# NCBI Human Gene Symbol Lookup — Official Gene ID API (`quartz_apple_dnx/ncbi-human-gene-symbol-lookup`) Actor

Resolve exact human gene symbols to canonical NCBI Gene records including Gene ID, official name, chromosome, aliases and summary.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/quartz_apple_dnx/ncbi-human-gene-symbol-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Piven Core](https://apify.com/quartz_apple_dnx) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.25 / 1,000 resolved ncbi gene records

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## NCBI Human Gene Symbol Lookup — Official Gene ID API

Resolve exact human gene symbols such as `BRCA1`, `TP53`, and `EGFR` against the official NCBI Gene database.

Use it for **gene identifier resolution, bioinformatics preprocessing, research-data normalization, genomics datasets, symbol validation, and automated NCBI workflows**.

**Independent tool. Not affiliated with or endorsed by NCBI, NIH, or NLM. This is a data lookup utility, not medical or diagnostic advice.**

### Common use cases

- Resolve human gene symbols to canonical NCBI Gene IDs
- Validate symbols before joining genomics datasets
- Collect aliases, chromosome, map-location, and nomenclature fields
- Normalize gene identifiers for research pipelines
- Feed official gene records into downstream bioinformatics workflows

### What you get

One row per submitted symbol when a canonical human gene is found, including NCBI Gene ID, official symbol and name, description, organism/taxonomy ID, chromosome and map location, aliases, other designations, nomenclature status, source URL, and capture timestamp.

### Try it

```json
{
  "symbols": ["BRCA1", "TP53", "EGFR"]
}
```

### Source and request policy

Uses official NCBI Entrez E-utilities with `tool` and `email` parameters. NCBI permits up to 3 requests/second without an API key. This Actor spaces requests below that ceiling and caps input at 40 symbols so a normal run remains bounded.

### Important limitations

Exact symbols that do not resolve return non-billed `not-found` diagnostic rows.

This Actor resolves source records only. It does not interpret variants, diagnose disease, determine clinical significance, establish gene-disease causality, or provide medical advice.

### Pricing

Only successfully resolved canonical gene rows are billed. Not-found diagnostics, zero-result summaries, and budget-limit summaries are free.

Candidate target: **$0.25 per 1,000 resolved gene rows**, subject to the live economics gate.

### About Piven Core

Built and maintained by **Piven Core** — focused data APIs and automation utilities for reliable, production-ready workflows.

Learn more: https://pivencore.com

# Actor input Schema

## `symbols` (type: `array`):

1 to 40 exact human gene symbols. Examples: BRCA1, TP53, EGFR. Input order and duplicates are preserved.

## `maxRequestRetries` (type: `integer`):

Retries transient NCBI/network/server failures with bounded backoff.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "symbols": [
    "BRCA1",
    "TP53",
    "EGFR"
  ],
  "maxRequestRetries": 2
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "symbols": [
        "BRCA1",
        "TP53",
        "EGFR"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("quartz_apple_dnx/ncbi-human-gene-symbol-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "symbols": [
        "BRCA1",
        "TP53",
        "EGFR",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("quartz_apple_dnx/ncbi-human-gene-symbol-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "symbols": [
    "BRCA1",
    "TP53",
    "EGFR"
  ]
}' |
apify call quartz_apple_dnx/ncbi-human-gene-symbol-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,quartz_apple_dnx/ncbi-human-gene-symbol-lookup"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QfJ4Fk3vVeHJHbyMb/builds/bf9SotkWbgdSqt66m/openapi.json