@synsci/cli-darwin-x64-baseline 1.1.77 → 1.1.78

package/bin/skills/pubmed-database/references/api_reference.md

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+# PubMed E-utilities API Reference
+
+## Overview
+
+The NCBI E-utilities provide programmatic access to PubMed and other Entrez databases through a REST API. The base URL for all E-utilities is:
+
+```
+https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/
+```
+
+## API Key Requirements
+
+As of December 1, 2018, NCBI enforces API key usage for E-utility calls. API keys increase rate limits from 3 requests/second to 10 requests/second. To obtain an API key, register for an NCBI account and generate a key from your account settings.
+
+Include the API key in requests using the `&api_key` parameter:
+```
+esearch.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=cancer&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+## Rate Limits
+
+- **Without API key**: 3 requests per second
+- **With API key**: 10 requests per second
+- Always include a User-Agent header in requests
+
+## Core E-utility Tools
+
+### 1. ESearch - Query Databases
+
+**Endpoint**: `esearch.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Search an Entrez database and retrieve a list of UIDs (e.g., PMIDs for PubMed)
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `db` - Database to search (e.g., pubmed, gene, protein)
+- `term` - Search query
+
+**Optional Parameters**:
+- `retmax` - Maximum records to return (default: 20, max: 10000)
+- `retstart` - Index of first record to return (default: 0)
+- `usehistory=y` - Store results on history server for large result sets
+- `retmode` - Return format (xml, json)
+- `sort` - Sort order (relevance, pub_date, first_author, last_author, journal)
+- `field` - Limit search to specific field
+- `datetype` - Type of date to use for filtering (pdat for publication date)
+- `mindate` - Minimum date (YYYY/MM/DD format)
+- `maxdate` - Maximum date (YYYY/MM/DD format)
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+esearch.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=breast+cancer&retmax=100&retmode=json&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+**Response Elements**:
+- `Count` - Total number of records matching query
+- `RetMax` - Number of records returned in this response
+- `RetStart` - Index of first returned record
+- `IdList` - List of UIDs (PMIDs)
+- `WebEnv` - History server environment string (when usehistory=y)
+- `QueryKey` - Query key for history server (when usehistory=y)
+
+### 2. EFetch - Download Records
+
+**Endpoint**: `efetch.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Retrieve full records from a database in various formats
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `db` - Database name
+- `id` - Comma-separated list of UIDs, or use WebEnv/query_key from ESearch
+
+**Optional Parameters**:
+- `rettype` - Record type (abstract, medline, xml, uilist)
+- `retmode` - Return mode (text, xml)
+- `retstart` - Starting record index
+- `retmax` - Maximum records per request
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+efetch.fcgi?db=pubmed&id=123456,234567&rettype=abstract&retmode=text&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+**Common rettype Values for PubMed**:
+- `abstract` - Abstract text
+- `medline` - Full MEDLINE format
+- `xml` - PubMed XML format
+- `uilist` - List of UIDs only
+
+### 3. ESummary - Retrieve Document Summaries
+
+**Endpoint**: `esummary.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Get document summaries (DocSum) for a list of UIDs
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `db` - Database name
+- `id` - Comma-separated UIDs or WebEnv/query_key
+
+**Optional Parameters**:
+- `retmode` - Return format (xml, json)
+- `version` - DocSum version (1.0 or 2.0, default is 1.0)
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+esummary.fcgi?db=pubmed&id=123456,234567&retmode=json&version=2.0&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+**DocSum Fields** (vary by database, common PubMed fields):
+- Title
+- Authors
+- Source (journal)
+- PubDate
+- Volume, Issue, Pages
+- DOI
+- PmcRefCount (citations in PMC)
+
+### 4. EPost - Upload UIDs
+
+**Endpoint**: `epost.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Upload a list of UIDs to the history server for use in subsequent requests
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `db` - Database name
+- `id` - Comma-separated list of UIDs
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+epost.fcgi?db=pubmed&id=123456,234567,345678&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+**Response**:
+Returns WebEnv and QueryKey for use in subsequent requests
+
+### 5. ELink - Find Related Data
+
+**Endpoint**: `elink.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Find related records within the same database or in different databases
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `dbfrom` - Source database
+- `db` - Target database (can be same as dbfrom)
+- `id` - UID(s) from source database
+
+**Optional Parameters**:
+- `cmd` - Link command (neighbor, neighbor_history, prlinks, llinks, etc.)
+- `linkname` - Specific link type to retrieve
+- `term` - Filter results with search query
+- `holding` - Filter by library holdings
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&db=pubmed&id=123456&cmd=neighbor&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+**Common Link Commands**:
+- `neighbor` - Return related records
+- `neighbor_history` - Post related records to history server
+- `prlinks` - Return provider URLs
+- `llinks` - Return LinkOut URLs
+
+### 6. EInfo - Database Information
+
+**Endpoint**: `einfo.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Get information about available Entrez databases or specific database fields
+
+**Parameters**:
+- `db` - Database name (optional; omit to list all databases)
+- `retmode` - Return format (xml, json)
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+einfo.fcgi?db=pubmed&retmode=json&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+**Returns**:
+- Database description
+- Record count
+- Last update date
+- Available search fields with descriptions
+
+### 7. EGQuery - Global Query
+
+**Endpoint**: `egquery.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Search term counts across all Entrez databases
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `term` - Search query
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+egquery.fcgi?term=cancer&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+### 8. ESpell - Spelling Suggestions
+
+**Endpoint**: `espell.fcgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Get spelling suggestions for queries
+
+**Required Parameters**:
+- `db` - Database name
+- `term` - Search term with potential misspelling
+
+**Example Request**:
+```
+espell.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=cancre&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+### 9. ECitMatch - Citation Matching
+
+**Endpoint**: `ecitmatch.cgi`
+
+**Purpose**: Search PubMed citations using journal, year, volume, page, author information
+
+**Request Format**: POST request with citation strings
+
+**Citation String Format**:
+```
+journal|year|volume|page|author|key|
+```
+
+**Example**:
+```
+Science|2008|320|5880|1185|key1|
+Nature|2010|463|7279|318|key2|
+```
+
+**Rate Limit**: 3 requests per second with User-Agent header required
+
+## Best Practices
+
+### Use History Server for Large Result Sets
+
+For queries returning more than 500 records, use the history server:
+
+1. **Initial Search with History**:
+```
+esearch.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=cancer&usehistory=y&retmode=json&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+2. **Retrieve Records in Batches**:
+```
+efetch.fcgi?db=pubmed&query_key=1&WebEnv=MCID_12345&retstart=0&retmax=500&rettype=xml&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+efetch.fcgi?db=pubmed&query_key=1&WebEnv=MCID_12345&retstart=500&retmax=500&rettype=xml&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+### Batch Operations
+
+Use EPost to upload large lists of UIDs before fetching:
+
+```
+# Step 1: Post UIDs
+epost.fcgi?db=pubmed&id=123,456,789,...&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+
+# Step 2: Fetch using WebEnv/query_key
+efetch.fcgi?db=pubmed&query_key=1&WebEnv=MCID_12345&rettype=xml&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
+```
+
+### Error Handling
+
+Common HTTP status codes:
+- `200` - Success
+- `400` - Bad request (check parameters)
+- `414` - URI too long (use POST or history server)
+- `429` - Rate limit exceeded
+
+### Caching
+
+Implement local caching to:
+- Reduce redundant API calls
+- Stay within rate limits
+- Improve response times
+- Respect NCBI resources
+
+## Response Formats
+
+### XML (Default)
+
+Most detailed format with full structured data. Each database has its own DTD (Document Type Definition).
+
+### JSON
+
+Available for most utilities with `retmode=json`. Easier to parse in modern applications.
+
+### Text
+
+Plain text format, useful for abstracts and simple data retrieval.
+
+## Support and Resources
+
+- **API Documentation**: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK25501/
+- **Mailing List**: utilities-announce@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
+- **Support**: vog.hin.mln.ibcn@seitilitue
+- **NLM Help Desk**: 1-888-FIND-NLM (1-888-346-3656)