:
usehistory=y → returns WebEnv + QueryKeyWebEnv + QueryKey + retstart/retmaxWebEnvWhen no field tag is specified, PubMed maps terms through: MeSH Translation Table → Journals Translation Table → Author Index → Full Text. Bypass ATM with explicit field tags or quoted phrases.
| Subheading | Abbreviation | Use |
|---|---|---|
| /diagnosis | /DI | Diagnostic methods |
| /drug therapy | /DT | Pharmaceutical treatment |
| /epidemiology | /EP | Disease patterns |
| /etiology | /ET | Disease causes |
| /genetics | /GE | Genetic aspects |
| /prevention & control | /PC | Preventive measures |
| /therapy | /TH | Treatment approaches |
import requests, time, json
# 1. Define PICO-structured query
query = (
# Population
"(diabetes mellitus, type 2[mh] OR type 2 diabetes[tiab]) AND "
# Intervention + Comparison
"(metformin[nm] OR lifestyle modification[tiab]) AND "
# Outcome
"(glycemic control[tiab] OR HbA1c[tiab]) AND "
# Study design filter
"(randomized controlled trial[pt] OR systematic review[pt]) AND "
# Date range
"2020:2024[dp]"
)
# 2. Search with history server
resp = pubmed_request("esearch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "term": query,
"usehistory": "y", "retmode": "json"
})
result = resp.json()["esearchresult"]
total = int(result["count"])
print(f"Systematic review hits: {total}")
# 3. Batch fetch all results as XML
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
articles = []
for start in range(0, total, 200):
resp = pubmed_request("efetch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "query_key": result["querykey"],
"WebEnv": result["webenv"],
"retstart": start, "retmax": 200,
"rettype": "xml", "retmode": "xml"
})
root = ET.fromstring(resp.text)
for article in root.findall('.//PubmedArticle'):
pmid = article.findtext('.//PMID')
title = article.findtext('.//ArticleTitle')
articles.append({"pmid": pmid, "title": title})
time.sleep(0.5)
print(f"Retrieved {len(articles)} articles for screening")import json, datetime
# 1. Construct monitoring query
topic_query = (
"(CRISPR[tiab] OR gene editing[tiab]) AND "
"(therapeutics[tiab] OR clinical trial[pt])"
)
# 2. Search recent publications (last 30 days)
today = datetime.date.today()
start_date = today - datetime.timedelta(days=30)
query = f"{topic_query} AND {start_date.strftime('%Y/%m/%d')}:{today.strftime('%Y/%m/%d')}[dp]"
resp = pubmed_request("esearch.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "term": query,
"retmax": 100, "retmode": "json", "sort": "pub_date"
})
pmids = resp.json()["esearchresult"]["idlist"]
# 3. Get summaries for new articles
if pmids:
resp = pubmed_request("esummary.fcgi", {
"db": "pubmed", "id": ",".join(pmids), "retmode": "json"
})
for uid in pmids:
info = resp.json()["result"].get(uid, {})
print(f"[{uid}] {info.get('title', 'N/A')[:80]}")
print(f" {info.get('fulljournalname', '')} — {info.get('pubdate', '')}")| Parameter | Endpoint | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
term | ESearch | Required | Search query with Boolean/field tags |
retmax | ESearch/EFetch | 20 | Max records returned (up to 10,000) |
retstart | ESearch/EFetch | 0 | Offset for pagination |
rettype | EFetch | full | Output type: abstract, medline, xml, uilist |
retmode | All | xml | Output format: xml, json, text |
sort | ESearch | relevance | Sort order: relevance, pub_date, first_author |
usehistory | ESearch | n | Enable history server: y for large result sets |
api_key | All | None | NCBI API key for 10 req/sec (vs 3 without) |
cmd | ELink | neighbor | Link type: neighbor, neighbor_score, prlinks |
datetype | ESearch | pdat | Date field: pdat (publication), edat (entrez) |
time.sleep(0.1) with API key, time.sleep(0.34) without[mh] and [tiab] for comprehensive coverage: (diabetes mellitus[mh] OR diabetes[tiab])| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) | Exceeding rate limit | Add time.sleep(); use API key for higher limit |
| HTTP 414 (URI Too Long) | Too many PMIDs in URL | Use history server (usehistory=y) or EPost |
| Empty result set | Overly restrictive query | Remove filters one at a time; check ATM with EInfo |
| Unexpected MeSH mapping | Automatic Term Mapping | Use explicit field tags: term[tiab] instead of bare term |
| Missing abstracts | Pre-1975 articles or certain types | Filter: hasabstract[text] |
| XML parsing errors | Malformed response | Check retmode=xml and rettype=xml; handle encoding |
| Stale history server | Session expired (8h inactivity) | Re-run ESearch with usehistory=y to get new WebEnv |
| Truncated results | Default retmax=20 | Set retmax=100 or higher (max 10,000) |
import requests
import time
def fetch_abstracts(gene_list, max_per_gene=5):
"""Retrieve PubMed abstracts for each gene in a list."""
base = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils"
records = []
for gene in gene_list:
r = requests.get(f"{base}/esearch.fcgi",
params={"db": "pubmed", "term": f"{gene}[gene] AND Homo sapiens[orgn]",
"retmax": max_per_gene, "retmode": "json"})
ids = r.json()["esearchresult"]["idlist"]
if ids:
fetch = requests.get(f"{base}/efetch.fcgi",
params={"db": "pubmed", "id": ",".join(ids), "rettype": "abstract"})
records.append({"gene": gene, "pmids": ids, "text": fetch.text[:500]})
time.sleep(0.34)
return records
results = fetch_abstracts(["BRCA1", "TP53", "EGFR"])
for r in results:
print(f"{r['gene']}: {r['pmids']}")import requests
from datetime import date, timedelta
# Find papers published in the last 7 days on a topic
week_ago = (date.today() - timedelta(days=7)).strftime("%Y/%m/%d")
today = date.today().strftime("%Y/%m/%d")
resp = requests.get("https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/esearch.fcgi",
params={"db": "pubmed", "term": "CRISPR AND cancer",
"datetype": "pdat", "mindate": week_ago, "maxdate": today,
"retmax": 20, "retmode": "json"})
data = resp.json()["esearchresult"]
print(f"New CRISPR+cancer papers this week: {data['count']}")
print("PMIDs:", data["idlist"])references/search_syntax.md — Complete field tag reference, Boolean/wildcard/proximity syntax, automatic term mapping rules, all filter types (age groups, species, languages), and clinical query filtersreferences/common_queries.md — Ready-to-use query templates organized by domain (disease-specific, population-specific, methodology, drug research, epidemiology) with ~40 example patternsNot migrated from original: references/api_reference.md (298 lines) — endpoint parameter details are consolidated into Core API sections 2-5 and the E-utilities Endpoint Summary table in Key Concepts.
Bio.Entrez) for E-utilities© jaechang-hits, CC-BY-4.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database of jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 82c862c
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 jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
Pubmed Database next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pubmed Database this skilljaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills | 371 | 1 repos | ~4.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | CC-BY-4.0 | |
| PubMed REST API Searchdavila7/claude-code-templates | 32k | 14 repos | ~3.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Molecular Review Workflowaipoch/medical-research-skills | 2k | — | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Literature Reviewneflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent | 126 | 20 repos | ~5.9k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Academic Search and Citation RouterYuan1z0825/nature-skills | 47k | — | ~884 | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Literature ReviewK-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills | 48k | 1 repos | ~3.2k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT |
davila7/claude-code-templates
Searches PubMed directly through its E-utilities REST API, with guidance on Boolean and MeSH query syntax, batch retrieval and citation data.
aipoch/medical-research-skills
Generates academic reviews for molecules in diseases using PubMed research.
neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent
Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using multiple academic databases (PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Semantic Scholar, etc.).
Yuan1z0825/nature-skills
Finds papers across literature sources, verifies and converts citations, builds MeSH strategies and audits independent citations of a paper.
K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills
Runs systematic, scoping or narrative literature reviews across PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv and Semantic Scholar, with citation checks and Markdown or PDF output.
Norman-bury/research-writing-skill
A skill your agent uses when writing literature review sections - guides searching, organizing, and synthesizing academic sources
jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills
NEB-IRC activation energy pipeline for reaction barriers using GFN2-xTB and pysisyphus.
jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills
3Dmol.js WebGL molecular visualization emitted as self-contained HTML.
jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills
Constraint-based (COBRA) analysis of genome-scale metabolic models: FBA, FVA, knockouts, flux sampling, production envelopes, gapfilling, media optimization.
jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills
Read, write, and edit ChemDraw CDX/CDXML files with RDKit's rdkit.Chem.rdChemDraw plus direct XML editing, always paired with a rendered PNG.
jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills
Scaffold a new SciAgent-Skills entry. An agent skill from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills.
jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills
Model interpretability via SHAP (Shapley values from game theory).
Categories
Programmatic PubMed access via NCBI E-utilities REST API. An agent skill from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills. Pubmed Database is an agent skill from jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills. Programmatic PubMed access via NCBI E-utilities REST API.
Pubmed Database fits situations like: biomedical literature search; automated pipelines.
Run `npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database in jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills) into .claude/skills/pubmed-database in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
Run `npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-database -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/scientific-writing/pubmed-database in jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills) into .agents/skills/pubmed-database in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills --skill pubmed-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/pubmed-database, .gemini/skills/pubmed-database, .github/skills/pubmed-database and .opencode/skills/pubmed-database in your project.
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Pubmed Database needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pip) and credentials named API_KEY. Our summary lists: Python 3; A credential in API_KEY; A credential in YOUR_API_KEY.
SKILL.md names 3 domains. In commands or code: eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
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.
Pubmed Database is published under the CC-BY-4.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
About 4.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 18k 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 3.4k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Pubmed Database: PubMed REST API Search (davila7/claude-code-templates, 32k stars), Molecular Review Workflow (aipoch/medical-research-skills, 2k stars), Literature Review (neflibata-feng/MyArxiv-Agent, 126 stars) and Academic Search and Citation Router (Yuan1z0825/nature-skills, 47k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
jaechang-hits (a GitHub user) maintains it in jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills, which has 371 GitHub stars. The repository holds 169 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 29, 2026.
Source: jaechang-hits/SciAgent-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.