{"id":23183,"library":"umls-downloader","title":"UMLS Downloader","description":"Automates downloading UMLS (Unified Medical Language System) data from the NLM, including MRCONSO.RRF, RxNorm, and SNOMED-CT. Current version 0.1.3, released Jan 2024. Monthly or ad-hoc releases.","status":"active","version":"0.1.3","language":"python","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/cthoyt/umls_downloader","tags":["umls","biomedical","ontology","download","nlm"],"install":[{"cmd":"pip install umls-downloader","lang":"bash","label":"Install from PyPI"}],"dependencies":[{"reason":"HTTP requests for UMLS TGT authentication and downloads","package":"requests","optional":false}],"imports":[{"note":"common but verbose; recommended import is from umls_downloader import download_umls","wrong":"import umls_downloader ... umls_downloader.download_umls()","symbol":"download_umls","correct":"from umls_downloader import download_umls"},{"note":"wrong: no submodule rxnorm; all functions are top-level","wrong":"from umls_downloader.rxnorm import download_rxnorm","symbol":"download_rxnorm","correct":"from umls_downloader import download_rxnorm"},{"note":"wrong: function is download_snomed, not download_snomedct","wrong":"from umls_downloader import download_snomedct","symbol":"download_snomed","correct":"from umls_downloader import download_snomed"}],"quickstart":{"code":"from umls_downloader import download_umls\n\n# Requires UMLS API key from https://uts.nlm.nih.gov/uts/\n# Set environment variable UMLS_API_KEY or pass directly\npath = download_umls(apikey='YOUR_API_KEY', version='2023AA')\nprint(f'Downloaded MRCONSO.RRF to {path}')","lang":"python","description":"Download UMLS Metathesaurus MRCONSO.RRF for a given release version. API key required."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Obtain API key from https://uts.nlm.nih.gov/uts/ and set as UMLS_API_KEY environment variable or pass as argument.","message":"UMLS API key is required. Set environment variable UMLS_API_KEY or pass apikey argument. Without key, download fails with authentication error.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"all"},{"fix":"Upgrade to >=0.1.2 for compatibility with current UMLS releases.","message":"Version 0.1.2 changed the MRCONSO.RRF download structure due to upstream UMLS changes. Older releases may fail with v2023AA+.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":"<0.1.2"},{"fix":"Use returned path directly; no need to unzip manually.","message":"download_umls returns the path to the downloaded RRF file (not a ZIP). The file is extracted from the UMLS ZIP automatically.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"all"},{"fix":"Pass force=True to download again if file exists.","message":"Version 0.0.2 introduced force_download parameter. In >=0.1.0, behavior changed: files are not re-downloaded by default. Use force=True to override.","severity":"deprecated","affected_versions":">=0.1.0"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"Set UMLS_API_KEY environment variable or pass valid apikey to download function.","cause":"Invalid or missing UMLS API key.","error":"UTSProfileError: Authentication error. Please check your UMLS API key."},{"fix":"Use a supported version (e.g., '2023AA' or latest). Check https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/licensedcontent/umlsknowledgesources.html","cause":"The requested UMLS version (e.g., '2020AA') is no longer available or the URL changed.","error":"requests.exceptions.HTTPError: 404 Client Error: Not Found for url: https://download.nlm.nih.gov/umls/..."},{"fix":"Use download_snomed instead.","cause":"The function is named download_snomed, not download_snomedct.","error":"AttributeError: module 'umls_downloader' has no attribute 'download_snomedct'"},{"fix":"Update to latest version (0.1.3) and ensure you use the returned path directly.","cause":"The file is extracted inside a subdirectory (e.g., '2023AA/META/MRCONSO.RRF') but the function returns the wrong path in some versions.","error":"FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'MRCONSO.RRF' after download"}],"ecosystem":"pypi","meta_description":null,"install_score":null,"install_tag":null,"quickstart_score":null,"quickstart_tag":null}