canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/clinicaltables.nlm.nih.gov/clinicaltables-nlm

# Clinicaltables Nlm Nih Gov NIH Clinical Table Search Service - NCBI Genes API

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for NIH Clinical Table Search Service - NCBI Genes API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. This public API from the US National Library of Medicine returns matching human gene records from NCBI's gene_info dataset. The single GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` endpoint accepts a query string and returns gene IDs, official symbols, and synonyms - useful for autocomplete on clinical forms, variant research tooling, and any agent that needs to resolve a gene name to a structured record. No API key is required.

## For AI agents

Search NCBI's human gene dataset by name, symbol, or synonym. One unauthenticated GET endpoint returning gene IDs and official symbols.

## Scope

Does not handle non-human organisms, gene-variant interpretation, or other NLM clinical tables - use for human gene name and symbol lookup only.

## Capabilities

- Search human gene records by official symbol, full name, or synonym
- Resolve a free-text gene mention to a structured NCBI gene record
- Power autocomplete and typeahead widgets for gene-name input fields
- Validate that a candidate gene symbol exists in NCBI's curated dataset
- Retrieve a list of matching gene IDs and symbols for a research query

## Use cases

### Gene-Name Autocomplete in Clinical Forms

Clinical and research forms that ask users to enter a gene name need to validate and disambiguate the input. GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` returns matching gene records as the user types, so the form can show official symbols and offer completion. The endpoint is public and unauthenticated, which removes the credential plumbing usually required for clinical reference APIs.

Example prompt: GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search`?terms=BRCA and return the top matching official symbols for typeahead display

### Variant Research Mention Resolution

Variant research pipelines often ingest free text that mentions genes by inconsistent names (HER2, ERBB2). Querying NCBI's curated dataset resolves each mention to a single NCBI gene ID and official symbol so downstream analysis is consistent regardless of which synonym appeared in the source text.

Example prompt: For each gene mention in the input text, GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search`?terms=<mention> and store the canonical official symbol and NCBI ID

### Agent-Driven Gene Lookup

An AI agent answering biology questions uses Jentic to resolve gene names mentioned in a user query. Jentic returns the NCBI Genes search endpoint, the agent loads the schema, executes the unauthenticated GET, and uses the response to ground its answer in NCBI's curated gene record rather than relying on its training data.

Example prompt: Use Jentic to search for find gene by name, load the schema for GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search`, and execute with the user-mentioned gene symbol

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` | Search human gene records by symbol, name, or synonym |

## Key resources

- **Genes** — Search human gene records sourced from NCBI's gene_info dataset by symbol, name, or synonym

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the NIH NCBI Genes lookup by hand means reading the query and result-field conventions off an endpoint with no published docs and building your own request handling against clinicaltables.nlm.nih.gov. Through Jentic you install once, import the NCBI Genes API from the API Directory, and your agent calls it, with no credential to configure since the service is public.
- **Permission scoping:** The NCBI Genes API is a single read-only gene search endpoint with no credentials, so scoping is about the operation the agent may call, gene name and symbol lookup, and nothing beyond it. You choose that operation, so it stays a read-only lookup.
- **Credential handling:** The NCBI Genes API needs no credential, so there is nothing to store, and Jentic routes the call through the same execution flow as authenticated tools. No secret enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'find a gene by name or symbol', and Jentic returns GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` with its query parameter schema, so the agent calls the right endpoint even though there are no official docs published.

## Related APIs

- **Clinicos.vet** — Veterinary clinical platform; complementary for animal-health context
- **Climate Tracker Initiative ESG Data API** — Different domain (ESG data); included as catalog neighbor only
- **ClinchPad** — Different domain (CRM); included as catalog neighbor only

## FAQ

### Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for NIH Clinical Table Search Service - NCBI Genes API?

The NIH Clinical Table Search Service does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call NIH Clinical Table Search Service - NCBI Genes API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### What authentication does the NCBI Genes API require?

None. This is a public, unauthenticated API provided by the US National Library of Medicine. You can call GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` directly from a browser or any HTTP client without an API key. Through Jentic the request is still routed through the standard execution flow so observability and retries are uniform.

### Can I search gene synonyms with this API?

Yes. The `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` endpoint matches against official symbols, full names, and synonyms in NCBI's gene_info dataset. A query for HER2 returns the canonical ERBB2 record, for example.

### What are the rate limits for the NCBI Genes API?

The OpenAPI spec does not publish numeric rate limits. NLM operates this as a public service, so behave responsibly: cache responses, add a small delay between bulk lookups, and back off on transient errors rather than retrying immediately.

### How do I look up a gene through Jentic?

Run pip install jentic, search Jentic for find gene by name, load the schema for GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search`, and execute with the gene symbol or partial name. No credentials are needed because the API is public. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### Does this API include non-human genes?

No. The dataset is restricted to human genes from NCBI's gene_info.gz. For other organisms or non-gene clinical reference data, NLM offers separate Clinical Table Search Service endpoints that are not covered by this OpenAPI spec.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the NCBI Genes API?

Yes. Because Jentic One is self-hosted, you decide which operations your agent can call, and this API exposes only one: the read-only GET `/api/ncbi_genes/v3/search` gene lookup. By importing just that operation, you keep the agent scoped to searching human gene records by symbol, name, or synonym and nothing more. The service is public with no credentials, so there are no secrets to grant, and the agent can never do more than the single read-only lookup you allowed.