SPICA Atlas API

openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: SPICA Atlas API
  description: >-
    Public JSON API for the SPICA single-cell / spatial atlas hosted by the
    University of Lausanne (UNIL). Lists current projects with metadata, supports
    filtering by reference atlas (ref_id), free-text search across metadata
    fields, pagination, and download of project archives. This specification was
    reconstructed from the public documentation at https://spica.unil.ch/home/api
    and confirmed against live responses.
  version: '1.0.0'
  contact:
    name: University of Lausanne - SPICA
    url: https://spica.unil.ch/home/api
servers:
  - url: https://spica.unil.ch
    description: Production
paths:
  /projects.json:
    get:
      operationId: listProjects
      summary: List all projects
      description: Returns the full list of public SPICA projects with metadata.
      responses:
        '200':
          description: An array of project objects.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/Project'
  /projects/query.json:
    get:
      operationId: queryProjects
      summary: Query projects by reference atlas or free text
      description: >-
        Filter projects by reference atlas (ref_id) and/or perform free-text
        search across metadata fields, with pagination.
      parameters:
        - name: ref_id
          in: query
          required: false
          description: Reference atlas identifier to filter projects.
          schema:
            type: integer
        - name: free_text
          in: query
          required: false
          description: Free-text search across project metadata fields.
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: page
          in: query
          required: false
          description: Page number (1-based).
          schema:
            type: integer
            default: 1
        - name: per_page
          in: query
          required: false
          description: Number of results per page.
          schema:
            type: integer
            default: 1000
      responses:
        '200':
          description: An array of matching project objects.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/Project'
  /projects/{project_id}/get_file:
    get:
      operationId: downloadProjectFile
      summary: Download a project archive
      description: Download a file (such as the data archive) for a given project.
      parameters:
        - name: project_id
          in: path
          required: true
          description: The project identifier (id or key).
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: type
          in: query
          required: false
          description: The type of file to download (e.g. "archive").
          schema:
            type: string
            example: archive
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The requested file as a binary stream.
          content:
            application/octet-stream:
              schema:
                type: string
                format: binary
components:
  schemas:
    Project:
      type: object
      description: A SPICA atlas project and its experimental metadata.
      properties:
        id:
          type: integer
          description: Internal project identifier.
          example: 358
        public_id:
          type: integer
          description: Public-facing project identifier.
          example: 23
        key:
          type: string
          description: Short alphanumeric project key.
          example: ynt5ce
        name:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable project name.
          example: Ekiz_2019
        description:
          type: string
          description: Description of the project / experiment.
          example: Effect of miR-155 KO in T cells from melanoma
        ref_id:
          type: integer
          description: Reference atlas identifier the project belongs to.
          example: 1
        project_attrs:
          type: object
          description: >-
            Variable key-value experimental attributes (e.g. condition,
            timepoints, tissue).
          additionalProperties:
            type: string
          example:
            condition: melanoma (B16)
            timepoints: 9-12 days after tumor injection
        nber_samples:
          type: integer
          description: Number of samples in the project.
          example: 2
        created_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          description: Creation timestamp (ISO 8601).
          example: '2021-08-13T08:56:15.939Z'
        updated_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          description: Last update timestamp (ISO 8601).
          example: '2026-06-01T03:05:26.019Z'
        url:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: Canonical URL to the project JSON resource.
          example: http://spica.unil.ch/projects/358.json