Anthropic Claude Agent SDK (Python)

Claude-first agent SDK. The production successor to the Code SDK — Computer Use, MCP, extended thinking, checkpointing, and session rewind, all tuned for Claude.

Install

pip install claude-agent-sdk

Version

v0.1.73 · May 2026 · Python 3.10+

Best for

Claude-exclusive apps, Computer Use, MCP-heavy workflows, durable sessions.

Migrating from the Code SDK?

The SDK was renamed from Code SDK to Agent SDK. See the migration guide.

Zero → Hero

1 · Introduction What's the SDK, when to use it · 10 min

2 · Installation & auth API key, client setup · 10 min

3 · Core architecture Agent, tools, sessions · 20 min

4 · Your first agent Chat, streaming, async · 25 min

5 · Tools & integration Custom tools, tool use loop · 25 min

6 · Multi-agent systems Sub-agents, delegation · 20 min

7 · Computer Use API Screenshots, mouse/keyboard, VNC · 30 min

8 · MCP Filesystem, git, HTTP servers · 20 min

9 · Structured output JSON schema, validated responses · 15 min

10 · Sessions & memory Persistence, replay, forking · 20 min

11 · Extended thinking Reasoning budgets (v0.1.60+) · 10 min

12 · File checkpointing Session rewind (v0.1.60+) · 15 min

13 · Production Deployment, monitoring · 30 min

Jump to a topic

Core architecture

Tools & integration

Computer Use

MCP

Session management

Context engineering

Permissions

Agentic patterns

Extended thinking

File checkpointing

Code SDK migration

Reference

Comprehensive guide Single-page technical reference.

Migration guide Code SDK → Agent SDK.

Recipes

Diagrams

Production guide

What’s new in v0.1.73 (May 2026)

• v0.1.73 (May 5) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.72 (May 1) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.71 (April 29) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.70 (April 29) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.69 (April 28) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.68 (April 25) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.67 (April 24) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.66 (April 23) — Patch release; stability improvements.
• v0.1.65 (April 22) — Patch release; bundled Claude Code CLI updated; dependency pinning improvements.
• v0.1.64 (April 20) — Stability and dependency updates.
• v0.1.63 — get_context_usage() per-category token breakdown; typing.Annotated per-parameter descriptions; tool_use_id/agent_id in ToolPermissionContext.

Install, minimal example

The SDK offers two entry points — query() for one-shot calls and ClaudeSDKClient for bidirectional sessions. There is no Agent class; an earlier draft of this page documented one that doesn’t exist.

One-shot

import asyncio
from claude_agent_sdk import query, ClaudeAgentOptions

async def main():
    options = ClaudeAgentOptions(
        model="claude-3-5-sonnet-latest",
        system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant.",
    )
    async for message in query(prompt="What is 15 + 27?", options=options):
        print(message)

asyncio.run(main())

Interactive session

import asyncio
from claude_agent_sdk import ClaudeSDKClient, ClaudeAgentOptions

async def main():
    options = ClaudeAgentOptions(system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant.")
    async with ClaudeSDKClient(options=options) as client:
        await client.query("What is 15 + 27?")
        async for message in client.receive_response():
            print(message)

asyncio.run(main())

Ready? Start Zero → Hero Step 1 →

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Revision history

Date	Framework version (installed)	Summary of changes	Reviewer
2026-05-05	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.73	Version bumped 0.1.72 → 0.1.73; “What’s new” updated; revision history entry added. query, ClaudeSDKClient, ClaudeAgentOptions, PermissionMode, McpServerConfig, TextBlock verified against installed 0.1.73 (.routine-envs/check-0505).	Claude routine
2026-05-01	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.72	Version bumped 0.1.71 → 0.1.72; “What’s new” updated; revision history entry added. Symbols verified against installed 0.1.72 (.routine-envs/check-claude-0501).	Claude routine
2026-04-29	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.71	Version bumped 0.1.69 → 0.1.71 (two patch releases: 0.1.70, 0.1.71); “What’s new” updated; revision history entry added. Symbols verified against installed 0.1.71 (.routine-envs/main-py-0429).	Claude routine
2026-04-28	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.69	Version bumped 0.1.68 → 0.1.69 (patch release); “What’s new” updated; revision history entry added. Symbols verified against installed 0.1.69 (.routine-envs/main-py-0428).	Claude routine
2026-04-25	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.68	Version bumped 0.1.66 → 0.1.68 (two patch releases); “What’s new” updated with 0.1.67 and 0.1.68 entries; revision history entry added. Symbols verified against installed 0.1.68 (.routine-envs/main-py-0425).	Claude routine
2026-04-24	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.66	Version bumped 0.1.65 → 0.1.66; revision history entry added for 0.1.66 patch release.	Claude routine
2026-04-22	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.65	Version bumped 0.1.63 → 0.1.65; “What’s new” section updated; revision history entries added for 0.1.64 and 0.1.65.	Claude routine
2026-04-21	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.63	Index redesigned with Zero → Hero + Jump-to-topic grid.	—
2026-04-18	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.63	Stability fixes.	—
2026-04-16	claude-agent-sdk 0.1.60	Extended thinking; file checkpointing; session rewind.	—
2025	—	Renamed from Claude Code SDK to Claude Agent SDK.	—

Note: TypeScript implementation lives at Claude Agent SDK (TypeScript).