---
title: "Search the parts library"
method: POST
path: "/parts_library_search"
tags: ["Enzymes & cloning"]
---

# Search the parts library

`POST /parts_library_search`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://seqbench.com/api/v1`
- URL: `https://seqbench.com/api/v1/parts_library_search`
- Auth: none required

Search a parts list harvested from the annotated features of the vector library — promoters, terminators, RBSs, polyA signals, origins, selection markers, affinity tags, reporters, linkers/MCSs — by name, kind or length. Nothing here is transcribed: every part is the exact sequence a GenBank record annotated, and each hit carries the accession and 1-based span it was cut from, plus every other library vector the same part was found in. Parts whose location is spliced or approximate are excluded, because their sequence is not fully determined.

## Request body

- object
  - `query` string: Substring of the part name (min 2 characters), e.g. "T7", "AmpR", "SV40 polyA".
  - `kinds` string[]: Restrict to these part kinds (promoter, terminator, origin, RBS, polyA, selection marker, affinity tag, reporter, linker/MCS, …). An unknown kind is an error.
  - `minLength` integer: Smallest part length in bp.
  - `maxLength` integer: Largest part length in bp.
  - `includeSequence` boolean: Include each part's bases (5'→3' on the part's own strand).
  - `limit` integer: Maximum hits to return. Capped at 100; asking for more is an error, not a silent truncation.

## Response `200`

Tool ran successfully.

- SuccessResponse: Standard success envelope returned by every single-tool call.
  - `ok` unknown, required
  - `tool` string, required: The tool slug that ran.
  - `result` object, required: Tool-specific output object. Its shape depends on the tool — call `GET /{tool}` or see the docs for each tool's fields.
  - `gate` GateResult
    - `pass` boolean, required: True if and only if every hard check passed.
    - `checks` GateCheck[], required
      - `id` string, required
      - `label` string, required
      - `severity` 'hard' | 'soft', required
      - `pass` boolean, required
      - `message` string, required
      - `value` number
      - `threshold` string
    - `notChecked` string[], required: Honest list of what this gate does NOT verify.
  - `provenance` Provenance, required
    - `apiVersion` string, required
    - `tool` union, required: Tool slug, or an array of slugs (one per step) for a workflow.
      - string
      - string[]
    - `generatedAt` string, date-time, required: ISO 8601 timestamp of when the result was generated.

## Other responses

- `400`: Invalid argument or the tool could not run.
- `404`: Unknown tool.
- `429`: Rate limited (metered tools only). Body carries code `rate_limited` and retryable `true`; honor the Retry-After header.
- `503`: A metered tool is momentarily at capacity. The identical request should succeed after Retry-After; body carries code `upstream_unavailable`.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/seqbench/apis/seqbench-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/seqbench/apis/seqbench-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/seqbench/apis/seqbench-api/revisions/132575216865?raw)