Quick FAQ

Quick answers to the most common questions about ToolUniverse.

Note

Looking for more detailed answers?

This page provides brief answers to get you started quickly. For comprehensive FAQ with detailed explanations, troubleshooting, and advanced topics, see Comprehensive FAQ.

What is ToolUniverse?

ToolUniverse is a collection of 1000+ scientific tools for AI agents, providing unified access to drug safety data, genomics, literature, clinical trials, and more.

from tooluniverse import ToolUniverse
tu = ToolUniverse()
tu.load_tools()

result = tu.run({
   "name": "UniProt_get_function_by_accession",
   "arguments": {"accession": "P05067"}
})

How do I install it?

pip install tooluniverse

Do I need API keys?

Most tools work without API keys! However, some tools require authentication or provide higher rate limits with API keys.

Quick answer:

  • No API keys needed for most tools (PubMed, UniProt, ChEMBL, etc.)

  • Recommended for better performance: NCBI, OpenTargets, FDA (3-10x faster)

  • Required for specific features: NVIDIA NIM (structure prediction), USPTO (patents), DisGeNET, OMIM

For complete details, see API Keys and Authentication which covers:

  • Which APIs are required vs optional

  • How to obtain each API key

  • Rate limits with and without keys

  • Configuration methods

How do I use it with Claude?

  1. Start the MCP server: tooluniverse-smcp

  2. Configure Claude Desktop with the MCP server

  3. Ask Claude: “What tools are available from ToolUniverse?”

Need more help?