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Unibind Database

  • 1.1k installs
  • 2.6k repo stars
  • Updated July 7, 2026
  • google-deepmind/science-skills

unibind-database is a Claude Code skill from google-deepmind/science-skills that queries a unified binding affinity database for proteins, ligands, and small molecules for developers building computational chemistry agen

About

unibind-database is a google-deepmind/science-skills entry listed on skills.sh with 622 installs that lets agents query unified binding affinity data for proteins, ligands, and small molecules. The skill integrates scientific database access directly into agent workflows for structure-based research, compound screening context, and affinity lookups without manual portal navigation. Developers in computational biology, cheminformatics, or ML-for-science pipelines reach for unibind-database when agent tasks need authoritative binding measurements grounded in a consolidated UniBind dataset.

  • Access to UniBind's curated collection of biomolecular interaction data
  • Structured retrieval of binding sites, affinities, and experimental metadata
  • Seamless integration with science and AI research agent toolchains
  • Supports both exploratory queries and automated data pipelines

Unibind Database by the numbers

  • 1,107 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +52 installs in the week ending Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #282 of 2,064 Data Science & ML skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/google-deepmind/science-skills --skill unibind-database

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs1.1k
repo stars2.6k
Last updatedJuly 7, 2026
Repositorygoogle-deepmind/science-skills

How do you query protein ligand binding affinity data?

Query a unified database of binding affinity data for proteins, ligands, and small molecules directly from agent workflows.

Who is it for?

Computational biology and ML developers who need agent-accessible binding affinity lookups for proteins and small molecules.

Skip if: General web developers without computational chemistry or structural biology data requirements.

When should I use this skill?

User needs binding affinity data for proteins, ligands, or small molecules in a scientific or drug-discovery agent workflow.

What you get

Binding affinity query results for proteins, ligands, and small molecules from the UniBind database

  • Binding affinity query results
  • Protein-ligand interaction records

By the numbers

  • 622 installs listed on skills.sh for google-deepmind/science-skills/unibind-database

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

UniBind Database Skill

UniBind is a database of direct TF–DNA interactions across 9 species, integrating ChIP-seq peaks with JASPAR TF binding profiles via the DAMO framework.

Prerequisites

1. `uv`: Read the uv skill and follow its Setup instructions to ensure uv is installed and on PATH. 2. User Notification: If LICENSE_NOTIFICATION.txt does not already exist in this skill directory then (1) prominently notify the user to check the terms at https://unibind.uio.no/ and https://unibind.uio.no/api/overview, then (2) create the file recording the notification text and timestamp.

Quick Start

Query commands print JSON to stdout by default. Most outputs are small enough to read directly. For large outputs (list_cell_lines, list_tfs), pipe through jq to extract only the fields you need.

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_species

The download_tfbs command writes BED/FASTA files to --output-dir instead. You may optionally use --output <path> on any query command to save results to a file if needed.

Core Rules

  • Use the Wrapper: ALWAYS execute the provided helper scripts to query the

database rather than accessing the database directly. The scripts automatically enforce the required rate limit gracefully.

  • Output: Query commands print JSON to stdout. Most responses are compact

and can be read directly.

  • Large Results: list_cell_lines and list_tfs produce large output.

Pipe these through jq to extract specific fields rather than reading the full output into context.

  • Saving to File: Use --output <path> when you need to reference the

data later or when processing very large results with jq.

  • Pagination: Use --page and --page-size (max 1000) to chunk large

result sets.

  • Ordering: Use --order field_name (prefix with - for descending) on

any list command.

  • Notification: If this skill is used, ensure this is mentioned in the

output.

Utility Scripts

Replace `<SKILL DIR>` with the absolute path to this skill's directory.

1. List Species

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_species

2. List Collections

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_collections

3. List Cell Lines & TFs (large output — use jp)

These commands return large datasets. Use uvx --from jmespath jp to extract only the fields you need.

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_cell_lines | uvx --from jmespath jp "results[].name"
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_tfs | uvx --from jmespath jp "results[].tf_name"

4. List and Filter Datasets (and Profile-Specific Datasets)

Filter datasets using the following arguments:

  • --species (e.g., "Homo sapiens")
  • --tf-name (e.g., "CTCF")
  • --cell-line (e.g., "mESC")
  • --collection (e.g., Permissive, Robust)
  • --search (a search term)
  • --biological-condition (biological condition or source)
  • --data-source (source of data, e.g., "ENCODE")
  • --has-pvalue ("true" or "false")
  • --identifier (e.g., "GSE60130")
  • --jaspar-id (JASPAR database profile matrix ID)
  • --model (prediction model)
  • --summary (summary filter)
  • --threshold-pvalue (p-value threshold)

Use list_datasets for standard datasets, or list_specific_datasets for profile-specific queries.

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_datasets --species "Homo sapiens" --tf-name "CTCF" --data-source "ENCODE"
uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py list_specific_datasets --species "Mus musculus" --cell-line "mESC"

5. Get Dataset Details

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py get_dataset "EXP047889.HMLE-Twist-ER_breast_cancer.SMAD3"

6. Download TFBS Files (BED / FASTA)

Downloads all TFBS files for a dataset to a local directory. Use --format bed (default) or --format fasta.

uv run <SKILL DIR>/scripts/unibind_api.py download_tfbs "EXP047889.HMLE-Twist-ER_breast_cancer.SMAD3" --output-dir /tmp/tfbs --format bed

Anti-Patterns

  • DON'T attempt to use the UniBind API to query specific genomic

intervals, locations, or genes.

  • DON'T guess or hallucinate genome coordinates. Always use

ensembl-database as an external check if you're pulling local BED tracks for offline bedtools intersection.

  • DON'T use for motif models (PFMs). Use the jaspar-database skill

instead.

  • DON'T use for gene expression data. UniBind only stores binding events.
  • DON'T assume tissue-specific expression from dataset lists alone.
  • DON'T use cat to read large JSON output files into context. The output

is too large. Use jq or write your own code to parse the output files.

Related skills

FAQ

What data does unibind-database provide?

unibind-database provides access to a unified database of binding affinity measurements for proteins, ligands, and small molecules. Agents can query this consolidated dataset instead of manually searching disparate scientific portals.

Who maintains the unibind-database skill?

unibind-database is published in google-deepmind/science-skills and listed on skills.sh with 622 installs. It is designed for agent workflows that need programmatic binding affinity lookups.

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