Requirements
- Target platform
- OpenClaw
- Install method
- Manual import
- Extraction
- Extract archive
- Prerequisites
- OpenClaw
- Primary doc
- SKILL.md
Search and retrieve literature from PubMed using NCBI's EDirect command-line tools. ⚠️ Advanced skill requiring manual installation.
Search and retrieve literature from PubMed using NCBI's EDirect command-line tools. ⚠️ Advanced skill requiring manual installation.
Hand the extracted package to your coding agent with a concrete install brief instead of figuring it out manually.
I downloaded a skill package from Yavira. Read SKILL.md from the extracted folder and install it by following the included instructions. Tell me what you changed and call out any manual steps you could not complete.
I downloaded an updated skill package from Yavira. Read SKILL.md from the extracted folder, compare it with my current installation, and upgrade it while preserving any custom configuration unless the package docs explicitly say otherwise. Summarize what changed and any follow-up checks I should run.
Search and retrieve literature from PubMed using NCBI's EDirect command-line tools.
Important: This skill requires installation of external command-line tools. The installation process involves: External script execution: Downloading and executing installation scripts from the official NCBI FTP server System modifications: Adding directories to your PATH environment variable Permission requirements: May require installation of Perl modules and dependencies Before installation, you must: Review the installer script content after downloading Confirm the source is trustworthy (official ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov domain) Validate in a test environment Understand all commands that will be executed
This skill provides access to PubMed and other NCBI databases through the official EDirect (Entrez Direct) utilities. EDirect is a suite of programs that provide access to the NCBI's suite of interconnected databases (publication, sequence, structure, gene, variation, expression, etc.) from Unix terminals. Note: This is a local installation skill – all tools run directly on your system without Docker or containerization. Follow the INSTALL.md guide for local setup.
The skill is organized into the following files: INSTALL.md - Installation and configuration guide BASICS.md - Basic usage and common commands ADVANCED.md - Advanced techniques and complex queries EXAMPLES.md - Practical usage examples REFERENCE.md - Quick reference (field qualifiers, formats, etc.) OPENCLAW_INTEGRATION.md - OpenClaw-specific usage guide scripts/ - Useful bash scripts for common tasks
Read the installation guide: Review INSTALL.md for secure installation steps Manually install EDirect: # Step 1: Download the script wget -q https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/entrezdirect/install-edirect.sh # Step 2: Review content (important for security) less install-edirect.sh # Step 3: Execute installation ./install-edirect.sh Verify installation: esearch -db pubmed -query "test" -retmax 1 Explore examples: Check EXAMPLES.md
The skill provides access to EDirect tools through OpenClaw's exec capability: esearch - Search databases efetch - Retrieve records elink - Find related records efilter - Filter results xtract - Extract data from XML einfo - Get database information
EDirect supports numerous NCBI databases including: pubmed - Biomedical literature pmc - PubMed Central full-text articles gene - Gene information nuccore - Nucleotide sequences protein - Protein sequences mesh - Medical Subject Headings And many more...
Command-line access to NCBI databases Pipeline architecture using Unix pipes Structured data extraction with XML parsing Batch processing capabilities Cross-database linking between records
Use -help with any EDirect command: esearch -help Consult the official documentation Check troubleshooting in installation guide
The scripts/ directory contains ready-to-use bash scripts:
Fetch abstracts for a list of PMIDs with error handling and rate limiting. ./scripts/batch_fetch_abstracts.sh pmids.txt abstracts/ 0.5
Search PubMed and export results to CSV with metadata. ./scripts/search_export_csv.sh "CRISPR [TIAB]" 100 results.csv
Analyze publication trends over time with visualization. ./scripts/publication_trends.sh "machine learning" 2010 2023 trends.csv
# Always download first and review scripts wget -q SOURCE_URL -O script.sh less script.sh # or cat script.sh | head -50 # Execute only after review ./script.sh
Running in Docker containers provides isolation Use virtual machines for testing Set up dedicated user accounts
Do not run as root Set appropriate file permissions Use dedicated directories for data
Configure firewall rules Use proxies for controlled access Monitor network traffic
Important: This skill requires manual installation and configuration. All installation steps require explicit user confirmation and execution. This skill provides command-line access to NCBI databases through local installation of EDirect tools.
Code helpers, APIs, CLIs, browser automation, testing, and developer operations.
Largest current source with strong distribution and engagement signals.