Find a compound's synonyms
Exactchemistry_synonymsDeterministic and authoritative — the canonical answer for this input.
Return all known synonyms for a compound from PubChem (names, trade names, registry codes) — essential for entity matching, since 'NaCl', 'sodium chloride', 'table salt', and 'halite' all map to one compound. canonical_name is PubChem's top-ranked NAME synonym (CAS registry numbers are skipped; the full ranked list keeps them). Charges 2 cost_units; 1 when the query is empty (rejected locally before PubChem is called); an unknown query_type is a request-shape error, rejected unbilled (INVALID_INPUT). Processing multiple inputs? Use `chemistry_synonyms_batch` to do up to 50 in one call.
Parameters
querystringrequiredThe compound identifier whose synonyms to return.
query_typestringoptionalIdentifier type: name, cas, cid, smiles, inchi, or inchikey. A CAS number resolves as a PubChem name synonym. Default 'name'.
Call it
curl -X POST https://api.snipget.ai/v1/chemistry/synonyms \
-H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"query":"NaCl"}'The Batch tab sends up to 1000 inputs in one call via /v1/chemistry/synonyms/batch.
FAQ
Why use this?
One compound has many names. NaCl, sodium chloride, table salt, and halite are all the same thing. This returns the full synonym list from PubChem so you can match or merge records that use different names for the same substance.
What is canonical_name?
It is PubChem's top-ranked name synonym for the compound, a good single label to standardize on. CAS registry numbers are skipped for this field (a numeric id is not a name); they stay in the full synonym list, which the result includes along with a count.
Is the answer reliable?
Yes. It is a deterministic lookup against PubChem's maintained data, not a guess, so the same query returns the same set. It does not invent trade names.
Can I search by something other than a name?
Yes. Set query_type to name, cas, cid, smiles, inchi, or inchikey. A CAS number resolves through PubChem's name synonyms.
What if the compound is not found?
An unknown compound returns confidence 0 rather than an error. A genuine PubChem outage returns a 503, so you can tell a missing compound from a service problem.