PubMed E-utilities API
NCBI Entrez Programming Utilities for searching PubMed and retrieving summaries, full records, related links and database information.
Connect this API to an AI agent Browse all specs
What you can do with PubMed E-utilities API via MCP
Every endpoint below becomes a governed tool your AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, or a customer-facing VX agent) can call — with scoped permissions, sandbox testing, and audit logs.
| Method | Path | Operation | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /esearch.fcgi |
ESearch | Search Entrez databases Method: GET Path: /esearch.fcgi IMPORTANT: This function has 2 REQUIRED parameter(s) and 8 OPTIONAL parameter(s) REQUIRED parameters MUST be provided OPTIONAL parameters can be omitted if not needed Parameters: Query Parameters: REQUIRED: - db: Entrez database name. - term: Entrez search term. OPTIONAL: - retmode: Response mode. - retmax: Maximum number of UIDs to return. - retstart: Zero-based result offset. - sort: Sort order. - usehistory: Store the result set on the History Server. - api_key: Optional NCBI API key. - email: Developer contact email. - tool: Application name. |
| GET | /esummary.fcgi |
ESummary | Get PubMed summaries Method: GET Path: /esummary.fcgi IMPORTANT: This function has 2 REQUIRED parameter(s) and 4 OPTIONAL parameter(s) REQUIRED parameters MUST be provided OPTIONAL parameters can be omitted if not needed Parameters: Query Parameters: REQUIRED: - db: Entrez database name. - id: Comma-separated Entrez UIDs. OPTIONAL: - retmode: Response mode. - api_key: Optional NCBI API key. - email: Developer contact email. - tool: Application name. |
| GET | /efetch.fcgi |
EFetch | Fetch PubMed records Method: GET Path: /efetch.fcgi IMPORTANT: This function has 2 REQUIRED parameter(s) and 5 OPTIONAL parameter(s) REQUIRED parameters MUST be provided OPTIONAL parameters can be omitted if not needed Parameters: Query Parameters: REQUIRED: - db: Entrez database name. - id: Comma-separated Entrez UIDs. OPTIONAL: - rettype: Requested record type. - retmode: Response mode. - api_key: Optional NCBI API key. - email: Developer contact email. - tool: Application name. |
Usage guide
## Authentication PubMed E-utilities are public. Create an NCBI account and obtain an API key from **Account Settings** when higher request throughput is needed. Pass it as `api_key`. Without a key, NCBI documents a lower supported rate; include `email` and `tool` on requests for responsible identification. ```bash curl "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/esearch.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=machine%20learning&retmode=json&retmax=10&api_key=YOUR_NCBI_KEY&[email protected]&tool=MyResearchApp" ``` Use the UIDs returned by `esearch.fcgi` with `esummary.fcgi` or `efetch.fcgi`. Follow NCBI usage guidelines and do not expose the API key in browser code.
How to use this spec
- Create a free VX Agents account (sandbox tools included).
- Open the marketplace and connect “PubMed E-utilities API” to an agent.
- Expose it as an MCP server for Claude/ChatGPT, or chat with it directly.