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Database Lookup

Retrieves facts from named public databases (ChEMBL, AlphaFold, BLS and more) with reproducible, auditable queries.

Source Download skill
Repository
K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills
Stars
55,780
Licence
MIT
Files
15 files

What it does

This skill teaches the agent to answer questions using specific public databases instead of its general memory. It picks the authoritative source, makes bounded, rate-limited calls to that database's web API, checks record counts so results are complete, and reports the endpoints, parameters and access date so someone else can repeat the lookup. It covers about 80 databases across biology, chemistry, clinical trials, economics and other fields, with a reference file per database.

Great for

  • Researchers who need a specific figure or record (for example a ChEMBL compound or an AlphaFold structure) traceable to its source
  • Analysts who need economic or financial series from official sources such as BEA or BLS with stated parameters
  • Students or reviewers who want citable, repeatable database lookups rather than summaries from memory

Skip it if

  • Clinical or regulatory decisions made on the basis of retrieved data without expert review, because the skill warns that small filter differences can change conclusions and the data may be stale
  • Large bulk downloads: the skill asks for confirmation above 10,000 records or 100 API calls and defers to each API's bulk-use rules
  • Requests for private or licensed databases where the user lacks credentials, since some sources need registered or paid keys

Try asking

  • “Look up the ChEMBL bioactivity records for aspirin (CHEMBL25) and summarise them in a table with the query parameters”
  • “Retrieve the AlphaFold predicted structure metadata for UniProt accession P04637 and list the endpoint used”
  • “Get the latest BLS unemployment series values and note the access date and any pagination”
  • “Convert the gene symbol TP53 to its NCBI Gene ID and Ensembl ID and report the identifier conversion steps”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Database LookupInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 15 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    database-lookup.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip database-lookup.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip database-lookup.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Name the exact database or identifier you care about (e.g. UniProt P04637, CHEMBL25) so the agent picks the right source
  • State organism, genome build, date range and filters up front, since the skill asks clarifying questions when these change the result
  • Ask for the count reconciliation and query log, then verify key numbers against the source website before relying on them

What's inside

  • references/addgene.md
  • references/alphafold.md
  • references/alphavantage.md
  • references/bea.md
  • references/bindingdb.md
  • references/biogrid.md
  • references/bls.md
  • references/brenda.md
  • references/cbioportal.md
  • references/census.md
  • references/chebi.md
  • references/chembl.md
  • references/clinicaltrials.md
  • references/clinpgx.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.