Benchling Python SDK and REST API integration for registry entities, inventory, ELN entries, workflows, Benchling Apps, and Data Warehouse queries. Use when automating lab data with benchling-sdk or the v2 API.
SKILL.md
Benchling Integration
Overview
Benchling is a cloud platform for life sciences R&D. Access registry entities (DNA, RNA, proteins), inventory, electronic lab notebooks, and workflows programmatically via the Python SDK and REST API.
# Automatic retry for 429, 502, 503, 504 status codes
# Up to 5 retries with exponential backoff
# Customize retry behavior if needed
from benchling_sdk.retry import RetryStrategy
benchling = Benchling(
url=tenant_url,
auth_method=ApiKeyAuth(api_key),
retry_strategy=RetryStrategy(max_retries=3),
)
Pagination Efficiency
Use generators for memory-efficient pagination:
# Generator-based iteration
for page in benchling.dna_sequences.list():
for sequence in page:
process(sequence)
# Check estimated count without loading all pages
total = benchling.dna_sequences.list().estimated_count()
Load these references as needed for specific integration requirements.
Common Use Cases
1. Bulk Entity Import:
# Import multiple sequences from FASTA file
from Bio import SeqIO
for record in SeqIO.parse("sequences.fasta", "fasta"):
benchling.dna_sequences.create(
DnaSequenceCreate(
name=record.id,
bases=str(record.seq),
is_circular=False,
folder_id="fld_abc123"
)
)
2. Inventory Audit:
# List all containers in a specific location
containers = benchling.containers.list(
parent_storage_id="box_abc123"
)
for page in containers:
for container in page:
print(f"{container.name}: {container.barcode}")
3. Workflow Automation:
# Update all pending tasks for a workflow
tasks = benchling.workflow_tasks.list(
workflow_id="wf_abc123",
status="pending"
)
for page in tasks:
for task in page:
# Perform automated checks
if auto_validate(task):
benchling.workflow_tasks.update(
task_id=task.id,
workflow_task=WorkflowTaskUpdate(
status_id="status_complete"
)
)
4. Data Export:
# Export all sequences with specific properties
sequences = benchling.dna_sequences.list()
export_data = []
for page in sequences:
for seq in page:
if seq.schema_id == "target_schema_id":
export_data.append({
"id": seq.id,
"name": seq.name,
"bases": seq.bases,
"length": len(seq.bases)
})
# Save to CSV or database
import csv
with open("sequences.csv", "w") as f:
writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=export_data[0].keys())
writer.writeheader()
writer.writerows(export_data)
