Reference for the Claude API / Anthropic SDK – model ids, pricing, params, streaming, tool use, MCP, agents, caching, token counting, and model migration.
Reference for the Claude API / Anthropic SDK - model ids, pricing, params, streaming, tool use, MCP, agents, caching, token counting, and model migration.This is the skill's description: the text your AI reads to decide when the skill applies.
claude-api/SKILL.md
---
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.