
ensembl-skill
✓ Official★ 4,000by openai · part of openai/plugins
Submit compact Ensembl REST API requests for lookup, overlap, cross-reference, and variation endpoints. Use when a user wants concise Ensembl summaries
🔥🔥🔥✓ VerifiedFreeQuick setup
🧩 One of 7 skills in the openai/plugins package — works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.
This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.
name: ensembl-skill description: Submit compact Ensembl REST API requests for lookup, overlap, cross-reference, and variation endpoints. Use when a user wants concise Ensembl summaries
Operating rules
- Use
scripts/rest_request.pyfor all Ensembl API calls. - Use
base_url=https://rest.ensembl.org. - The script accepts
max_items; object lookups usually do not need it, butoverlapandxrefsare better withmax_items=10. - Send JSON-friendly headers such as
Accept: application/jsonandContent-Type: application/json. - Re-run requests in long conversations instead of relying on older tool output.
- Treat displayed
...in tool previews as UI truncation, not part of the true request.
Execution behavior
- Return concise markdown summaries from the script JSON by default.
- Return the script JSON verbatim only if the user explicitly asks for machine-readable output.
- Prefer these paths:
lookup/id/<id>,overlap/region/<species>/<region>,xrefs/id/<id>, andvariation/<species>/<id>. - Use
save_raw=truewhen the user needs the full payload.
Input
- Read one JSON object from stdin.
- Required fields:
base_url,path - Optional fields:
method,params,headers,json_body,form_body,record_path,response_format,max_items,max_depth,timeout_sec,save_raw,raw_output_path - Common Ensembl patterns:
{"base_url":"https://rest.ensembl.org","path":"lookup/id/ENSG00000141510","headers":{"Accept":"application/json","Content-Type":"application/json"}}{"base_url":"https://rest.ensembl.org","path":"overlap/region/homo_sapiens/1:1000000-1002000","params":{"feature":"gene"},"headers":{"Accept":"application/json","Content-Type":"application/json"},"max_items":10}
Output
- Success returns
ok,source,path,method,status_code,warnings, and either compactrecordsor a compactsummary. - Use
raw_output_pathwhensave_raw=true. - Failure returns
ok=falsewitherror.codeanderror.message.
Execution
echo '{"base_url":"https://rest.ensembl.org","path":"lookup/id/ENSG00000141510","headers":{"Accept":"application/json","Content-Type":"application/json"}}' | python scripts/rest_request.pyReferences
- No additional runtime references are required; keep the import package limited to this file and
scripts/rest_request.py.
Copy & paste — that's it
npx skills add https://github.com/openai/plugins --skill ensembl-skillRun this in your project — your agent picks the skill up automatically.
No common issues documented yet. If you hit a problem, the repository's GitHub Issues page is the best place to look.