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Start

  • 4k installs
  • 23.1k repo stars
  • Updated July 28, 2026
  • anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

start is an agent skill for orient to bio-research plugin tools including literature, drug-discovery, and visualization mcp servers.

About

The start skill Set up your bio-research environment and explore available tools. Use when first getting oriented with the plugin, checking which literature, drug-discovery, or visualization MCP servers are connected, or surveying available analysis skills before starting a new project. If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md. You are helping a biological researcher get oriented with the bio-research plugin. Walk through the following steps in order. Your AI-powered research assistant for the life sciences. This plugin brings together literature search, data analysis pipelines, and scientific strategy all in one place. ``` Test which MCP servers are connected by listing available tools. Group the results: Test which MCP servers are connected by listing available tools. Group the results: Literature & Data Sources: - ~~literature database — biomedical literature search - ~~literature database — preprint access (biology and medicine) - ~~journal access — academic publications - ~~data repository — collaborative research data (Sage Bionetworks) Drug Discovery & Clinical: - ~~chemical database — bioactive compound

  • ~~literature database — biomedical literature search
  • ~~literature database — preprint access (biology and medicine)
  • ~~journal access — academic publications
  • ~~data repository — collaborative research data (Sage Bionetworks)
  • ~~chemical database — bioactive compound database

Start by the numbers

  • 3,989 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +190 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #181 of 16,659 AI & Agent Building skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

start capabilities & compatibility

Capabilities
~~literature database — biomedical literature se · ~~literature database — preprint access (biology · ~~journal access — academic publications · ~~data repository — collaborative research data · ~~chemical database — bioactive compound databas
Use cases
research · orchestration
From the docs

What start says it does

You are helping a biological researcher get oriented with the bio-research plugin. Walk through the following steps in order.
SKILL.md
Your AI-powered research assistant for the life sciences. This plugin brings
SKILL.md
together literature search, data analysis pipelines,
SKILL.md
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill start

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs4k
repo stars23.1k
Security audit3 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedJuly 28, 2026
Repositoryanthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

How do I orient to bio-research plugin tools including literature, drug-discovery, and visualization mcp servers with documented agent guidance?

Orient to bio-research plugin tools including literature, drug-discovery, and visualization MCP servers.

Who is it for?

Developers who need ai & agent building help during idea work.

Skip if: Skip when the task falls outside AI & Agent Building scope described in SKILL.md.

When should I use this skill?

Orient to bio-research plugin tools including literature, drug-discovery, and visualization MCP servers.

What you get

Completed ai & agent building workflow aligned with SKILL.md steps and validation.

  • TASKS.md
  • CLAUDE.md
  • memory/ directory

By the numbers

  • ~~literature database — biomedical literature search
  • ~~literature database — preprint access (biology and medicine)
  • ~~journal access — academic publications

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Bio-Research Start

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

You are helping a biological researcher get oriented with the bio-research plugin. Walk through the following steps in order.

Step 1: Welcome

Display this welcome message:

Bio-Research Plugin

Your AI-powered research assistant for the life sciences. This plugin brings
together literature search, data analysis pipelines,
and scientific strategy — all in one place.

Step 2: Check Available MCP Servers

Test which MCP servers are connected by listing available tools. Group the results:

Literature & Data Sources:

  • ~~literature database — biomedical literature search
  • ~~literature database — preprint access (biology and medicine)
  • ~~journal access — academic publications
  • ~~data repository — collaborative research data (Sage Bionetworks)

Drug Discovery & Clinical:

  • ~~chemical database — bioactive compound database
  • ~~drug target database — drug target discovery platform
  • ClinicalTrials.gov — clinical trial registry
  • ~~clinical data platform — clinical trial site ranking and platform help

Visualization & AI:

  • ~~scientific illustration — create scientific figures and diagrams
  • ~~AI research platform — AI for biology (histopathology, drug discovery)

Report which servers are connected and which are not yet set up.

Step 3: Survey Available Skills

List the analysis skills available in this plugin:

SkillWhat It Does
Single-Cell RNA QCQuality control for scRNA-seq data with MAD-based filtering
scvi-toolsDeep learning for single-cell omics (scVI, scANVI, totalVI, PeakVI, etc.)
Nextflow PipelinesRun nf-core pipelines (RNA-seq, WGS/WES, ATAC-seq)
Instrument Data ConverterConvert lab instrument output to Allotrope ASM format
Scientific Problem SelectionSystematic framework for choosing research problems

Step 4: Optional Setup — Binary MCP Servers

Mention that two additional MCP servers are available as separate installations:

  • ~~genomics platform — Access cloud analysis data and workflows

Install: Download txg-node.mcpb from https://github.com/10XGenomics/txg-mcp/releases

  • ~~tool database (Harvard MIMS) — AI tools for scientific discovery

Install: Download tooluniverse.mcpb from https://github.com/mims-harvard/ToolUniverse/releases

These require downloading binary files and are optional.

Step 5: Ask How to Help

Ask the researcher what they're working on today. Suggest starting points based on common workflows:

1. Literature review — "Search ~~literature database for recent papers on [topic]" 2. Analyze sequencing data — "Run QC on my single-cell data" or "Set up an RNA-seq pipeline" 3. Drug discovery — "Search ~~chemical database for compounds targeting [protein]" or "Find drug targets for [disease]" 4. Data standardization — "Convert my instrument data to Allotrope format" 5. Research strategy — "Help me evaluate a new project idea"

Wait for the user's response and guide them to the appropriate tools and skills.

Related skills

How it compares

start is an agent skill for orient to bio-research plugin tools including literature, drug-discovery, and visualization mcp servers, not a generic alternative.

FAQ

Who is start for?

Developers using AI & Agent Building workflows with agent-guided SKILL.md steps.

When should I use start?

Orient to bio-research plugin tools including literature, drug-discovery, and visualization MCP servers.

Is start safe to install?

Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

AI & Agent Buildingagentsresearch

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