/claude-api

name: claude-api
description: |-
  Reference for the Claude API / Anthropic SDK — model ids, pricing, params, streaming, tool use, MCP, agents, caching, token counting, model migration.
  TRIGGER — read BEFORE opening the target file; don't skip because it "looks like a one-liner" — whenever: the prompt names Claude/Anthropic in any form (Claude, Anthropic, Fable, Opus, Sonnet, Haiku, `anthropic`, `@anthropic-ai`, `claude-*`, `us.anthropic.*`, `[1m]`); the user asks about an LLM (pricing/model choice/limits/caching) — never answer from memory; OR the task is LLM-shaped with provider unstated (agent/MCP/tool-definition/multi-agent/RAG/LLM-judge/computer-use; generate/summarize/extract/classify/rewrite/converse over NL; debugging refusals/cutoffs/streaming/tool-calls/tokens).
  SKIP only when another provider is being worked on (overrides all triggers): OpenAI/GPT/Gemini/Llama/Mistral/Cohere/Ollama named in the query; OR `grep -rE 'openai|langchain_openai|google.generativeai|genai|mistralai|cohere|ollama'` over the project hits (run this grep FIRST if no provider named — don't Read the file).
license: Complete terms in LICENSE.txt

Building LLM-Powered Applications with Claude

This skill helps you build LLM-powered applications with Claude. Choose the right surface based on your needs, detect the project language, then read the relevant language-specific documentation.

Before You Start

Scan the target file (or, if no target file, the prompt and project) for non-Anthropic provider markers — `import openai`, `from openai`, `langchain_openai`, `OpenAI(`, `gpt-4`, `gpt-5`, file names like `agent-openai.py` or `*-generic.py`, or any explicit instruction to keep the code provider-neutral. If you find any, stop and tell the user that this skill produces Claude/Anthropic SDK code; ask whether they want to switch the file to Claude or want a non-Claude implementation. Do not edit a non-Anthropic file with Anthropic SDK calls.

Output Requirement

When the user asks you to add, modify, or implement a Claude feature, your code must call Claude through one of:

1. **The official Anthropic SDK** for the project's language (`anthropic`, `@anthropic-ai/sdk`, `com.anthropic.*`, etc.). This is the default whenever a supported SDK exists for the project. 2. **Raw HTTP** (`curl`, `requests`, `fetch`, `httpx`, etc.) — only when the user explicitly asks for cURL/REST/raw HTTP, the project is a shell/cURL project, or the language has no official SDK.

Never mix the two — don't reach for `requests`/`fetch` in a Python or TypeScript project just because it feels lighter. Never fall back to OpenAI-compatible shims.

**Never guess SDK usage.** Function names, class names, namespaces, method signatures, and import paths must come from explicit documentation — either the `{lang}/` files in this skill or the official SDK repositories or documentation links listed in `shared/live-sources.md`. If the binding you need is not explicitly documented in the skill files, WebFetch the relevant SDK repo from `shared/live-sources.md` before writing code. Do not infer Ruby/Java/Go/PHP/C# APIs from cURL shapes or from another language's SDK.

**If WebFetch or repository access fails** (network restricted, timeouts, clone blocked): do not keep retrying — write code from the patterns and namespace/package tables in the `{lang}/` file, run the compiler or interpreter on it, and iterate on the error output. For statically-typed SDKs (C#, Java, Go) a compile-fix loop against local errors reaches working code faster than blocked network research.

Defaults

Unless the user requests otherwise:

For the Claude model version, please use Claude Opus 5, which you can access via the exact model string `claude-opus-5`. Please default to using adaptive thinking (`thinking: {type: "adaptive"}`) for anything remotely complicated. And finally, please default to streaming for any request that may involve long input, long output, or high `max_tokens` — it prevents hitting request timeouts. Use the SDK's `.get_final_message()` / `.finalMessage()` helper to get the complete response if you don't need to handle individual stream events

⚠️ API Drift — Your Training Prior May Be Stale

Several common Claude API shapes changed in 2025–2026. If you recall a pattern from training, verify it against the `{lang}/` files in this skill before writing — the rows below are the most frequent drift points:

| Area | Stale prior | Current API | |---|---|---| | Extended thinking | `thinking: {type: "enabled", budget_tokens: N}` | On Claude 4.6+ models: `thinking: {type: "adaptive"}`. `budget_tokens` is deprecated on Opus 4.6 / Sonnet 4.6 and **rejected with a 400** on Fable 5 / Sonnet 5 / Opus 5 / 4.8 / 4.7. Pre-4.6 models still use `budget_tokens`. | | Web search / web fetch tool type | `web_search_20250305`, `web_fetch_20250910` | `web_search_20260209`, `web_fetch_20260209` (dynamic filtering) on Opus 5/4.8/4.7/4.6, Sonnet 5, and Sonnet 4.6. Older models keep the basic variants; on Vertex AI only basic `web_search_20250305` is available (web fetch is not on Vertex) — see the Server Tools QR below. | | PHP parameter names | snake_case wire names as named args (`max_tokens`) | Top-level named args are camelCase (`maxTokens`). Nested array keys vary by feature (e.g. `'taskBudget'`, `'skillID'`, `'mcp_server_name'`) — copy the exact key from the documented example; do not bulk-convert. | | Managed Agents credentials | Keep secrets host-side via custom tools (the only option before vaults shipped) | Vault `environment_variable` credentials — stored by Anthropic, substituted at egress, never visible in the sandbox (`shared/managed-agents-tools.md` → Vaults). Host-side custom tools remain the fallback for self-hosted sandboxes. |

The `{lang}/` files in this skill are authoritative over recalled patterns.

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Subcommands

If the User Request at the bottom of this prompt is a bare subcommand string (no prose), search every **Subcommands** tab