Gene Database

Wraps both NCBI's E-utilities and the newer Datasets API so you can query gene data without wrestling with XML responses or rate limits yourself. You get scripts for searching by symbol or ID, fetching RefSeqs and GO annotations, and batch processing gene lists with automatic throttling. The dual API approach is actually useful since E-utilities handles complex cross-database queries while Datasets is faster for straightforward lookups. Ships with solid documentation on query patterns and works across species, though you'll want to always specify organism when searching by symbol to avoid matching the wrong gene. Good for annotation pipelines or anything that needs reliable access to NCBI Gene without building the plumbing yourself.

skills.sh installs: 272
GitHub stars: 33.2K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill gene-database --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Gene Database

Overview

NCBI Gene is a comprehensive database integrating gene information from diverse species. It provides nomenclature, reference sequences (RefSeqs), chromosomal maps, biological pathways, genetic variations, phenotypes, and cross-references to global genomic resources.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when working with gene data including searching by gene symbol or ID, retrieving gene sequences and metadata, analyzing gene functions and pathways, or performing batch gene lookups.

Quick Start

NCBI provides two main APIs for gene data access:

E-utilities (Traditional): Full-featured API for all Entrez databases with flexible querying
NCBI Datasets API (Newer): Optimized for gene data retrieval with simplified workflows

Choose E-utilities for complex queries and cross-database searches. Choose Datasets API for straightforward gene data retrieval with metadata and sequences in a single request.