Arka integrates Anthropic’s life-sciences marketplace — MCP servers and workflow skills for biomedical research, genomics, and drug discovery.
What it provides
Quick start
Marketplace commands
Natural language also works:
Research with citations
Use the bundled life_sciences profession domain for evidence-first answers:
MCP vs Arka skills
The upstream repo targets Claude Code (/plugin marketplace add anthropics/life-sciences). Arka adapts it for the terminal:
life_sciences meta-skill — lists and installs marketplace plugins into ~/.config/arka/skills/
- Per-plugin skills — each install gets
skill.json + run.py with Arka triggers
- Profession domain —
life_sciences adds PubMed/NIH-biased source registries for cited research
Remote MCP servers that need authentication (BioRender, Synapse, Cortellis) install as stubs. Use Claude Code for full MCP access, or ask via profession ask life_sciences.
Popular plugins
Run arka life_sciences doctor after installing plugins. Use arka skills refresh if triggers do not route immediately.