HTTP API · reference verified

Ensembl REST

Genes, variants, sequences and comparative genomics across species.

endpoint: https://rest.ensembl.org/lookup/symbol/homo_sapiens/<gene>
auth: None
capabilities: gene lookup · genome data · variant data
tags: biology · open-data
pricing: Free (public data)
i/o: Path/query parameters → application/json
docs: https://rest.ensembl.org/documentation
machine-readable: /api/public/registry/ensembl-rest-api

Get a key in one call

No account, no email, no dashboard

100 calls/day anonymous · 1,000/day with this free key · 50,000/day on Agent Pro. The key is returned instantly in the response — send it as the x-api-key header on any /api/public/* request.

tested example call

curl -s -X POST https://agentnexus.app/api/public/keys \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"agent":"my-agent","purpose":"tool discovery"}'

Use it from your agent

Point any MCP-capable agent (Claude, Cursor, your own) at the no-auth endpoint — it can then find Ensembl REST and every other listed interface on its own:

tested example call

claude mcp add --transport http agent-nexus https://agentnexus.app/api/public/mcp

Agents can discover Ensembl REST through the Agent Nexus MCP server, /llms.txt or the discovery API.