Summary

This repository provides a comprehensive suite of ready-to-use scientific "skills" designed to augment Claude AI's capabilities. It transforms Claude into an "AI Scientist" by enabling direct interaction with specialized scientific libraries, databases, and platforms across domains like bioinformatics, cheminformatics, and materials science. The primary benefit is significantly reducing integration time and promoting best practices for complex scientific workflows, making advanced AI tools accessible to researchers and power users.

How It Works

The project functions by packaging numerous scientific databases (e.g., PubMed, PubChem, UniProt) and Python packages (e.g., BioPython, RDKit, Scanpy) into callable "skills." These skills are integrated with Claude Code or other MCP-compatible clients. When a user prompts Claude with a scientific task, the scientific-context-initialization skill ensures Claude identifies and leverages the most appropriate pre-built skills for data retrieval, analysis, modeling, and visualization. This approach abstracts away the complexities of API management and library integration, allowing Claude to execute multi-step scientific pipelines autonomously.

Quick Start & Requirements

Installation involves registering the repository as a Claude Code plugin via /plugin marketplace add K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-skills, followed by selecting and installing specific skill categories. Prerequisites include Python 3.8+ (3.10+ recommended) and a compatible client like Claude Code or Cursor. Dependencies for individual skills are managed automatically but can be installed manually via pip if needed. A hosted MCP server is available at https://mcp.k-dense.ai/claude-scientific-skills/mcp.

Highlighted Details

• Features access to 26 scientific databases, including AlphaFold DB, ChEMBL, COSMIC, and DrugBank.
• Integrates 59 specialized Python packages such as RDKit, PyTorch, Scanpy, and PyLabRobot.
• Includes 7 scientific integrations with platforms like Benchling, DNAnexus, and Opentrons.
• Offers 122 documented workflows and examples demonstrating complex tasks like end-to-end drug discovery and multi-omics analysis.

Maintenance & Community

The K-Dense team actively maintains and expands the repository, promising regular updates. Contributions are welcomed through GitHub issues for bug reports and feature requests. Enterprise support is available from K-Dense.

Licensing & Compatibility

The project is licensed under the permissive MIT License, making it free for any use, including commercial and noncommercial applications, with minimal restrictions.

Limitations & Caveats

Database-dependent skills require internet connectivity. Some external services may impose API rate limits, and certain integrations might necessitate API key authentication. The README indicates that detailed contributing guidelines are "coming soon."