Claude Agent SDK
Anthropic's SDK for building agents on the same harness that powers Claude Code
What is Claude Agent SDK?
The Claude Agent SDK is an open-source SDK from Anthropic for building agents that use the same tools and agent loop as Claude Code, including file access, command execution, subagents and MCP. It is available for Python and TypeScript. The SDK is MIT licensed; you pay for Claude API usage.
Pros
- Battle-tested agent loop from Claude Code
- Built-in tools and MCP support
- Python and TypeScript
Cons
- Designed around Claude models
- API costs for long sessions
- Less suited to visual, no-code builders
Where Claude Agent SDK ranks
Alternatives
Claude Agent SDK alternatives
CrewAI
Open-source Python framework for teams of role-based AI agents
LangGraph
Open-source framework for building stateful, controllable agents as graphs
Mastra
TypeScript framework for AI agents, workflows, memory and evals
OpenAI Agents SDK
OpenAI's lightweight open-source SDK for building agents with tools and handoffs
Pydantic AI
Type-safe Python agent framework from the team behind Pydantic
Google Agent Development Kit
Google's open-source toolkit for building and deploying multi-agent systems
Claude Agent SDK FAQ
What is Claude Agent SDK?
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The Claude Agent SDK is an open-source SDK from Anthropic for building agents that use the same tools and agent loop as Claude Code, including file access, command execution, subagents and MCP. It is available for Python and TypeScript. The SDK is MIT licensed; you pay for Claude API usage.
How much does Claude Agent SDK cost?
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Claude Agent SDK is open source. MIT licensed; Claude API usage billed separately.
Is Claude Agent SDK free?
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Yes. Claude Agent SDK is open source and free to self-host; you pay only for the model API and hosting you use.
Is Claude Agent SDK an autonomous AI agent?
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We rate Claude Agent SDK as "Task agent": completes tasks you hand it, then reports back.
What are the best Claude Agent SDK alternatives?
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Popular alternatives to Claude Agent SDK are CrewAI, LangGraph, Mastra, OpenAI Agents SDK, Pydantic AI.