Preface

In the plugin ecosystem of DeepSeek Harness (DSH), connecting to external knowledge bases is a common requirement for building complex agents. SIB Cellosaurus is an important resource for cell line information, but directly calling its API often involves complex authentication and query logic. The xby-cellosaurus plugin aims to address this pain point by providing an unofficial MCP server wrapper that lets developers access the cell line database directly through a standard interface in DSH.

What Is This

This is an online tool plugin maintained by xby-skill. It acts as a middle layer, providing access to the SIB Cellosaurus database, with support for cell line search, detail retrieval, filtering by disease/tissue, and more. The plugin must be used together with an API key from the official xby website.

Core Features

  1. Authentication and Configuration: set_xby_apikey - Sets the API key in the chat session. This setting is automatically persisted and remains valid after restarting the process.
  2. Advanced Search: search_cell_lines - Searches based on Solr query syntax, supporting combined filtering by ID, name, species, disease, source tissue, and other conditions.
  3. Detail Retrieval: get_cell_line_info - Retrieves detailed field information by cell line accession number (e.g., CVCL_0030).
  4. Filtering:
    - find_cell_lines_by_disease - Finds cell lines by specific disease (e.g., hepatoblastoma, cancer).
    - find_cell_lines_by_tissue - Finds cell lines by specific tissue (e.g., liver, lung, breast).
  5. Metadata:
    - get_release_info - Gets the current Cellosaurus database version, date, and statistics.
    - list_available_fields - Lists all requestable API fields and their descriptions.

Installation and Activation

Use the official installation command to complete deployment:

dsh plugin --profile web add github:xby_skill/xby-cellosaurus

After installation, ensure the DSH process is restarted to load the new plugin.

Typical Usage

  • Set the key: First obtain an API key from the official xby website, then call set_xby_apikey in the conversation.
  • Basic search: Search for a specific cell line, for example id:HeLa or sy:HeLa.
  • Species filter: Restrict by species, for example ox:human.
  • Combined query: Use multiple conditions simultaneously, for example ox:human di:cancer ca:cancer.
  • Find by tissue: Find cell lines derived from the liver, for example liver.
  • Get details: Query cell line information by a specific accession number, for example CVCL_0030.

Use Cases and Notes

This plugin is suitable for developers who need to integrate cell line database capabilities in local or remote environments. Note the following:
1. Key dependency: An API key from the official xby website is required.
2. Unofficial protocol: This is an unofficial Model Context Protocol server. Review the source code before use.
3. License: The plugin follows the MIT License.

Summary

With xby-cellosaurus, DSH users can easily connect to the Cellosaurus knowledge base. For more details, refer to the GitHub repository or the plugin directory.