Complete API reference for the TypeScript Agent SDK, including all functions, types, and interfaces.
Installation
npm install @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk
The SDK bundles a native Claude Code binary for your platform as an optional dependency such as @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk-darwin-arm64. Most installs need no separate Claude Code install. The SDK version tracks the bundled Claude Code version: SDK v0.3.191 bundles Claude Code v2.1.191, so a feature on this page that requires a Claude Code version needs the SDK release with the same patch number or later. If your package manager skips optional dependencies, the SDK throws Native CLI binary for <platform> not found; set pathToClaudeCodeExecutable to a separately installed claude binary instead.
If your package manager doesn't apply npm's libc field, as Yarn 1.x doesn't, you get both the glibc and musl platform packages on Linux, roughly doubling the install size. The SDK still launches the correct variant. To reclaim the space in a container image, delete the platform package that doesn't match the libc where your app runs; for a glibc runtime on x64, that's rm -rf node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk-linux-x64-musl. On a development machine the deletion is temporary, since Yarn reinstalls the package on the next dependency change.
Compile to a single executable
When you compile your application into a single-file executable with bun build --compile, the SDK cannot resolve the bundled CLI binary at runtime. require.resolve does not work inside the compiled executable's $bunfs virtual filesystem, so the SDK throws Native CLI binary for <platform> not found.
To work around this, embed the platform binary as a file asset, extract it to a real path at startup with extractFromBunfs(), and pass that path to pathToClaudeCodeExecutable.
The extractFromBunfs() helper requires @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk v0.3.144 or later. The example below builds for macOS on Apple Silicon:
import binPath from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk-darwin-arm64/claude" with { type: "file" };
import { extractFromBunfs } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk/extract";
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
const cliPath = extractFromBunfs(binPath);
for await (const message of query({
prompt: "Hello",
options: { pathToClaudeCodeExecutable: cliPath },
})) {
console.log(message);
}
extractFromBunfs() copies the embedded binary out of the compiled executable's virtual filesystem to a per-user temp directory and returns the real path. Outside a compiled executable it returns the input path unchanged, so the same code runs in development without modification.
Each compiled executable embeds a single platform's binary. Match the platform package in the import to your --target:
- To cross-compile, install the non-matching platform package, for example
npm install @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk-linux-x64 --force. - On Windows, the binary subpath is
claude.exe, for example@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk-win32-x64/claude.exe.
Functions
query()
The primary function for interacting with Claude Code. Creates an async generator that streams messages as they arrive.
function query({
prompt,
options
}: {
prompt: string | AsyncIterable<SDKUserMessage>;
options?: Options;
}): Query;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
prompt |
string | AsyncIterable<SDKUserMessage> |
The input prompt as a string or async iterable for streaming mode |
options |
Options |
Optional configuration object (see Options type below) |
Returns
Returns a Query object that extends AsyncGenerator<SDKMessage, void> with additional methods.
startup()
Pre-warms the CLI subprocess by spawning it and completing the initialize handshake before a prompt is available. The returned WarmQuery handle accepts a prompt later and writes it to an already-ready process, so the first query() call resolves without paying subprocess spawn and initialization cost inline.
function startup(params?: {
options?: Options;
initializeTimeoutMs?: number;
}): Promise<WarmQuery>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
options |
Options |
Optional configuration object. Same as the options parameter to query() |
initializeTimeoutMs |
number |
Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for subprocess initialization. Defaults to 60000. If initialization does not complete in time, the promise rejects with a timeout error |
Returns
Returns a Promise<WarmQuery> that resolves once the subprocess has spawned and completed its initialize handshake.
Example
Call startup() early, for example on application boot, then call .query() on the returned handle once a prompt is ready. This moves subprocess spawn and initialization out of the critical path.
import { startup } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
// Pay startup cost upfront
const warm = await startup({ options: { maxTurns: 3 } });
// Later, when a prompt is ready, this is immediate
for await (const message of warm.query("What files are here?")) {
console.log(message);
}
tool()
Creates a type-safe MCP tool definition for use with SDK MCP servers.
function tool<Schema extends AnyZodRawShape>(
name: string,
description: string,
inputSchema: Schema,
handler: (args: InferShape<Schema>, extra: unknown) => Promise<CallToolResult>,
extras?: { annotations?: ToolAnnotations; searchHint?: string; alwaysLoad?: boolean }
): SdkMcpToolDefinition<Schema>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name |
string |
The name of the tool |
description |
string |
A description of what the tool does |
inputSchema |
Schema extends AnyZodRawShape |
Zod schema defining the tool's input parameters (supports both Zod 3 and Zod 4) |
handler |
(args, extra) => Promise<CallToolResult> |
Async function that executes the tool logic |
extras |
{ annotations?: ToolAnnotations; searchHint?: string; alwaysLoad?: boolean } |
Optional extras. annotations provides MCP behavioral hints to clients. searchHint is a one-line capability phrase shown in the deferred-tool list when tool search is active. alwaysLoad: true keeps this tool's full schema in the initial prompt instead of deferring it |
ToolAnnotations
Re-exported from @modelcontextprotocol/sdk/types.js. All fields are optional hints; clients should not rely on them for security decisions.
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
title |
string |
undefined |
Human-readable title for the tool |
readOnlyHint |
boolean |
false |
If true, the tool does not modify its environment |
destructiveHint |
boolean |
true |
If true, the tool may perform destructive updates (only meaningful when readOnlyHint is false) |
idempotentHint |
boolean |
false |
If true, repeated calls with the same arguments have no additional effect (only meaningful when readOnlyHint is false) |
openWorldHint |
boolean |
true |
If true, the tool interacts with external entities (for example, web search). If false, the tool's domain is closed (for example, a memory tool) |
import { tool } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
import { z } from "zod";
const searchTool = tool(
"search",
"Search the web",
{ query: z.string() },
async ({ query }) => {
return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Results for: ${query}` }] };
},
{ annotations: { readOnlyHint: true, openWorldHint: true } }
);
createSdkMcpServer()
Creates an MCP server instance that runs in the same process as your application.
function createSdkMcpServer(options: {
name: string;
version?: string;
instructions?: string;
tools?: Array<SdkMcpToolDefinition<any>>;
alwaysLoad?: boolean;
}): McpSdkServerConfigWithInstance;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
options.name |
string |
The name of the MCP server |
options.version |
string |
Optional version string |
options.instructions |
string |
Optional server instructions, returned from initialize and surfaced to the model as an MCP instructions block |
options.tools |
Array<SdkMcpToolDefinition> |
Array of tool definitions created with tool() |
options.alwaysLoad |
boolean |
When true, every tool from this server stays in the initial prompt and is never deferred behind tool search. Combines with per-tool alwaysLoad in tool() |
listSessions()
Discovers and lists past sessions with light metadata. Filter by project directory or list sessions across all projects.
function listSessions(options?: ListSessionsOptions): Promise<SDKSessionInfo[]>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
options.dir |
string |
undefined |
Directory to list sessions for. When omitted, returns sessions across all projects |
options.limit |
number |
undefined |
Maximum number of sessions to return |
options.includeWorktrees |
boolean |
true |
When dir is inside a git repository, include sessions from all worktree paths |
Return type: SDKSessionInfo
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
sessionId |
string |
Unique session identifier (UUID) |
summary |
string |
Display title: custom title, auto-generated summary, or first prompt |
lastModified |
number |
Last modified time in milliseconds since epoch |
fileSize |
number | undefined |
Session file size in bytes. Only populated for local JSONL storage |
customTitle |
string | undefined |
User-set session title (via /rename) |
firstPrompt |
string | undefined |
First meaningful user prompt in the session |
gitBranch |
string | undefined |
Git branch at the end of the session |
cwd |
string | undefined |
Working directory for the session |
tag |
string | undefined |
User-set session tag (see tagSession()) |
createdAt |
number | undefined |
Creation time in milliseconds since epoch, from the first entry's timestamp |
Example
Print the 10 most recent sessions for a project. Results are sorted by lastModified descending, so the first item is the newest. Omit dir to search across all projects.
import { listSessions } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
const sessions = await listSessions({ dir: "/path/to/project", limit: 10 });
for (const session of sessions) {
console.log(`${session.summary} (${session.sessionId})`);
}
getSessionMessages()
Reads user and assistant messages from a past session transcript.
function getSessionMessages(
sessionId: string,
options?: GetSessionMessagesOptions
): Promise<SessionMessage[]>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sessionId |
string |
required | Session UUID to read (see listSessions()) |
options.dir |
string |
undefined |
Project directory to find the session in. When omitted, searches all projects |
options.limit |
number |
undefined |
Maximum number of messages to return |
options.offset |
number |
undefined |
Number of messages to skip from the start |
Return type: SessionMessage
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type |
"user" | "assistant" |
Message role |
uuid |
string |
Unique message identifier |
session_id |
string |
Session this message belongs to |
message |
unknown |
Raw message payload from the transcript |
parent_tool_use_id |
string | null |
For subagent messages, the tool_use_id of the spawning Agent tool call. null for main-session messages and older sessions |
parent_agent_id |
string | null |
For messages from a nested subagent, the agentId of the subagent that spawned it. null for main-session messages, messages from top-level subagents, and older sessions. Requires Claude Code v2.1.202 or later |
Example
import { listSessions, getSessionMessages } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
const [latest] = await listSessions({ dir: "/path/to/project", limit: 1 });
if (latest) {
const messages = await getSessionMessages(latest.sessionId, {
dir: "/path/to/project",
limit: 20
});
for (const msg of messages) {
console.log(`[${msg.type}] ${msg.uuid}`);
}
}
getSessionInfo()
Reads metadata for a single session by ID without scanning the full project directory.
function getSessionInfo(
sessionId: string,
options?: GetSessionInfoOptions
): Promise<SDKSessionInfo | undefined>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sessionId |
string |
required | UUID of the session to look up |
options.dir |
string |
undefined |
Project directory path. When omitted, searches all project directories |
Returns SDKSessionInfo, or undefined if the session is not found.
renameSession()
Renames a session by appending a custom-title entry. Repeated calls are safe; the most recent title wins.
function renameSession(
sessionId: string,
title: string,
options?: SessionMutationOptions
): Promise<void>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sessionId |
string |
required | UUID of the session to rename |
title |
string |
required | New title. Must be non-empty after trimming whitespace |
options.dir |
string |
undefined |
Project directory path. When omitted, searches all project directories |
tagSession()
Tags a session. Pass null to clear the tag. Repeated calls are safe; the most recent tag wins.
function tagSession(
sessionId: string,
tag: string | null,
options?: SessionMutationOptions
): Promise<void>;
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sessionId |
string |
required | UUID of the session to tag |
tag |
string | null |
required | Tag string, or null to clear |
options.dir |
string |
undefined |
Project directory path. When omitted, searches all project directories |
resolveSettings()
Resolves the effective Claude Code settings for a given directory using the same merge engine as the CLI, without spawning the Claude CLI. Use it to inspect what configuration a query() call would see before invoking one.
This function is alpha and its API may change before stabilization. It reads MDM sources, including macOS plist and Windows HKLM/HKCU, for parity with CLI startup, but does not execute the admin-configured policyHelper subprocess. The permissions.defaultMode field is returned as-is from all tiers including project settings. In a live session, the CLI ignores defaultMode: 'auto' from project and local settings; resolveSettings() skips that check, so an auto from those tiers appears here even though a session would ignore it.
function resolveSettings(
options?: ResolveSettingsOptions
): Promise<ResolvedSettings>;
Parameters
resolveSettings() accepts a single options object. All fields are optional.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
options.cwd |
string |
process.cwd() |
Directory to resolve project and local settings relative to |
options.settingSources |
SettingSource[] |
All sources | Which filesystem sources to load. Pass [] to skip user, project, and local settings. Endpoint-managed policy loads in all cases. Server-managed settings are taken from serverManagedSettings when the host passes it, or read from the CLI's on-disk cache otherwise; the snapshot does not fetch them from the network |
options.managedSettings |
Settings |
undefined |
Policy-tier settings supplied by the embedding host. Follows the same rules as managedSettings in Options, except that resolveSettings() doesn't execute a configured policyHelper, so the snapshot can include settings that a live session drops |
options.serverManagedSettings |
Settings |
undefined |
Server-managed settings payload from /api/claude_code/settings. Non-restrictive keys pass through unfiltered |
Return type: ResolvedSettings
resolveSettings() returns an object describing the merged settings and the source that contributed each key.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
effective |
Settings |
Merged settings after applying all enabled sources in precedence order |
provenance |
Partial<Record<keyof Settings, ProvenanceEntry>> |
For each top-level key in effective, which source supplied the value |
sources |
Array<{ source, settings, path?, policyOrigin? }> |
Per-source raw settings, ordered from lowest to highest precedence |
Example
The example below resolves settings for a project directory and prints the source that controls the cleanup period. On a machine where no settings file sets cleanupPeriodDays, both printed lines show undefined for the value, which is the expected output rather than an error.
import { resolveSettings } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
const { effective, provenance } = await resolveSettings({
cwd: "/path/to/project",
settingSources: ["user", "project", "local"],
});
console.log(`Cleanup period: ${effective.cleanupPeriodDays} days`);
console.log(`Set by: ${provenance.cleanupPeriodDays?.source}`);
Types
Options
Configuration object for the query() function.
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
abortController |
AbortController |
new AbortController() |
Controller for cancelling operations |
additionalDirectories |
string[] |
[] |
Additional directories Claude can access. The SDK passes each entry to Claude Code as --add-dir, so with the project setting source Claude Code also loads the directory's skills, commands, and subagents |
agent |
string |
undefined |
Agent name for the main thread. The agent must be defined in the agents option or in settings |
agents |
Record<string, [AgentDefinition](#agentdefinition)> |
undefined |
Programmatically define subagents |
agentProgressSummaries |
boolean |
false |
When true, generate one-line progress summaries for subagents and forward them on task_progress events via the summary field. Applies to foreground and background subagents |
allowDangerouslySkipPermissions |
boolean |
false |
Enable bypassing permissions. Required when using permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions' |
allowedTools |
string[] |
[] |
Tools to auto-approve without prompting. This does not restrict Claude to only these tools. If you name one of the task-tracking tools here, Claude Code also opts the session in. Other unlisted tools fall through to permissionMode and canUseTool. Use disallowedTools to block tools. See Permissions |
betas |
SdkBeta[] |
[] |
Enable beta features |
canUseTool |
CanUseTool |
undefined |
Custom permission function, invoked only when the permission flow falls through to a prompt. Not invoked for calls auto-approved by allowedTools, allow rules, or permissionMode. An allow rule doesn't pre-approve the actions no mode auto-approves. See CanUseTool for details |
continue |
boolean |
false |
Continue the most recent conversation |
cwd |
string |
process.cwd() |
Current working directory |
debug |
boolean |
false |
Enable debug mode for the Claude Code process |
debugFile |
string |
undefined |
Write debug logs to a specific file path. Implicitly enables debug mode |
disallowedTools |
string[] |
[] |
Tools to deny. A bare name such as "Bash" removes the tool from Claude's context. A scoped rule such as "Bash(rm *)" leaves the tool available and denies matching calls in every permission mode, including bypassPermissions. See Permissions |
effort |
'low' | 'medium' | 'high' | 'xhigh' | 'max' |
Model default | Controls how much effort Claude puts into its response. Works with adaptive thinking to guide thinking depth. See adjust the effort level |
enableFileCheckpointing |
boolean |
false |
Enable file change tracking for rewinding. See File checkpointing |
env |
Record<string, string | undefined> |
process.env |
Environment variables. When set, this replaces the subprocess environment instead of merging with process.env, so pass { ...process.env, YOUR_VAR: 'value' } to keep inherited variables like PATH. See Handle slow or stalled API responses for an example of this pattern, and Environment variables for variables the underlying CLI reads. Set CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_CLIENT_APP to identify your app in the User-Agent header |
executable |
'bun' | 'deno' | 'node' |
Auto-detected | JavaScript runtime to use |
executableArgs |
string[] |
[] |
Arguments to pass to the executable |
extraArgs |
Record<string, string | null> |
{} |
Additional arguments |
fallbackModel |
string |
undefined |
Model to use if primary fails |
forkSession |
boolean |
false |
When resuming with resume, fork to a new session ID instead of continuing the original session |
forwardSubagentText |
boolean |
false |
Forward subagent text and thinking blocks as assistant and user messages with parent_tool_use_id set, so consumers can render a nested transcript. By default only tool_use and tool_result blocks from subagents are emitted. Messages from subagents at every nesting depth are forwarded on Claude Code v2.1.219 and later; before v2.1.219, only messages from depth-1 subagents appeared |
hooks |
Partial<Record<HookEvent, HookCallbackMatcher[]>> |
{} |
Hook callbacks for events |
includeHookEvents |
boolean |
false |
Include hook lifecycle events in the message stream as SDKHookStartedMessage, SDKHookProgressMessage, and SDKHookResponseMessage. Lifecycle events for SessionStart and Setup hooks are always included and don't need this option. Some hook events, such as Notification, SessionEnd, PreCompact, and PostCompact, never produce an SDKHookStartedMessage, even with this option. For those events, Claude Code still emits an SDKHookProgressMessage while a command hook that runs for more than a second produces output, and emits an SDKHookResponseMessage only when a hook that runs in the background finishes |
includePartialMessages |
boolean |
false |
Include partial message events |
loadTimeoutMs |
number |
60000 |
Alpha. Timeout in milliseconds for each sessionStore.load() and sessionStore.listSubkeys() call during resume materialization. If the adapter doesn't settle within this window, the query fails instead of hanging. Ignored when sessionStore is not set |
managedSettings |
Settings |
undefined |
Policy-tier settings your host process supplies to the spawned session. On machines with admin-deployed managed settings, Claude Code ignores these unless the admin's highest-priority managed source sets parentSettingsBehavior: 'merge', and never merges them while a policyHelper supplies managed settings. Merged values pass through a restrictive-only filter; Restrict parent settings covers what the filter admits and the allowManaged*Only locks |
maxBudgetUsd |
number |
undefined |
Stop the query when the client-side cost estimate reaches this USD value. Compared against the same estimate as total_cost_usd; see Track cost and usage for accuracy caveats |
maxThinkingTokens |
number |
undefined |
Deprecated: Use thinking instead. Maximum tokens for thinking process |
maxTurns |
number |
undefined |
Maximum agentic turns (tool-use round trips) |
mcpServers |
Record<string, [McpServerConfig](#mcpserverconfig)> |
{} |
MCP server configurations |
model |
string |
Default from CLI | Claude model alias or full model name. See accepted values and provider-specific IDs |
onElicitation |
(request: ElicitationRequest, options: { signal: AbortSignal }) => Promise<ElicitationResult> |
undefined |
Callback for handling MCP elicitation requests. Called when an MCP server requests user input and no hook handles it first. When not provided, unhandled elicitation requests are declined automatically |
outputFormat |
{ type: 'json_schema', schema: JSONSchema } |
undefined |
Define output format for agent results. See Structured outputs for details |
outputStyle |
string |
undefined |
Not an Options field. Set outputStyle in the inline settings object or a settings file instead. See Activate an output style |
pathToClaudeCodeExecutable |
string |
Auto-resolved from bundled native binary | Path to Claude Code executable. Only needed if optional dependencies were skipped during install or your platform isn't in the supported set |
permissionMode |
PermissionMode |
'default' |
Permission mode for the session |
permissionPromptToolName |
string |
undefined |
MCP tool name for permission prompts |
persistSession |
boolean |
true |
When false, disables session persistence to disk. Sessions cannot be resumed later |
planModeInstructions |
string |
undefined |
Custom workflow instructions for plan mode. When permissionMode is 'plan', this string replaces the default plan-mode workflow body. The CLI still wraps it with the read-only enforcement preamble and the ExitPlanMode protocol footer |
plugins |
SdkPluginConfig[] |
[] |
Load custom plugins from local paths. See Plugins for details |
promptSuggestions |
boolean |
false |
Enable prompt suggestions. After a turn, Claude Code emits a prompt_suggestion message carrying a predicted next user prompt. Claude Code generates no suggestion for some turns, such as while your account is close to or at its usage limit. See When Claude Code skips suggestions |
resume |
string |
undefined |
Session ID to resume |
resumeDropsTurn |
string |
undefined |
With resumeSessionAt: the prompt UUID of the turn the truncating resume intends to discard. Claude Code refuses the resume when the discarded range contains anything not attributable to that turn, such as absorbed queued messages or task notifications, and names the --resume-drops-turn flag in the rejection message. Only the Agent SDK and print-mode resumes read the pair. Requires Claude Code v2.1.223 or later |
resumeSessionAt |
string |
undefined |
Resume session at a specific message UUID |
sandbox |
SandboxSettings |
undefined |
Configure sandbox behavior programmatically. See Sandbox settings for details |
sessionId |
string |
Auto-generated | Use a specific UUID for the session instead of auto-generating one |
sessionStore |
SessionStore |
undefined |
Mirror session transcripts to an external backend so another host can resume them. See Persist sessions to external storage |
sessionStoreFlush |
'batched' | 'eager' |
'batched' |
Alpha. Flush mode for sessionStore. Ignored when sessionStore is not set |
settings |
string | Settings |
undefined |
Inline settings object or path to a settings file. Populates the flag-settings layer in the precedence order. Change at runtime with applyFlagSettings() |
settingSources |
SettingSource[] |
CLI defaults (all sources) | Control which filesystem settings to load. Pass [] to disable user, project, and local settings. Endpoint-managed policy loads regardless; server-managed settings are fetched when the session authenticates with an organization credential on an eligible configuration. See Use Claude Code features |
skills |
string[] | 'all' |
undefined |
Skills available to the session. Pass 'all' to enable every discovered skill, or a list of skill names. Pass exact names only. The SDK rejects malformed and wildcard-form names with an error before starting the Claude Code process. When set, the SDK adds the Skill tool to allowedTools automatically. If you also pass tools, include 'Skill' in that list. See Skills |
spawnClaudeCodeProcess |
(options: SpawnOptions) => SpawnedProcess |
undefined |
Custom function to spawn the Claude Code process. Use to run Claude Code in VMs, containers, or remote environments |
stderr |
(data: string) => void |
undefined |
Callback for stderr output |
strictMcpConfig |
boolean |
false |
Use only the servers passed in mcpServers and ignore project .mcp.json, user settings, plugin-provided MCP servers, and claude.ai connectors |
systemPrompt |
string | { type: 'preset'; preset: 'claude_code'; append?: string; excludeDynamicSections?: boolean } |
undefined (minimal prompt) |
System prompt configuration. Pass a string for custom prompt, or { type: 'preset', preset: 'claude_code' } to use Claude Code's system prompt. When using the preset object form, add append to extend it with additional instructions, and set excludeDynamicSections: true to move per-session context into the first user message for better prompt-cache reuse across machines |
taskBudget |
{ total: number } |
undefined |
Alpha. API-side task budget in tokens. When set, the model is told its remaining token budget so it can pace tool use and wrap up before the limit |
thinking |
ThinkingConfig |
{ type: 'adaptive' } for supported models |
Controls Claude's thinking/reasoning behavior. See ThinkingConfig for options |
title |
string |
undefined |
Display title for the session. When resuming via resume or continue, the resumed session's persisted title takes precedence; use renameSession() to retitle an existing session |
toolAliases |
Record<string, string> |
undefined |
Map built-in tool names to MCP tool names so Claude calls your MCP implementation in place of the built-in. For example, { Bash: 'mcp__workspace__bash' } |
toolConfig |
ToolConfig |
undefined |
Configuration for built-in tool behavior. See ToolConfig for details |
tools |
string[] | { type: 'preset'; preset: 'claude_code' } |
undefined |
Tool configuration. Pass an array of tool names or use the preset to get Claude Code's default tools |
Handle slow or stalled API responses
The CLI subprocess reads several environment variables that control API timeouts and stall detection. Pass them through the env option:
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
const result = query({
prompt: "Analyze this code",
options: {
env: {
...process.env,
API_TIMEOUT_MS: "120000",
CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_RETRIES: "2",
CLAUDE_ASYNC_AGENT_STALL_TIMEOUT_MS: "120000",
},
},
});
API_TIMEOUT_MS: per-request timeout on the Anthropic client, in milliseconds. Default600000. Applies to the main loop and all subagents.CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_RETRIES: maximum API retries. Default10, capped at15. Each retry gets its ownAPI_TIMEOUT_MSwindow, so worst-case wall time is roughlyAPI_TIMEOUT_MS × (CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_RETRIES + 1)plus backoff. For unattended runs that need to wait through longer outages, setCLAUDE_CODE_RETRY_WATCHDOG=1: it retries transient capacity errors indefinitely and, on Claude Code v2.1.199 or later, raises the default for other transient errors to300and removes the cap on this variable.CLAUDE_ASYNC_AGENT_STALL_TIMEOUT_MS: stall watchdog for subagents launched withrun_in_background. Default600000. Resets on each stream event; on stall it aborts the subagent, marks the task failed, and surfaces the error to the parent with any partial result. Does not apply to synchronous subagents.CLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOGwithCLAUDE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS: aborts the request when headers have arrived but the response body stops streaming. The watchdog is on by default for all providers; setCLAUDE_ENABLE_STREAM_WATCHDOG=0to disable it.CLAUDE_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MSdefaults to300000and is clamped to that minimum. After the abort, Automatic retries covers what Claude Code does, based on how far the response had progressed.
Query object
Interface returned by the query() function.
interface Query extends AsyncGenerator<SDKMessage, void> {
interrupt(): Promise<SDKControlInterruptResponse | undefined>;
rewindFiles(
userMessageId: string,
options?: { dryRun?: boolean }
): Promise<RewindFilesResult>;
setPermissionMode(mode: PermissionMode): Promise<void>;
setModel(model?: string): Promise<void>;
setMaxThinkingTokens(maxThinkingTokens: number | null): Promise<void>;
applyFlagSettings(settings: { [K in keyof Settings]?: Settings[K] | null }): Promise<void>;
initializationResult(): Promise<SDKControlInitializeResponse>;
reinitialize(): Promise<SDKControlInitializeResponse>;
supportedCommands(): Promise<SlashCommand[]>;
supportedModels(): Promise<ModelInfo[]>;
supportedAgents(): Promise<AgentInfo[]>;
mcpServerStatus(): Promise<McpServerStatus[]>;
getContextUsage(): Promise<SDKControlGetContextUsageResponse>;
readFile(
path: string,
options?: { maxBytes?: number; encoding?: 'utf-8' | 'base64' }
): Promise<SDKControlReadFileResponse | null>;
accountInfo(): Promise<AccountInfo>;
reconnectMcpServer(serverName: string): Promise<void>;
toggleMcpServer(serverName: string, enabled: boolean): Promise<void>;
setMcpServers(servers: Record<string, McpServerConfig>): Promise<McpSetServersResult>;
streamInput(stream: AsyncIterable<SDKUserMessage>): Promise<void>;
stopTask(taskId: string): Promise<void>;
close(): void;
}
Methods
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
interrupt() |
Interrupts the query. Only available in streaming input mode. When the CLI advertises the interrupt_receipt_v1 capability in SDKSystemMessage.capabilities, resolves with an SDKControlInterruptResponse listing the queued messages that survive the interrupt. Resolves undefined on CLIs before v2.1.205 |
rewindFiles(userMessageId, options?) |
Restores files to their state at the specified user message. Pass { dryRun: true } to preview changes. Requires enableFileCheckpointing: true. See File checkpointing |
setPermissionMode() |
Changes the permission mode (only available in streaming input mode) |
setModel() |
Changes the model (only available in streaming input mode). Passing undefined or the string "default" resets to the session default model |
setMaxThinkingTokens() |
Deprecated: Use the thinking option instead. Changes the maximum thinking tokens. Passing null resets thinking to the session default: a mid-session override is cleared, and thinking stays off for sessions that have it disabled |
applyFlagSettings(settings) |
Merges settings into the session's flag settings layer at runtime (only available in streaming input mode). See applyFlagSettings() |
initializationResult() |
Returns the full initialization result including supported commands, models, account info, and output style configuration |
reinitialize() |
Re-sends the initialize control request to the running CLI and returns a fresh result instead of the cached first-connect result. Use it after a transport gap, such as reattaching to a session after a disconnect, so pending permission requests reach your canUseTool callback again. Make the callback idempotent per request ID, because a request whose response was lost is dispatched again. Requires Claude Code v2.1.195 or later |
supportedCommands() |
Returns available slash commands. From Agent SDK v0.3.216 the list reflects mid-session command changes; see SDKCommandsChangedMessage |
supportedModels() |
Returns available models with display info |
supportedAgents() |
Returns available subagents as AgentInfo[] |
mcpServerStatus() |
Returns status of connected MCP servers |
getContextUsage() |
Returns an SDKControlGetContextUsageResponse breaking down the session's context window usage by category, skill, and tool. The same data /context shows in an interactive session |
readFile(path, options?) |
Reads a file from the session's filesystem. Claude Code resolves the path against cwd and applies the same read-permission rules as the Read tool. Pass { maxBytes } to change the read cap (default 1 MB, ceiling 10 MB) and { encoding: 'base64' } for binary files such as images. Resolves with an SDKControlReadFileResponse, or null on permission denial, a missing file, or a transport error. Requires TypeScript SDK v0.2.121 or later |
accountInfo() |
Returns account information |
reconnectMcpServer(serverName) |
Reconnect an MCP server by name |
toggleMcpServer(serverName, enabled) |
Enable or disable an MCP server by name |
setMcpServers(servers) |
Dynamically replace the set of MCP servers for this session. Returns which servers were added and removed, and any errors. The call keeps plugin-provided servers it doesn't name; naming one replaces it. The promise resolves after newly added stdio, HTTP, and SSE servers connect or fail, so tools from servers that connected are available on the next turn. |
streamInput(stream) |
Stream input messages to the query for multi-turn conversations |
stopTask(taskId) |
Stop a running background task by ID |
close() |
Close the query and terminate the underlying process. Forcefully ends the query and cleans up all resources |
applyFlagSettings()
Changes settings on a running session without restarting the query. Use it when a setting that has no dedicated setter needs to change mid-session, such as tightening permissions after the agent reads untrusted input. setModel() and setPermissionMode() are dedicated setters for those two keys; applyFlagSettings() is the general form that accepts any subset of the settings keys, and passing model here behaves the same as setModel().
Only some keys take effect mid-session:
- Applied on the next turn:
effortLevel,ultracode,permissions,hooks,skillOverrides,fastMode,agent. Switchingagentalso applies that agent's model override, hooks, and system prompt on the next turn. - Applied during the current turn:
model. If you switchmodelwhile Claude is working on a turn, the response Claude is already generating finishes on the old model, and the rest of the turn, starting with the next call Claude Code makes to the model, uses the new one. Subagents keep their own model. Before v2.1.212, a mid-turn switch waited for the next turn. - No effect mid-session: the system prompt options. These are resolved once at startup, so the running session keeps the original value even though the call succeeds. To change them, start a new session.
effortLevel accepts an effort level name. It also accepts "ultracode", which runs the session at xhigh effort and turns on ultracode. The Settings type declares effortLevel without that value, so pass the equivalent { ultracode: true } in TypeScript. The ultracode value requires Claude Code v2.1.203 or later and is accepted only by applyFlagSettings(), not by the effortLevel key in a settings file.
The values are written to the flag-settings layer, the same layer the inline settings option of query() populates at startup. This is the same tier the on-page precedence section calls programmatic options.
Successive calls shallow-merge top-level keys. A second call with { permissions: {...} } replaces the entire permissions object from the prior call rather than deep-merging into it. To clear a key from the flag layer and fall back to lower-precedence sources, pass null for that key. Passing undefined has no effect because JSON serialization drops it.
Only available in streaming input mode, the same constraint as setModel() and setPermissionMode().
The example below switches the active model mid-session, then clears the override so the model falls back to whatever the user or project settings specify.
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
const q = query({ prompt: messageStream });
// Override the model for the rest of the session
await q.applyFlagSettings({ model: "claude-opus-4-6" });
// Later: clear the override and fall back to lower-precedence settings
await q.applyFlagSettings({ model: null });
applyFlagSettings() is TypeScript-only. The Python SDK does not expose an equivalent method.
WarmQuery
Handle returned by startup(). The subprocess is already spawned and initialized, so calling query() on this handle writes the prompt directly to a ready process with no startup latency.
interface WarmQuery extends AsyncDisposable {
query(prompt: string | AsyncIterable<SDKUserMessage>): Query;
close(): void;
}
Methods
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
query(prompt) |
Send a prompt to the pre-warmed subprocess and return a Query. Can only be called once per WarmQuery |
close() |
Close the subprocess without sending a prompt. Use this to discard a warm query that is no longer needed |
WarmQuery implements AsyncDisposable, so it can be used with await using for automatic cleanup.
SDKControlInitializeResponse
Return type of initializationResult(). Contains session initialization data.
type SDKControlInitializeResponse = {
commands: SlashCommand[];
agents: AgentInfo[];
output_style: string;
available_output_styles: string[];
models: ModelInfo[];
account: AccountInfo;
fast_mode_state?: "off" | "cooldown" | "on";
fast_mode_disabled_reason?: FastModeDisabledReason;
hooks_applied?: boolean;
};
hooks_applied reports whether Claude Code registered the hooks that the initialize request carried. The SDK sends that request once when the session starts and again on each reinitialize() call. The field requires Agent SDK v0.3.238 or later.
Claude Code omits the field when the request carried no hooks. When the request carried hooks, the value depends on whether the request is the session's first initialize and, for a repeated one, on how it reached the session:
true: Claude Code registered the hooks. A session's first initialize returns this value. So does a repeated initialize sent over the CLI's stdin. In that case the hooks in the new request replace the hooks registered earlier.false: Claude Code ignored the hooks. A repeated initialize sent to a remote session returns this value, so a second client that joins a session can't replace the hooks the first client registered.
Before Agent SDK v0.3.238, the response never carried the field, and Claude Code ignored hooks on every repeated initialize.
The response always reports fast_mode_state, and when something blocks fast mode, fast_mode_disabled_reason carries the reason code alongside it, so you can explain the blocked state instead of re-deriving availability. Both behaviors require Claude Code v2.1.219 or later. Before v2.1.219, the response omitted fast_mode_state when fast mode wasn't available and never carried a reason. For the reason codes and their meanings, see fast_mode_disabled_reason on the result message.
When a client sends initialize to a session that is already running, the control-response wrapper also carries an optional pending_permission_requests array. The field is on the response wrapper itself, not in the SDKControlInitializeResponse payload above. Each entry is a complete control_request message with the same { type: "control_request", request_id, request } shape the session streams for permission requests while running.
These are requests that were issued before the client connected and are still awaiting a reply. The SDK reads the array for you and dispatches each entry to your canUseTool callback, the same redelivery that reinitialize() triggers after a transport gap. Handle repeated request IDs idempotently, because an entry can repeat a request the callback already received before the connection dropped.
SDKControlInterruptResponse
The interrupt receipt: the value interrupt() resolves with on a CLI that advertises the interrupt_receipt_v1 capability in SDKSystemMessage.capabilities. Requires Claude Code v2.1.205 or later. Earlier CLIs answer the interrupt with an empty success payload, so interrupt() resolves to undefined.
type SDKControlInterruptResponse = {
still_queued: string[];
cancelled?: string[];
};
still_queued lists the UUIDs of user messages that survive the interrupt: messages still in the queue, plus any batch already dequeued for the next turn but not yet reachable by the abort. Each one runs as its own turn after the interrupt unless you cancel it first. Use the receipt to decide whether to resend anything; resending a message that is already listed produces a duplicate turn.
Interpret the list with these caveats:
- Only messages that were enqueued with a UUID appear. An empty array doesn't mean nothing else will run.
- Only main-thread messages are listed. Messages addressed to a subagent are out of scope.
- The list can include UUIDs your client never sent, such as scheduled task triggers. Ignore UUIDs you don't recognize instead of treating them as an error.
A client that drives the CLI's control protocol directly, rather than through interrupt(), can set cancel_queued: true on the interrupt control request. Claude Code v2.1.219 and later advertises support with the interrupt_cancel_queued_v1 capability in SDKSystemMessage.capabilities; older CLIs ignore the field and leave queued messages to run as usual. Such an interrupt also cancels every message that would otherwise be listed under still_queued: the receipt lists them under cancelled instead, still_queued is empty, and none of them run.
The cancelled list carries the same caveats as still_queued. The interrupt() method never sends cancel_queued, so receipts it resolves with don't carry cancelled.
The receipt is a snapshot taken at the moment the interrupt is processed, and on a clean interrupt it arrives before the interrupted turn's SDKResultMessage. Read the receipt rather than inspecting the queue after that result: the loop starts the next queued turn immediately, so the queue you inspect after the result has already changed.
SDKControlGetContextUsageResponse
Return type of getContextUsage(). This is the same payload Claude Code renders for the /context command in an interactive session, so alongside the token counts it carries display fields such as color and gridRows that Claude Code uses to draw the /context usage grid.
When you send /context as a prompt instead of calling the method, Claude Code attaches an SDKContextUsage payload to the context_usage field of the assistant message that delivers the result. That field requires Agent SDK v0.3.232 or later.
type SDKControlGetContextUsageResponse = {
categories: {
name: string;
tokens: number;
color: string;
isDeferred?: boolean;
}[];
totalTokens: number;
maxTokens: number;
rawMaxTokens: number;
percentage: number;
gridRows: {
color: string;
isFilled: boolean;
categoryName: string;
tokens: number;
percentage: number;
squareFullness: number;
}[][];
model: string;
memoryFiles: {
path: string;
type: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
mcpTools: {
name: string;
serverName: string;
tokens: number;
isLoaded?: boolean;
}[];
deferredBuiltinTools?: {
name: string;
tokens: number;
isLoaded: boolean;
}[];
systemTools?: {
name: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
systemPromptSections?: {
name: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
agents: {
agentType: string;
source: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
slashCommands?: {
totalCommands: number;
includedCommands: number;
tokens: number;
};
skills?: {
totalSkills: number;
includedSkills: number;
tokens: number;
skillFrontmatter: {
name: string;
source: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
};
autoCompactThreshold?: number;
isAutoCompactEnabled: boolean;
messageBreakdown?: {
toolCallTokens: number;
toolResultTokens: number;
attachmentTokens: number;
assistantMessageTokens: number;
userMessageTokens: number;
redirectedContextTokens: number;
unattributedTokens: number;
toolCallsByType: {
name: string;
callTokens: number;
resultTokens: number;
}[];
attachmentsByType: {
name: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
};
apiUsage: {
input_tokens: number;
output_tokens: number;
cache_creation_input_tokens: number;
cache_read_input_tokens: number;
} | null;
};
Read token attribution from the collection fields:
categoriesholds the per-category totals.mcpToolsandagentsattribute tokens to individual MCP tools and subagents.memoryFileslists each loaded memory file with its cost.skills.skillFrontmatterattributes the skill listing's tokens to each included skill. The per-skill counts measure each skill's listing entry as Claude Code actually sends it, which can be shorter than the skill's full frontmatter. Compareskills.totalSkillswithskills.includedSkillsto see whether every discovered skill made it into the listing.
totalTokens is the session's current context usage, and maxTokens is the window that usage is measured against. That window is the model's context window, or the lower auto-compaction window when one applies. rawMaxTokens carries the same value as maxTokens, and percentage is totalTokens as a rounded percentage of that window.
Claude Code leaves the optional deferredBuiltinTools, systemTools, and systemPromptSections diagnostics unset, so expect them to be absent even though the type declares them.
SDKControlReadFileResponse
Return type of readFile().
type SDKControlReadFileResponse = {
contents: string;
absPath: string;
truncated?: boolean;
encoding?: 'base64';
};
contents holds the file text, or base64 data when you requested encoding: 'base64'; the response's encoding field is set to 'base64' in that case. absPath is the resolved absolute path. truncated is set when the file was longer than the maxBytes cap and the contents were cut at that limit.
AgentDefinition
Configuration for a subagent defined programmatically.
type AgentDefinition = {
description: string;
tools?: string[];
disallowedTools?: string[];
prompt: string;
model?: string;
mcpServers?: AgentMcpServerSpec[];
skills?: string[];
initialPrompt?: string;
maxTurns?: number;
background?: boolean;
memory?: "user" | "project" | "local";
effort?: "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max" | number;
permissionMode?: PermissionMode;
criticalSystemReminder_EXPERIMENTAL?: string;
};
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
description |
Yes | Natural language description of when to use this agent |
tools |
No | Array of allowed tool names. If omitted, inherits every tool available to subagents. To preload Skills into the agent's context, use the skills field rather than listing 'Skill' here |
disallowedTools |
No | Array of tool names to explicitly disallow for this agent. MCP server-level patterns are also accepted: mcp__server or mcp__server__* removes every tool from that server, and mcp__* removes every MCP tool from any server |
prompt |
Yes | The agent's system prompt |
model |
No | Model override for this agent. Accepts an alias such as 'fable', 'opus', 'sonnet', 'haiku', 'inherit', or a full model ID. If omitted or 'inherit', uses the main model |
mcpServers |
No | MCP server specifications for this agent |
skills |
No | Array of skill names to preload into the agent context |
initialPrompt |
No | Auto-submitted as the first user turn when this agent runs as the main thread agent |
maxTurns |
No | Maximum number of agentic turns (API round-trips) before stopping |
background |
No | Run this agent as a non-blocking background task when invoked |
memory |
No | Memory source for this agent: 'user', 'project', or 'local' |
effort |
No | Reasoning effort level for this agent. Accepts a named level or an integer |
permissionMode |
No | Permission mode for tool execution within this agent. See PermissionMode |
criticalSystemReminder_EXPERIMENTAL |
No | Experimental: Critical reminder added to the system prompt |
AgentMcpServerSpec
Specifies MCP servers available to a subagent. Can be a server name (string referencing a server from the parent's mcpServers config) or an inline server configuration record mapping server names to configs.
type AgentMcpServerSpec = string | Record<string, McpServerConfigForProcessTransport>;
Where McpServerConfigForProcessTransport is McpStdioServerConfig | McpSSEServerConfig | McpHttpServerConfig | McpSdkServerConfig.
SettingSource
Controls which filesystem-based configuration sources the SDK loads settings from.
type SettingSource = "user" | "project" | "local";
| Value | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|
'user' |
Global user settings | ~/.claude/settings.json |
'project' |
Shared project settings (version controlled) | .claude/settings.json |
'local' |
Local project settings, gitignored when Claude Code saves a setting to it | .claude/settings.local.json |
Default behavior
When settingSources is omitted or undefined, query() loads the same filesystem settings as the Claude Code CLI: user, project, and local. See What settingSources does not control for inputs that are read regardless of this option, and how to disable them.
Why use settingSources
Disable filesystem settings:
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
// Do not load user, project, or local settings from disk
const result = query({
prompt: "Analyze this code",
options: { settingSources: [] }
});
Load only specific setting sources:
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
// Load only project settings, ignore user and local
const result = query({
prompt: "Run CI checks",
options: {
settingSources: ["project"] // Only .claude/settings.json
}
});
Loading CLAUDE.md project instructions:
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
// Load project settings to include CLAUDE.md files
const result = query({
prompt: "Add a new feature following project conventions",
options: {
systemPrompt: {
type: "preset",
preset: "claude_code" // Use Claude Code's system prompt
},
settingSources: ["project"], // Loads CLAUDE.md from project directory
allowedTools: ["Read", "Write", "Edit"]
}
});
Settings precedence
When multiple sources are loaded, settings are merged with this precedence (highest to lowest):
- Local settings (
.claude/settings.local.json) - Project settings (
.claude/settings.json) - User settings (
~/.claude/settings.json)
Programmatic options such as agents, allowedTools, and settings override user, project, and local filesystem settings. Managed policy settings take precedence over programmatic options.
PermissionMode
type PermissionMode =
| "default" // Standard permission behavior
| "acceptEdits" // Auto-accept file edits
| "bypassPermissions" // Bypass permission checks; explicit ask rules still prompt
| "plan" // Planning mode - explore without editing
| "dontAsk" // Don't prompt for permissions, deny if not pre-approved
| "auto"; // Model classifier approves or denies permission prompts
CanUseTool
Custom permission function type for controlling tool usage.
The function is the SDK replacement for the interactive permission prompt: it's invoked only when the permission evaluation flow resolves to a prompt. Tool calls already approved by an allowedTools entry, a settings allow rule, or the permission mode, such as acceptEdits or bypassPermissions, never invoke it. To gate every tool call, use a PreToolUse hook instead.
An allow rule doesn't pre-approve the actions no mode auto-approves; see How permissions are evaluated for which of them reach the callback and what happens in dontAsk and auto mode.
type CanUseTool = (
toolName: string,
input: Record<string, unknown>,
options: {
signal: AbortSignal;
suggestions?: PermissionUpdate[];
blockedPath?: string;
decisionReason?: string;
toolUseID: string;
agentID?: string;
requestId: string;
}
) => Promise<PermissionResult | null>;
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
signal |
AbortSignal |
Signaled if the operation should be aborted |
suggestions |
PermissionUpdate[] |
Suggested permission updates so the user is not prompted again for this tool. Bash prompts include a suggestion with the localSettings destination, so returning it in updatedPermissions writes the rule to .claude/settings.local.json and persists across sessions. |
blockedPath |
string |
The file path that triggered the permission request, if applicable |
decisionReason |
string |
Explains why this permission request was triggered |
toolUseID |
string |
Unique identifier for this specific tool call within the assistant message |
agentID |
string |
If running within a sub-agent, the sub-agent's ID |
requestId |
string |
The control_request envelope's request_id. A control_response your application sends outside the SDK, such as a signed HTTP POST, must echo this value so the Claude Code process can match the reply to the request |
The callback normally resolves the request by returning a PermissionResult, which the SDK writes back over its transport as the control_response. Return null only when your application has already sent the control_response for this request over its own channel, echoing requestId; the SDK then skips writing the response to its transport. Returning null in any other case leaves the tool call blocked indefinitely, because no control_response is ever sent and permission prompts don't time out.
The requestId option and the null return value require Claude Code v2.1.199 or later.
PermissionResult
Result of a permission check.
type PermissionResult =
| {
behavior: "allow";
updatedInput?: Record<string, unknown>;
updatedPermissions?: PermissionUpdate[];
toolUseID?: string;
}
| {
behavior: "deny";
message: string;
interrupt?: boolean;
toolUseID?: string;
};
ToolConfig
Configuration for built-in tool behavior.
type ToolConfig = {
askUserQuestion?: {
previewFormat?: "markdown" | "html";
};
};
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
askUserQuestion.previewFormat |
'markdown' | 'html' |
Opts into the preview field on AskUserQuestion options and sets its content format. When unset, Claude does not emit previews |
McpServerConfig
Configuration for MCP servers.
type McpServerConfig =
| McpStdioServerConfig
| McpSSEServerConfig
| McpHttpServerConfig
| McpSdkServerConfigWithInstance;
McpStdioServerConfig
type McpStdioServerConfig = {
type?: "stdio";
command: string;
args?: string[];
env?: Record<string, string>;
};
McpSSEServerConfig
type McpSSEServerConfig = {
type: "sse";
url: string;
headers?: Record<string, string>;
};
McpHttpServerConfig
type McpHttpServerConfig = {
type: "http";
url: string;
headers?: Record<string, string>;
};
McpSdkServerConfigWithInstance
type McpSdkServerConfigWithInstance = {
type: "sdk";
name: string;
instance: McpServer;
};
McpClaudeAIProxyServerConfig
type McpClaudeAIProxyServerConfig = {
type: "claudeai-proxy";
url: string;
id: string;
};
SdkPluginConfig
Configuration for loading plugins in the SDK.
type SdkPluginConfig = {
type: "local";
path: string;
skipMcpDiscovery?: boolean;
};
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type |
'local' |
Must be 'local' (only local plugins currently supported) |
path |
string |
Absolute or relative path to the plugin directory |
skipMcpDiscovery |
boolean |
When true, the SDK loads skills, hooks, agents, and commands from this plugin but does not read its .mcp.json or manifest mcpServers. Set this when your application owns the plugin's MCP connections. |
Example:
plugins: [
{ type: "local", path: "./my-plugin" },
{ type: "local", path: "/absolute/path/to/plugin" }
];
For complete information on creating and using plugins, see Plugins.
Message Types
SDKMessage
Union type of all possible messages returned by the query.
type SDKMessage =
| SDKAssistantMessage
| SDKUserMessage
| SDKUserMessageReplay
| SDKResultMessage
| SDKSystemMessage
| SDKPartialAssistantMessage
| SDKCompactBoundaryMessage
| SDKStatusMessage
| SDKLocalCommandOutputMessage
| SDKHookStartedMessage
| SDKHookProgressMessage
| SDKHookResponseMessage
| SDKPluginInstallMessage
| SDKToolProgressMessage
| SDKAuthStatusMessage
| SDKTaskNotificationMessage
| SDKTaskStartedMessage
| SDKTaskProgressMessage
| SDKTaskUpdatedMessage
| SDKBackgroundTasksChangedMessage
| SDKThinkingTokensMessage
| SDKSessionStateChangedMessage
| SDKWorkerShuttingDownMessage
| SDKCommandsChangedMessage
| SDKNotificationMessage
| SDKFilesPersistedEvent
| SDKToolUseSummaryMessage
| SDKMemoryRecallMessage
| SDKRateLimitEvent
| SDKElicitationCompleteMessage
| SDKPermissionDeniedMessage
| SDKPromptSuggestionMessage
| SDKAPIRetryMessage
| SDKMirrorErrorMessage
| SDKInformationalMessage
| SDKConversationResetMessage;
SDKAssistantMessage
Assistant response message.
type SDKAssistantMessage = {
type: "assistant";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
message: BetaMessage; // From Anthropic SDK
parent_tool_use_id: string | null;
error?: SDKAssistantMessageError;
aborted?: true;
timestamp?: string;
context_usage?: SDKContextUsage;
};
The message field is a BetaMessage from the Anthropic SDK. It includes fields like id, content, model, stop_reason, and usage.
SDKAssistantMessageError is one of: 'authentication_failed', 'oauth_org_not_allowed', 'billing_error', 'rate_limit', 'overloaded', 'invalid_request', 'model_not_found', 'server_error', 'max_output_tokens', or 'unknown'. 'model_not_found' means the selected model doesn't exist or isn't available to your account or deployment. 'overloaded' means the API returned a 529 because the server is at capacity, as opposed to 'rate_limit', which is a 429 against your quota.
aborted is true when an interrupt or abort truncated the assistant message before the stream completed: the message has no stop_reason and the content may end mid-word. The field is absent on normally completed messages. It requires Agent SDK v0.3.214 or later.
timestamp is the ISO 8601 time when the message's content finished generating on the process that produced it. The value comes from that machine's clock, so use it for display only and don't order messages by it. One API turn can produce several assistant messages that share a message.id, each with its own timestamp. When the field is absent, fall back to the time you received the message.
context_usage is a structured copy of the /context report, typed as SDKContextUsage, and requires Agent SDK v0.3.232 or later. When you send /context as a prompt, Claude Code delivers the report as an assistant message whose message.content holds the markdown table, and attaches context_usage to that same message. Claude Code doesn't set the field on any other assistant message, and earlier versions deliver the /context table without it, so read the breakdown from the field when it's present and fall back to the markdown text when it isn't.
SDKUserMessage
User input message.
type SDKUserMessage = {
type: "user";
uuid?: UUID;
session_id?: string;
message: MessageParam; // From Anthropic SDK
parent_tool_use_id: string | null;
isSynthetic?: boolean;
shouldQuery?: boolean;
tool_use_result?: unknown;
origin?: SDKMessageOrigin;
};
Set shouldQuery to false to append the message to the transcript without triggering an assistant turn. The message is held and merged into the next user message that does trigger a turn. Use this to inject context, such as the output of a command you ran out of band, without spending a model call on it.
On a message that carries a tool_result block, tool_use_result is the tool's structured output object rather than the text sent to the model. Its shape depends on the tool named by the matching tool_use block, so the field is typed unknown; the built-in shapes are listed under Tool Output Types.
For the Agent tool, tool_use_result is AgentOutput. On a completed result, content holds the subagent's report without the agent ID and usage trailer that Claude Code appends to the tool_result text, so render from tool_use_result instead of parsing that text.
SDKUserMessageReplay
Replayed user message with required UUID.
type SDKUserMessageReplay = {
type: "user";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
message: MessageParam;
parent_tool_use_id: string | null;
isSynthetic?: boolean;
tool_use_result?: unknown;
origin?: SDKMessageOrigin;
isReplay: true;
};
A user turn injected from outside the session, one whose origin kind is peer or channel, reaches the stream as a replay whether it was delivered during an active turn or started a new turn while the session was idle. Before v2.1.207, an injected turn delivered while the session was idle produced no message on the stream and only appeared when you re-read the transcript.
SDKResultMessage
Final result message.
type SDKResultMessage =
| {
type: "result";
subtype: "success";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
duration_ms: number;
duration_api_ms: number;
is_error: boolean;
api_error_status?: number | null;
num_turns: number;
result: string;
stop_reason: string | null;
ttft_ms?: number;
ttft_stream_ms?: number;
user_message_uuid?: string;
request_sent_wall_ms?: number;
total_cost_usd: number;
usage: NonNullableUsage;
modelUsage: { [modelName: string]: ModelUsage };
permission_denials: SDKPermissionDenial[];
structured_output?: unknown;
deferred_tool_use?: { id: string; name: string; input: Record<string, unknown> };
terminal_reason?: TerminalReason;
fast_mode_state?: FastModeState;
fast_mode_disabled_reason?: FastModeDisabledReason;
origin?: SDKMessageOrigin;
}
| {
type: "result";
subtype:
| "error_max_turns"
| "error_during_execution"
| "error_max_budget_usd"
| "error_max_structured_output_retries";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
duration_ms: number;
duration_api_ms: number;
is_error: boolean;
num_turns: number;
stop_reason: string | null;
total_cost_usd: number;
usage: NonNullableUsage;
modelUsage: { [modelName: string]: ModelUsage };
permission_denials: SDKPermissionDenial[];
errors: string[];
terminal_reason?: TerminalReason;
fast_mode_state?: FastModeState;
fast_mode_disabled_reason?: FastModeDisabledReason;
origin?: SDKMessageOrigin;
};
Several fields on the result carry diagnostic detail beyond subtype:
api_error_status: the HTTP status code of the API error that terminated the conversation. Absent ornullwhen the turn ended without an API error.ttft_ms: time to first token in milliseconds, measured when the first complete assistant message arrives. Present on the success arm only.ttft_stream_ms: time in milliseconds until the firstmessage_startstream event, when the response stream opens. Lower thanttft_ms; the gap between the two is time spent streaming the first message. Present on the success arm only.user_message_uuid: theuuidof theSDKUserMessagethat started this turn, echoed back so you can match the result to the message you sent. Requires Claude Code v2.1.216 or later. Present on the success arm only, together withrequest_sent_wall_ms; absent on API-error results, subagent calls, and synthetic turns such as scheduled ones.request_sent_wall_ms: epoch milliseconds at which Claude Code dispatched the API request, for joins against server-side timestamps. Present only together withuser_message_uuid.usage: main agent loop only. Excludes subagent and auxiliary model calls, and is per-turn in streaming-input sessions. PrefermodelUsagefor token/cost accounting.modelUsage: per-model totals for every model call made through the query pipeline during thisquery()call, including the main loop, subagents, and internal calls such as compaction and Workflow agents. Helper calls outside that pipeline, such as the permission classifier and token-counting requests, are excluded. In streaming-input sessions the totals are cumulative across turns, so read the latest result rather than summing across results. See Track costs in streaming input mode for resets and Recover totals after a session crash for zeroed results.total_cost_usd: cumulative estimated cost in USD for thisquery()call, covering the same calls asmodelUsageand reset at the same points. It is an estimate, not a billing statement. See Track cost and usage for accuracy caveats.terminal_reason: why the loop ended. One of"completed","max_turns","tool_deferred","aborted_streaming","aborted_tools","hook_stopped","stop_hook_prevented","background_requested","blocking_limit","rapid_refill_breaker","prompt_too_long","image_error","model_error","api_error","malformed_tool_use_exhausted","budget_exhausted","structured_output_retry_exhausted","tool_deferred_unavailable", or"turn_setup_failed".fast_mode_state: one of"on","off", or"cooldown".fast_mode_disabled_reason: why fast mode isn't available right now. Absent when nothing blocks fast mode, though a request may still run at standard speed. During the cooldown after a fast mode rate limit, Claude Code reportsfast_mode_state: "cooldown"with no reason code and re-enables fast mode when the cooldown expires. Requires Claude Code v2.1.219 or later.
Use the reason code to explain why fast mode is off in your own UI instead of re-deriving availability. Each code names the check that blocked fast mode:
| Reason code | Meaning |
|---|---|
free |
The account doesn't have the paid subscription or usage credits fast mode requires |
preference |
The organization has disabled fast mode |
extra_usage_disabled |
Usage credits are turned off for the account |
network_error |
The availability check couldn't reach api.anthropic.com |
unknown |
Claude Code couldn't determine availability |
not_first_party |
The session uses a provider other than the Anthropic API |
disabled_by_env |
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FAST_MODE is set |
model_not_allowed |
The fast mode Opus model isn't in the organization's availableModels allowlist |
sdk_opt_in_required |
The session hasn't opted in to fast mode: pass fastMode: true in the settings option or through applyFlagSettings() |
pending |
The availability check hasn't completed yet |
The same pair of fields appears on SDKSystemMessage and on the SDKControlInitializeResponse, so you can read the fast mode state before the first turn.
The origin field forwards the SDKMessageOrigin of the user message that triggered this result. When the SDK injects a synthetic follow-up turn, such as for a finished background task, the resulting SDKResultMessage carries origin: { kind: "task-notification" }. Routines whose trigger fired and server-verified messages from your other sessions arrive with this kind too, each with the subkind described in Task-notification subkinds. Check kind to distinguish results that answer your prompt from injected follow-ups before routing or suppressing them.
The field is absent for results emitted before any user turn, such as startup errors.
When a PreToolUse hook returns permissionDecision: "defer", the result has stop_reason: "tool_deferred" and deferred_tool_use carries the pending tool's id, name, and input. Read this field to surface the request in your own UI, then resume with the same session_id to continue. See Defer a tool call for later for the full round trip.
SDKSystemMessage
System initialization message.
type SDKSystemMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "init";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
agents?: string[];
apiKeySource: ApiKeySource;
betas?: string[];
claude_code_version: string;
cwd: string;
tools: string[];
mcp_servers: {
name: string;
status: string;
}[];
model: string;
permissionMode: PermissionMode;
slash_commands: string[];
terminal_slash_commands?: string[];
output_style: string;
skills: string[];
plugins: { name: string; path: string }[];
fast_mode_state?: FastModeState;
fast_mode_disabled_reason?: FastModeDisabledReason;
effort?: "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max" | null;
capabilities?: string[];
};
fast_mode_state reports the session's fast mode state. When something blocks fast mode, fast_mode_disabled_reason names the check that blocked it; the field requires Claude Code v2.1.219 or later. For the reason codes and their meanings, see fast_mode_disabled_reason on the result message.
terminal_slash_commands names the entries in slash_commands whose interface is bound to the local terminal, such as exit. You can send them like any other entry in slash_commands; the field exists so a remote or mobile client can hide them from its command menus. The field is present only when non-empty, and requires Agent SDK v0.3.229 or later.
effort: the effort level Claude Code sends on the session's next request, ornullwhen it sends none. Claude Code sets the field only on the init message it sends to Remote Control clients, and omits it from the init message your application reads. Requires Agent SDK v0.3.234 or later.
The capabilities array names the protocol behaviors this CLI implements, so you can feature-detect instead of comparing claude_code_version strings. It is an open set: ignore values you don't recognize, and check for the specific capability whose behavior you rely on. The field requires Claude Code v2.1.205 or later and is absent on earlier CLIs.
| Capability | Meaning |
|---|---|
interrupt_receipt_v1 |
interrupt() resolves with an SDKControlInterruptResponse receipt naming the queued messages that survive the interrupt |
interrupt_cancel_queued_v1 |
The interrupt control request honors cancel_queued: true, cancelling the queued messages that would otherwise survive the interrupt and listing them on the receipt's cancelled field. See SDKControlInterruptResponse. Requires Claude Code v2.1.219 or later |
SDKPartialAssistantMessage
Streaming partial message (only when includePartialMessages is true). The parent_tool_use_id field is always null: stream events are emitted for the main session only. For subagent attribution, use complete messages, which carry parent_tool_use_id, or enable forwardSubagentText to receive subagent text and thinking as complete messages.
type SDKPartialAssistantMessage = {
type: "stream_event";
event: BetaRawMessageStreamEvent; // From Anthropic SDK
parent_tool_use_id: string | null;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
ttft_ms?: number; // Time to first token in ms, present only on message_start events
};
SDKCompactBoundaryMessage
Message indicating a conversation compaction boundary.
type SDKCompactBoundaryMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "compact_boundary";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
compact_metadata: {
trigger: "manual" | "auto";
pre_tokens: number;
};
};
SDKInformationalMessage
Generic text banner emitted by the loop. Carries non-error status lines, hook feedback such as a UserPromptSubmit hook's block reason, and command output. On Claude Code v2.1.227 or later, a hook's systemMessage can arrive as this message, with each line prefixed by the hook's name, such as PostToolUse:Bash says:. Whether a hook's systemMessage arrives as this message depends on the event. Each event's section on the hooks page says how output surfaces. Render content as plaintext at the given level.
type SDKInformationalMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "informational";
content: string;
level: "info" | "notice" | "suggestion" | "warning";
tool_use_id?: string;
prevent_continuation?: boolean;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKWorkerShuttingDownMessage
Emitted on graceful worker teardown so remote clients can show why the worker exited instead of waiting for heartbeat timeout. The reason is a short snake_case string set by the host CLI, such as "host_exit" or "remote_control_disabled". Act on this only when streaming live. A resumed session replays past instances of this message, so ignore them in that case.
type SDKWorkerShuttingDownMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "worker_shutting_down";
reason: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKPluginInstallMessage
Plugin installation progress event. Emitted when CLAUDE_CODE_SYNC_PLUGIN_INSTALL is set, so your Agent SDK application can track marketplace plugin installation before the first turn. The started and completed statuses bracket the overall install. The installed and failed statuses report individual marketplaces and include name.
type SDKPluginInstallMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "plugin_install";
status: "started" | "installed" | "failed" | "completed";
name?: string;
error?: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKPermissionDeniedMessage
Stream event emitted when the permission system denies a tool call without an interactive prompt. Use it to render the denial in your UI as it happens, rather than only observing the is_error tool result that follows. Which denials it reports depends on how the run handles permission prompts:
- With a
canUseToolcallback: permission prompts go to your callback, and this event reports the denials Claude Code decides on its own without calling it. - With neither: a bare
-prun, orquery()that sets neithercanUseToolnorpermissionPromptToolName, denies any tool call that would have prompted, and this event reports those denials as well as the ones Claude Code decides on its own. Before v2.1.223, Claude Code didn't emit this event in runs without a callback. - With an MCP prompt tool, set with
permissionPromptToolNameor the--permission-prompt-toolflag: Claude Code doesn't emit this event at all, not even for the rule denials it decides on its own.
In every configuration, this event skips any denial decided on the PreToolUse hook path, whether the hook denied the call itself or a deny rule overrode the hook's allow or ask decision. The event is also best-effort: occasionally Claude Code records a denial without emitting this event, so permission_denials on the result message is the authoritative record.
type SDKPermissionDeniedMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "permission_denied";
tool_name: string;
tool_use_id: string;
agent_id?: string;
decision_reason_type?: string;
decision_reason?: string;
message: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
tool_name |
string |
Name of the tool that was denied |
tool_use_id |
string |
ID of the tool_use block this denial answers |
agent_id |
string |
Subagent ID when the denied call originated inside a subagent. Mirrors the field on can_use_tool for host-side routing |
decision_reason_type |
string |
Discriminator for the component that decided, such as "rule", "mode", "classifier", or "asyncAgent" |
decision_reason |
string |
Human-readable reason from the deciding component, when available |
message |
string |
Rejection message returned to the model in the tool_result |
SDKPermissionDenial
Information about a denied tool use.
type SDKPermissionDenial = {
tool_name: string;
tool_use_id: string;
tool_input: Record<string, unknown>;
};
SDKContextUsage
Structured form of the /context report, carried as context_usage on the SDKAssistantMessage that delivers a /context result. Agent SDK v0.3.232 and later export the type. Unlike SDKControlGetContextUsageResponse, it carries only the data needed to render the usage breakdown, without display fields such as color and gridRows.
type SDKContextUsage = {
model: string;
total_tokens: number;
raw_max_tokens: number;
percentage: number;
over_limit?: {
tokens_over: number;
kind: "hard_limit" | "compaction_window";
};
categories: SDKContextUsageCategory[];
mcp_tools: {
name: string;
server_name: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
memory_files: {
path: string;
type: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
agents: {
agent_type: string;
source: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
skills?: {
name: string;
source: string;
plugin_name?: string;
tokens: number;
}[];
};
The table lists what Claude Code puts in each field. The fields from model through over_limit describe the session as a whole, and the collection fields attribute tokens to individual items.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
model |
string |
The main loop's model Claude Code computed the usage for, not a subagent's |
total_tokens |
number |
Claude Code's estimate of the tokens in use. Not clamped to the window, so it can exceed raw_max_tokens when the session is over the limit |
raw_max_tokens |
number |
The model's context window, or the lower auto-compact window when one applies, such as one you set or the 200K boundary Claude Code applies to some models with a 1M-token window. Claude Code measures total_tokens against this window |
percentage |
number |
total_tokens as a rounded percentage of raw_max_tokens, so it can exceed 100 when the session is over the limit |
over_limit |
object |
Present only when total_tokens exceeds raw_max_tokens. tokens_over is the amount over, and kind says how Claude Code resolved the window |
categories |
SDKContextUsageCategory[] |
One entry per row of the usage-by-category breakdown |
mcp_tools |
object[] |
Tokens attributed to each MCP tool, with its wire name, such as mcp__linear__create_issue, and its server_name |
memory_files |
object[] |
Tokens attributed to each loaded memory file, with its path and a source label such as Project or User in type |
agents |
object[] |
Tokens attributed to each custom subagent definition, with a source identifier such as projectSettings, userSettings, or plugin. Built-in subagents aren't listed |
skills |
object[] |
Tokens attributed to each skill in the skill listing, with a source identifier and, for plugin skills, the plugin's name in plugin_name. Absent when no skills contribute tokens |
over_limit.kind records how Claude Code resolved the window, not whether the API accepts the next request:
hard_limit: the window is what Claude Code believes to be the model's own limit, past which the API refuses requestscompaction_window: the window is a compaction-policy window, which may or may not coincide with the model's limit
Claude Code evolves the type additively, adding new data as optional fields rather than reshaping existing ones. Read the fields you know and ignore any you don't recognize.
SDKContextUsageCategory
One row of the /context usage-by-category breakdown.
type SDKContextUsageCategory = {
name: string;
tokens: number;
kind: "used" | "free" | "buffer" | "deferred";
};
The table lists what Claude Code puts in each field of a row.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name |
string |
The row's display name as /context prints it, such as Messages. Classify rows by kind, not by name |
tokens |
number |
The row's token count. Rows can carry zero tokens |
kind |
string |
What the row represents: used, free, buffer, or deferred |
Each kind value says what the row's tokens are:
used: content that occupies the context windowfree: the remaining windowbuffer: the compaction reservedeferred: tool schemas Claude Code holds out of the window and excludes from the usage calculation, listed for awareness
SDKMessageOrigin
Provenance of a user-role message. This appears as origin on SDKUserMessage and is forwarded onto the corresponding SDKResultMessage so you can tell what triggered a given turn.
type SDKMessageOrigin =
| { kind: "human" }
| { kind: "channel"; server: string }
| {
kind: "peer";
from: string;
fromMode?: "bypass" | "prompting";
name?: string;
fromSession?: string;
senderTaskId?: string;
body?: string;
verifiedPeerPid?: number;
}
| {
kind: "task-notification";
subkind?: "scheduled-trigger" | "peer-send-message";
}
| { kind: "coordinator" }
| { kind: "auto-continuation" }
| { kind: "unclassified" };
kind |
Meaning |
|---|---|
human |
Direct input from the end user. If your application forwards what the user typed as a user message, set its origin to { kind: "human" } explicitly: Claude Code treats a user message with no origin as unattributed, and checks that require a human-typed prompt, such as the ultracode workflow keyword, don't accept it. Before v2.1.210, Claude Code treated an absent origin on a user message as human input. |
channel |
Message arriving on a channel. server is the source MCP server name. |
peer |
Message from another agent: an in-process teammate or a cross-session peer, another of your Claude Code sessions. See Peer origin fields for the per-field semantics and the trust model. |
task-notification |
Synthetic turn injected for a delivery that arrives without a fresh user prompt, such as a finished background task; see SDKTaskNotificationMessage for that arm. The optional subkind marks what raised the notification. See Task-notification subkinds. |
coordinator |
Message from a team coordinator in an agent team. |
auto-continuation |
Synthetic turn injected when the session continues without fresh user input, such as a command result that triggers a follow-up prompt. |
unclassified |
Injected turn whose origin couldn't be determined. Requires Claude Code v2.1.223 or later. When Claude Code receives an SDKUserMessage with isSynthetic: true and can't classify it as any other kind, it sets this kind as the message arrives and frames the turn to the model as a non-user source rather than treating it as human input. Your application shouldn't set this value. |
Task-notification subkinds
When Claude Code delivers a task notification into a session, it sets subkind on the notification's origin only if Anthropic servers verified where that notification came from. subkind requires Claude Code v2.1.213 or later, and it takes one of two values:
scheduled-trigger: the notification is a routine's stored prompt, delivered because one of the routine's triggers fired: its schedule, its API trigger, its GitHub trigger, or Run now. Claude Code frames these to the model as the session's assigned task, with a different notice from the notice that other task notifications carry.peer-send-message: the notification is a message that another of your sessions sent with the server-sidesend_messagetool that Claude Code on the web sessions use to message each other, not the cross-sessionSendMessagetool, and Anthropic servers verified that both sessions belong to the same private group of sessions. Requires Claude Code v2.1.224 or later. Asend_messagedelivery the servers didn't verify that way gets no subkind.
Every other task notification has no subkind. That includes scheduled tasks that fire on your own machine, PR activity delivered into a session, and background events such as a finished task. Messages from the cross-session SendMessage tool aren't task notifications at all: whether they come from a session on the same machine or through Anthropic servers from another machine, Claude Code gives them kind: "peer" and the peer origin fields.
Peer origin fields
A peer origin identifies which agent sent the message: an in-process teammate sending to main with SendMessage, or a cross-session peer, another of your Claude Code sessions. A cross-session peer can run on the same machine, or on another of your machines or Claude Code on the web when its message arrives through Remote Control. The two kinds of sender fill the fields differently:
from: the teammate's name, or the sender address for a cross-session peer. For a one-way cross-machine message, the sender has no reply address andfromis"unknown". The value is sender-authored;verifiedPeerPidis the verified identity.fromMode: the sending session's permission class,bypassorprompting, declared by a host that relays a peer message between your sessions, such as the desktop app. Claude Code reads it in the receiving session when it applies the inbound controls. Requires Agent SDK v0.3.234 or later.senderTaskId: the teammate's task ID. Absent for a cross-session peer.name: the sender's display name, normalized by Claude Code: it strips Unicode control, format, surrogate, and line or paragraph separator code points, then trims the result and caps it at 64 code points with an ellipsis. Requires Claude Code v2.1.205 or later.body: the decoded message body with the peer envelope stripped, byte-exact with what the model sees. Always present for a teammate message; for a cross-session peer, present only when the turn is exactly one peer envelope formed by Claude Code. Rendernameandbodyinstead of re-parsing the message text. Requires Claude Code v2.1.205 or later.fromSession: the sender's host-openable session ID, set by the sender's host so your UI can link back to the sending session. Likefrom, it is sender-asserted: use it as a navigation target only, and don't treat it as proof of the sender's identity. Requires Claude Code v2.1.216 or later.verifiedPeerPid: the process ID of the process that connected to this session's cross-session messaging socket, verified by the kernel and read from the connection itself, never from the payload. Use it, notfrom, to identify the sender:fromis forgeable by any same-user process. The field is absent when Claude Code can't verify it, such as on Windows or non-socket ingress, so an absent value means the sender is unverified. For relayed traffic it identifies the relay rather than the message's author, and process IDs are recyclable, so treat it as provenance rather than an authentication token. Requires Claude Code v2.1.216 or later.
Hook Types
For a comprehensive guide on using hooks with examples and common patterns, see the Hooks guide.
HookEvent
Available hook events.
type HookEvent =
| "PreToolUse"
| "PostToolUse"
| "PostToolUseFailure"
| "PostToolBatch"
| "Notification"
| "UserPromptSubmit"
| "UserPromptExpansion"
| "SessionStart"
| "SessionEnd"
| "Stop"
| "StopFailure"
| "SubagentStart"
| "SubagentStop"
| "PreCompact"
| "PostCompact"
| "PermissionRequest"
| "PermissionDenied"
| "Setup"
| "TeammateIdle"
| "TaskCreated"
| "TaskCompleted"
| "Elicitation"
| "ElicitationResult"
| "ConfigChange"
| "DirectoryAdded"
| "WorktreeCreate"
| "WorktreeRemove"
| "InstructionsLoaded"
| "CwdChanged"
| "FileChanged"
| "MessageDisplay";
HookCallback
Hook callback function type.
type HookCallback = (
input: HookInput, // Union of all hook input types
toolUseID: string | undefined,
options: { signal: AbortSignal }
) => Promise<HookJSONOutput>;
HookCallbackMatcher
Hook configuration with optional matcher.
interface HookCallbackMatcher {
matcher?: string;
hooks: HookCallback[];
timeout?: number; // Timeout in seconds for all hooks in this matcher
}
HookInput
Union type of all hook input types.
type HookInput =
| PreToolUseHookInput
| PostToolUseHookInput
| PostToolUseFailureHookInput
| PostToolBatchHookInput
| PermissionDeniedHookInput
| NotificationHookInput
| UserPromptSubmitHookInput
| UserPromptExpansionHookInput
| SessionStartHookInput
| SessionEndHookInput
| StopHookInput
| StopFailureHookInput
| SubagentStartHookInput
| SubagentStopHookInput
| PreCompactHookInput
| PostCompactHookInput
| PermissionRequestHookInput
| SetupHookInput
| TeammateIdleHookInput
| TaskCreatedHookInput
| TaskCompletedHookInput
| ElicitationHookInput
| ElicitationResultHookInput
| ConfigChangeHookInput
| InstructionsLoadedHookInput
| DirectoryAddedHookInput
| WorktreeCreateHookInput
| WorktreeRemoveHookInput
| CwdChangedHookInput
| FileChangedHookInput
| MessageDisplayHookInput;
BaseHookInput
Base interface that all hook input types extend.
type BaseHookInput = {
session_id: string;
transcript_path: string;
cwd: string;
prompt_id?: string;
permission_mode?: string;
effort?: { level: string };
agent_id?: string;
agent_type?: string;
};
The prompt_id field is a UUID identifying the user prompt currently being processed. It matches the prompt.id attribute on OpenTelemetry events and is absent until the first user input. Requires Claude Code v2.1.196 or later.
PreToolUseHookInput
type PreToolUseHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PreToolUse";
tool_name: string;
tool_input: unknown;
tool_use_id: string;
};
PostToolUseHookInput
type PostToolUseHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PostToolUse";
tool_name: string;
tool_input: unknown;
tool_response: unknown;
tool_use_id: string;
duration_ms?: number;
};
PostToolUseFailureHookInput
type PostToolUseFailureHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PostToolUseFailure";
tool_name: string;
tool_input: unknown;
tool_use_id: string;
error: string;
is_interrupt?: boolean;
duration_ms?: number;
};
PostToolBatchHookInput
Fires once after every tool call in a batch has resolved, before the next model request. tool_response carries the serialized tool_result content the model sees; the shape differs from PostToolUseHookInput's structured Output object.
type PostToolBatchHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PostToolBatch";
tool_calls: PostToolBatchToolCall[];
};
type PostToolBatchToolCall = {
tool_name: string;
tool_input: unknown;
tool_use_id: string;
tool_response?: unknown;
};
PermissionDeniedHookInput
type PermissionDeniedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PermissionDenied";
tool_name: string;
tool_input: unknown;
tool_use_id: string;
reason: string;
};
NotificationHookInput
type NotificationHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "Notification";
message: string;
title?: string;
notification_type: string;
};
UserPromptSubmitHookInput
type UserPromptSubmitHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "UserPromptSubmit";
prompt: string;
session_title?: string;
};
UserPromptExpansionHookInput
type UserPromptExpansionHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "UserPromptExpansion";
expansion_type: "slash_command" | "mcp_prompt";
command_name: string;
command_args: string;
command_source?: string;
prompt: string;
};
SessionStartHookInput
type SessionStartHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "SessionStart";
source: "startup" | "resume" | "clear" | "compact" | "fork";
agent_type?: string;
model?: string;
session_title?: string;
};
SessionEndHookInput
type SessionEndHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "SessionEnd";
reason: ExitReason; // String from EXIT_REASONS array
};
StopHookInput
type StopHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "Stop";
stop_hook_active: boolean;
last_assistant_message?: string;
background_tasks?: BackgroundTaskSummary[];
session_crons?: SessionCronSummary[];
};
StopFailureHookInput
type StopFailureHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "StopFailure";
error: SDKAssistantMessageError;
error_details?: string;
last_assistant_message?: string;
};
SubagentStartHookInput
type SubagentStartHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "SubagentStart";
agent_id: string;
agent_type: string;
};
SubagentStopHookInput
type SubagentStopHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "SubagentStop";
stop_hook_active: boolean;
agent_id: string;
agent_transcript_path: string;
agent_type: string;
last_assistant_message?: string;
background_tasks?: BackgroundTaskSummary[];
session_crons?: SessionCronSummary[];
};
type BackgroundTaskSummary = {
id: string;
type: string;
status: string;
description: string;
command?: string;
agent_type?: string;
server?: string;
tool?: string;
name?: string;
};
type SessionCronSummary = {
id: string;
schedule: string;
recurring: boolean;
prompt: string;
};
PreCompactHookInput
type PreCompactHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PreCompact";
trigger: "manual" | "auto";
custom_instructions: string | null;
};
PostCompactHookInput
type PostCompactHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PostCompact";
trigger: "manual" | "auto";
compact_summary: string;
};
PermissionRequestHookInput
type PermissionRequestHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "PermissionRequest";
tool_name: string;
tool_input: unknown;
permission_suggestions?: PermissionUpdate[];
};
SetupHookInput
type SetupHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "Setup";
trigger: "init" | "maintenance";
};
TeammateIdleHookInput
type TeammateIdleHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "TeammateIdle";
teammate_name: string;
/** @deprecated since v2.1.178. Carries the session-derived team name; will be removed. */
team_name: string;
};
TaskCreatedHookInput
type TaskCreatedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "TaskCreated";
task_id: string;
task_subject: string;
task_description?: string;
teammate_name?: string;
/** @deprecated since v2.1.178. Carries the session-derived team name; will be removed. */
team_name?: string;
};
TaskCompletedHookInput
type TaskCompletedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "TaskCompleted";
task_id: string;
task_subject: string;
task_description?: string;
teammate_name?: string;
/** @deprecated since v2.1.178. Carries the session-derived team name; will be removed. */
team_name?: string;
};
ElicitationHookInput
type ElicitationHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "Elicitation";
mcp_server_name: string;
message: string;
mode?: "form" | "url";
url?: string;
elicitation_id?: string;
requested_schema?: Record<string, unknown>;
};
ElicitationResultHookInput
type ElicitationResultHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "ElicitationResult";
mcp_server_name: string;
elicitation_id?: string;
mode?: "form" | "url";
action: "accept" | "decline" | "cancel";
content?: Record<string, unknown>;
};
ConfigChangeHookInput
type ConfigChangeHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "ConfigChange";
source:
| "user_settings"
| "project_settings"
| "local_settings"
| "policy_settings"
| "skills";
file_path?: string;
};
InstructionsLoadedHookInput
type InstructionsLoadedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "InstructionsLoaded";
file_path: string;
memory_type: "User" | "Project" | "Local" | "Managed";
load_reason:
| "session_start"
| "nested_traversal"
| "path_glob_match"
| "include"
| "compact";
globs?: string[];
trigger_file_path?: string;
parent_file_path?: string;
};
DirectoryAddedHookInput
type DirectoryAddedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "DirectoryAdded";
directory: string;
source: "slash_command" | "register_repo_root";
};
directory is the absolute path of the directory that was added. source is "slash_command" when /add-dir added it and "register_repo_root" when the SDK control request did.
WorktreeCreateHookInput
type WorktreeCreateHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "WorktreeCreate";
name: string;
};
WorktreeRemoveHookInput
type WorktreeRemoveHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "WorktreeRemove";
worktree_path: string;
};
CwdChangedHookInput
type CwdChangedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "CwdChanged";
old_cwd: string;
new_cwd: string;
};
FileChangedHookInput
type FileChangedHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "FileChanged";
file_path: string;
event: "change" | "add" | "unlink";
};
MessageDisplayHookInput
type MessageDisplayHookInput = BaseHookInput & {
hook_event_name: "MessageDisplay";
turn_id: string;
message_id: string;
index: number;
final: boolean;
delta: string;
};
HookJSONOutput
Hook return value.
type HookJSONOutput = AsyncHookJSONOutput | SyncHookJSONOutput;
AsyncHookJSONOutput
type AsyncHookJSONOutput = {
async: true;
asyncTimeout?: number;
};
SyncHookJSONOutput
type SyncHookJSONOutput = {
continue?: boolean;
suppressOutput?: boolean;
stopReason?: string;
decision?: "approve" | "block";
systemMessage?: string;
/**
* A terminal escape sequence (e.g. OSC 9 / OSC 777 desktop-notification)
* for Claude Code to emit on your behalf. Only notification/title OSCs
* (0, 1, 2, 9, 99, 777) and BEL are permitted; a value containing
* anything else is ignored as a whole. Only the interactive CLI emits
* it; the SDK ignores the field.
*/
terminalSequence?: string;
reason?: string;
hookSpecificOutput?:
| {
hookEventName: "PreToolUse";
permissionDecision?: "allow" | "deny" | "ask" | "defer";
permissionDecisionReason?: string;
updatedInput?: Record<string, unknown>;
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "UserPromptSubmit";
additionalContext?: string;
sessionTitle?: string;
/** When decision is "block", omit the original prompt from the block message. */
suppressOriginalPrompt?: boolean;
}
| {
hookEventName: "UserPromptExpansion";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "SessionStart";
additionalContext?: string;
initialUserMessage?: string;
sessionTitle?: string;
watchPaths?: string[];
/**
* Re-scan skill and command directories after SessionStart hooks
* complete, so skills installed by the hook are available in the
* same session.
*/
reloadSkills?: boolean;
}
| {
hookEventName: "Setup";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "SubagentStart";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "PostToolUse";
additionalContext?: string;
/**
* Short note about this tool call's result for the auto mode
* permission classifier. Capped at 2000 characters, shared across
* all hooks that respond to the same call; honored on synchronous
* hook responses only. Don't copy untrusted tool output into it.
*/
classifierContext?: string;
updatedToolOutput?: unknown;
/** @deprecated Use `updatedToolOutput`, which works for all tools. */
updatedMCPToolOutput?: unknown;
}
| {
hookEventName: "PostToolUseFailure";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "PostToolBatch";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "Stop";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "SubagentStop";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "PermissionDenied";
retry?: boolean;
}
| {
hookEventName: "Notification";
additionalContext?: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "PermissionRequest";
decision:
| {
behavior: "allow";
updatedInput?: Record<string, unknown>;
updatedPermissions?: PermissionUpdate[];
}
| {
behavior: "deny";
message?: string;
interrupt?: boolean;
};
}
| {
hookEventName: "Elicitation";
action?: "accept" | "decline" | "cancel";
content?: Record<string, unknown>;
}
| {
hookEventName: "ElicitationResult";
action?: "accept" | "decline" | "cancel";
content?: Record<string, unknown>;
}
| {
hookEventName: "CwdChanged";
watchPaths?: string[];
}
| {
hookEventName: "FileChanged";
watchPaths?: string[];
}
| {
hookEventName: "WorktreeCreate";
worktreePath: string;
}
| {
hookEventName: "MessageDisplay";
/** Text displayed in place of the delta. Omit (or return the delta unchanged) to display the original. */
displayContent?: string;
};
};
Tool Input Types
Documentation of input schemas for all built-in Claude Code tools. These types are exported from @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk and can be used for type-safe tool interactions.
ToolInputSchemas
Union of tool input types exported from @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk; members include:
type ToolInputSchemas =
| AgentInput
| ArtifactInput
| AskUserQuestionInput
| BashInput
| CronCreateInput
| CronDeleteInput
| CronListInput
| EnterPlanModeInput
| EnterWorktreeInput
| ExitPlanModeInput
| ExitWorktreeInput
| FileEditInput
| FileReadInput
| FileWriteInput
| GlobInput
| GrepInput
| ListMcpResourcesInput
| McpInput
| MonitorInput
| NotebookEditInput
| ProjectsInput
| PushNotificationInput
| ReadMcpResourceDirInput
| ReadMcpResourceInput
| RefreshMcpToolsInput
| RemoteTriggerInput
| REPLInput
| ReportFindingsInput
| ScheduleWakeupInput
| ShowOnboardingRolePickerInput
| TaskCreateInput
| TaskGetInput
| TaskListInput
| TaskOutputInput
| TaskStopInput
| TaskUpdateInput
| TodoWriteInput
| WebFetchInput
| WebSearchInput
| WorkflowInput;
Agent
Tool name: Agent. The previous name Task is still accepted as an alias, and the tools array in the SDKSystemMessage init message currently lists this tool as Task for backward compatibility.
The mode field is deprecated and ignored on Claude Code v2.1.212 or later: subagents inherit the parent session's permission mode, and a subagent definition's permissionMode can override it, except when the parent uses bypassPermissions, acceptEdits, or auto, and Claude Code ignores a definition's permissionMode: "bypassPermissions" when bypass mode is disabled by permissions.disableBypassPermissionsMode.
type AgentInput = {
description: string;
prompt: string;
subagent_type?: string;
model?: "sonnet" | "opus" | "haiku" | "fable";
run_in_background?: boolean;
name?: string;
team_name?: string; // Deprecated; ignored
mode?: "acceptEdits" | "auto" | "bypassPermissions" | "default" | "dontAsk" | "plan"; // Deprecated; ignored. Subagents inherit the parent session's permission mode; agent-definition frontmatter may override it
isolation?: "worktree" | "remote";
};
Launches a new agent to handle complex, multi-step tasks autonomously.
AskUserQuestion
Tool name: AskUserQuestion
type AskUserQuestionInput = {
questions: Array<{
question: string;
header: string;
options: Array<{ label: string; description: string; preview?: string }>;
multiSelect: boolean;
}>;
answers?: Record<string, string>;
annotations?: Record<string, { preview?: string; notes?: string }>;
metadata?: { source?: string };
};
Asks the user clarifying questions during execution. See Handle approvals and user input for usage details.
Bash
Tool name: Bash
type BashInput = {
command: string;
timeout?: number; // milliseconds, max 600000; higher values are clamped to the max
description?: string;
run_in_background?: boolean;
dangerouslyDisableSandbox?: boolean;
};
Executes Bash commands with optional timeout and background execution. The working directory persists between commands; shell state such as exported environment variables doesn't.
Monitor
Tool name: Monitor
type MonitorInput = {
command?: string;
ws?: {
url: string;
protocols?: string[];
};
description: string;
timeout_ms: number;
persistent: boolean;
};
Runs a background source and delivers each event to Claude so it can react without polling: command runs a script and emits one event per stdout line, and ws opens a WebSocket and emits one event per text frame. Provide exactly one of command or ws. The ws source requires Claude Code v2.1.195 or later.
Set persistent: true for session-length watches such as log tails. When Monitor runs a command, it follows the same permission rules as Bash; a WebSocket watch prompts for approval separately. See the Monitor tool reference for behavior and provider availability. The exported type marks timeout_ms and persistent as required because the schema fills in their defaults, 300000 and false; a call that omits them validates.
TaskOutput
Tool name: TaskOutput
TaskOutput is deprecated; prefer Read on the task's output file path. The schemas below remain valid for hooks and permission handlers that encounter the tool.
type TaskOutputInput = {
task_id: string;
block: boolean;
timeout: number;
};
Retrieves output from a running or completed background task.
Edit
Tool name: Edit
type FileEditInput = {
file_path: string;
old_string: string;
new_string: string;
replace_all?: boolean;
};
Performs exact string replacements in files.
Read
Tool name: Read
type FileReadInput = {
file_path: string;
offset?: number;
limit?: number;
pages?: string;
};
Reads files from the local filesystem, including text, images, PDFs, and Jupyter notebooks. Use pages for PDF page ranges (for example, "1-5").
Write
Tool name: Write
type FileWriteInput = {
file_path: string;
content: string;
};
Writes a file to the local filesystem, overwriting if it exists.
Glob
Tool name: Glob
type GlobInput = {
pattern: string;
path?: string;
};
Fast file pattern matching that works with any codebase size.
Grep
Tool name: Grep
type GrepInput = {
pattern: string;
path?: string;
glob?: string;
type?: string;
output_mode?: "content" | "files_with_matches" | "count";
"-i"?: boolean;
"-o"?: boolean; // print only the matched parts of each line; requires output_mode: "content"
"-n"?: boolean;
"-B"?: number;
"-A"?: number;
"-C"?: number;
context?: number;
head_limit?: number;
offset?: number;
multiline?: boolean;
};
Powerful search tool built on ripgrep with regex support.
TaskStop
Tool name: TaskStop
type TaskStopInput = {
task_id?: string;
shell_id?: string; // Deprecated: use task_id
};
Stops a running background task or shell by ID. As of v2.1.198, task_id also accepts an agent-team teammate or a named background agent by agent ID or name.
NotebookEdit
Tool name: NotebookEdit
type NotebookEditInput = {
notebook_path: string;
cell_id?: string;
new_source: string;
cell_type?: "code" | "markdown";
edit_mode?: "replace" | "insert" | "delete";
};
Edits cells in Jupyter notebook files.
WebFetch
Tool name: WebFetch
type WebFetchInput = {
url: string;
prompt: string;
};
Fetches content from a URL and processes it with an AI model.
WebSearch
Tool name: WebSearch
type WebSearchInput = {
query: string;
allowed_domains?: string[];
blocked_domains?: string[];
};
Searches the web and returns formatted results.
Workflow
Tool name: Workflow
type WorkflowInput = {
script?: string;
name?: string;
scriptPath?: string;
args?: unknown; // any JSON value; the published typings render this as an object map
resumeFromRunId?: string;
title?: string; // ignored; the script's meta block sets the title
description?: string; // ignored; the script's meta block sets the description
};
Runs a dynamic workflow: a script that orchestrates many subagents in the background and returns one consolidated result. The Workflow tool is available in Agent SDK v0.3.149 and later. At least one of script, name, or scriptPath is required.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
script |
string |
Inline workflow script. Must begin with export const meta = { name, description } as a literal, followed by the script body using agent(), parallel(), pipeline(), and phase(). An optional phases array in meta groups agents under named stages in the progress view |
name |
string |
Name of a built-in workflow or one saved in .claude/workflows/. Resolved to a script |
scriptPath |
string |
Path to a workflow script file on disk. Takes precedence over script and name. Every invocation persists its script and returns the path in the result, so you can edit that file and re-invoke with the same scriptPath to iterate |
args |
unknown |
Input value exposed to the script as the global args, for parameterized named workflows such as a research question or a list of file paths. Pass arrays and objects as actual JSON values, not as a JSON-encoded string |
resumeFromRunId |
string |
Run ID of a prior Workflow invocation to resume. Completed agent() calls with unchanged inputs usually return cached results; the rest run live. Resume after a pause covers which completed calls re-run. Same session only |
title |
string |
Ignored; the script's meta block sets the title |
description |
string |
Ignored; the script's meta block sets the description |
TodoWrite
Tool name: TodoWrite
type TodoWriteInput = {
todos: Array<{
content: string;
status: "pending" | "in_progress" | "completed";
activeForm: string;
}>;
};
Creates and manages a structured task list for tracking progress.
On TypeScript Agent SDK 0.3.233 and later, the following tools aren't available on Opus 4.8, Sonnet 5, Fable 5, Mythos 5, or later versions of those families unless you opt in:
TodoWriteTaskCreateTaskGetTaskUpdateTaskList
On other models, Claude Code provides the Task tools by default and TodoWrite only when you set CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS=0.
See Model availability to opt in.
TaskCreate
Tool name: TaskCreate
type TaskCreateInput = {
subject: string;
description: string;
activeForm?: string;
metadata?: Record<string, unknown>;
};
Creates a single task and returns its assigned ID.
TaskUpdate
Tool name: TaskUpdate
type TaskUpdateInput = {
taskId: string;
status?: "pending" | "in_progress" | "completed" | "deleted";
subject?: string;
description?: string;
activeForm?: string;
addBlocks?: string[];
addBlockedBy?: string[];
owner?: string;
metadata?: Record<string, unknown>;
};
Patches one task by ID. Set status to "deleted" to remove it.
TaskGet
Tool name: TaskGet
type TaskGetInput = {
taskId: string;
};
Returns full details for one task, or null when the ID is not found.
TaskList
Tool name: TaskList
type TaskListInput = {};
Returns a snapshot of all tasks in the current list.
ExitPlanMode
Tool name: ExitPlanMode
type ExitPlanModeInput = {
/** Deprecated: no longer used. */
allowedPrompts?: Array<{
tool: "Bash";
prompt: string;
}>;
[k: string]: unknown;
};
Exits plan mode. The allowedPrompts field is deprecated and ignored; Claude Code still accepts it so existing callers and transcripts validate. Before v2.1.205, it requested prompt-based Bash permissions for implementing the plan.
ListMcpResources
Tool name: ListMcpResourcesTool
type ListMcpResourcesInput = {
server?: string;
};
Lists available MCP resources from connected servers.
ReadMcpResource
Tool name: ReadMcpResourceTool
type ReadMcpResourceInput = {
server: string;
uri: string;
};
Reads a specific MCP resource from a server.
EnterWorktree
Tool name: EnterWorktree
type EnterWorktreeInput = {
name?: string;
path?: string;
};
Creates and enters a temporary git worktree for isolated work. Pass path to switch into an existing worktree instead of creating a new one. On first entry the target must be a registered worktree of the current repository or, in a multi-repo workspace, of a repository nested inside it; from within a worktree session it must be under .claude/worktrees/ of the session's repository. name and path are mutually exclusive.
ExitWorktree
Tool name: ExitWorktree
type ExitWorktreeInput = {
action: "keep" | "remove";
discard_changes?: boolean;
};
Exits the current git worktree and returns to the original working directory. The keep action leaves the worktree and branch on disk, while remove deletes both. discard_changes must be true when removing a worktree that has uncommitted files or unmerged commits.
EnterPlanMode
Tool name: EnterPlanMode
type EnterPlanModeInput = {};
Enters plan mode, where Claude researches and presents a plan before making changes.
CronCreate
Tool name: CronCreate
type CronCreateInput = {
cron: string;
prompt: string;
recurring?: boolean;
durable?: boolean;
};
Schedules a prompt to run on a 5-field cron schedule in local time. Set recurring to false to fire once at the next match. Jobs are session-scoped by default: starting a fresh conversation clears them, and resuming with --resume or --continue restores jobs that haven't expired. See Scheduled tasks.
Setting durable to true requests persistence to .claude/scheduled_tasks.json so the job survives restarts. Durable scheduling isn't available in every session: when it isn't, Claude Code accepts durable: true but creates the job session-only. Read the output's durable field to see whether the job persisted.
CronDelete
Tool name: CronDelete
type CronDeleteInput = {
id: string;
};
Deletes a scheduled cron job by the ID returned from CronCreate.
CronList
Tool name: CronList
type CronListInput = {};
Lists the scheduled cron jobs: durable jobs from .claude/scheduled_tasks.json and session-only jobs from the current session.
ScheduleWakeup
Tool name: ScheduleWakeup
type ScheduleWakeupInput = {
delaySeconds?: number;
reason?: string;
prompt?: string;
stop?: boolean;
};
Schedules a one-shot wake-up that fires the given prompt after a delay. This tool backs the self-paced /loop command. The runtime clamps delaySeconds to between 60 and 3600 seconds. The delaySeconds, reason, and prompt fields are required unless stop is true. Setting stop: true cancels the pending wakeup and ends the self-paced /loop. The stop field requires Claude Code v2.1.202 or later. See the ScheduleWakeup row in the tools reference for availability; it isn't available on Amazon Bedrock, Claude Platform on AWS, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry, nor when you turn off feature-flag fetching.
RemoteTrigger
Tool name: RemoteTrigger
type RemoteTriggerInput = {
action:
| "list"
| "get"
| "create"
| "update"
| "run"
| "create_webhook_trigger"
| "list_runs"
| "get_run_log";
trigger_id?: string;
session_id?: string;
cursor?: string;
body?: {
[k: string]: unknown;
};
};
Manages Routines, the scheduled and triggered Claude Code runs hosted in the cloud. This tool backs the /schedule command. trigger_id is required for the get, update, run, and list_runs actions. body is required for create, update, and create_webhook_trigger, and optional for run.
create_webhook_trigger attaches an event source to an existing routine, such as a GitHub event that fires it. The body names the source, the events, and the routine to fire. Requires Claude Code v2.1.225 or later.
list_runs lists a routine's recent runs, and get_run_log reads one run's log. session_id names the run to read, from a list_runs result, and cursor pages through either action's results. Both actions require Claude Code v2.1.227 or later.
This tool is available only when the session is authenticated with a claude.ai account on a plan with Routines enabled, and is absent when your organization's policy disables Claude Code on the web or when you turn off feature-flag fetching. On Claude Code v2.1.227 or later, the tool is also absent when an Owner has turned off routines for the organization. Before v2.1.227, a session with only the routines toggle turned off still showed the tool, and the server denied its calls.
PushNotification
Tool name: PushNotification
type PushNotificationInput = {
message: string;
status: "proactive";
};
Sends a proactive push notification to the user. Keep message under 200 characters because mobile operating systems truncate longer text. See the PushNotification row in the tools reference for provider availability; push delivery runs through Anthropic-hosted infrastructure that isn't accessible from Amazon Bedrock, Claude Platform on AWS, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry.
REPL
Tool name: REPL
type REPLInput = {
code: string;
description?: string;
timeout?: number;
};
Executes JavaScript code in a persistent REPL. State persists across calls and top-level await is supported. timeout is in milliseconds, with a default of 30000 and a maximum of 600000.
The types are exported, but the tool is off in SDK sessions unless you set CLAUDE_CODE_REPL=1 in the env option. It also requires the Bun-based claude executable that the native installer provides.
ReportFindings
Tool name: ReportFindings
type ReportFindingsInput = {
level?: "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max";
findings: Array<{
file: string;
line?: number;
summary: string;
failure_scenario: string;
short_summary?: string;
category?: string;
verdict?: "CONFIRMED" | "PLAUSIBLE";
outcome?: "fixed" | "skipped" | "no_change_needed";
}>;
};
Reports code-review findings as a structured list so Claude Code can render them instead of printing them as text. level is the effort level the review ran at. Findings are ordered most-severe first, with at most 32 per call, and the array is empty when none survived. Requires Claude Code v2.1.196 or later.
Each finding carries these fields:
file: repo-relative path the finding is in. The optionallineis the 1-indexed line it anchors to.summary: one-sentence statement of the defect.failure_scenariodescribes the concrete inputs and state that lead to the wrong output or crash.short_summary: optional compressed label of at most 60 characters for compact display. Requires Claude Code v2.1.212 or later.category: optional short kebab-case slug of the finding type, such ascorrectnessortest-coverage. Requires Claude Code v2.1.199 or later.verdict: set when a verify pass ran; absent on inline-only reviews.outcome: set only when re-reporting after applying fixes.
Artifact
Tool name: Artifact
type ArtifactInput = {
action?: "publish" | "list";
file_path?: string;
favicon?: string;
limit?: number;
scope?: "mine" | "shared" | "all";
title?: string;
description?: string;
label?: string;
url?: string;
force?: boolean;
capabilities?: Record<string, unknown>;
contract?: "latest" | string;
};
Publishes a local .html or .md file as a hosted artifact page, or lists the user's published artifacts. Omit action or pass "publish" to publish file_path, which is required for the publish action along with favicon, one or two emoji for the browser tab. title names the published page in the browser tab and gallery when the HTML file has no <title> tag. url targets an existing artifact to update in place instead of minting a new one.
force is a last-resort overwrite that discards a newer version another session published. On a conflict, the failed publish returns the newer content; Claude merges its changes onto that content, or re-reads the artifact, and publishes again. Pass force only when the user explicitly asks to discard that version.
Pass "list" to enumerate the user's published artifacts; only limit and scope may accompany it. scope defaults to "mine", which lists artifacts the user owns; "shared" lists artifacts other people shared with the user, and "all" lists both.
capabilities: the runtime capabilities the published page uses, keyed by capability name, such as the connectors the page may call. The artifact service validates the declaration and rejects a publish that names a capability the account can't use or gives one an invalid config. Pass{}to clear a stored declaration, and omit the field on a redeploy to keep it. Requires Agent SDK v0.3.235 or later.contract: the runtime version the published page runs against. Omit it to keep the artifact's current version, pass"latest"to upgrade, or pass a specific version to pin or roll back. Requires Agent SDK v0.3.235 or later.
The types are exported, but the tool is off by default in Agent SDK sessions. Publishing also requires every condition in the artifacts availability table, which sessions authenticated with an API key don't meet.
Projects
Tool name: Projects
type ProjectsInput = {
method:
| "project_info"
| "project_read"
| "project_search"
| "project_write"
| "project_delete";
path?: string;
content?: string;
local_path?: string;
present_to_user?: boolean;
query?: string;
n?: number;
};
Reads and writes the claude.ai Project attached to the session. Dispatches on method:
project_info: returns project metadata and the doc list.project_read: reads one doc bypath.project_search: queries the project's knowledge base withquery.ncaps the hits and defaults to 5.project_write: creates or replaces a doc atpathfrom exactly one ofcontent, which carries inline text, orlocal_path, which names a file inside the working directory.present_to_user: truemarks the written doc as the deliverable the user needs to see.project_delete: deletes a doc bypath.
ReadMcpResourceDir
Tool name: ReadMcpResourceDirTool
type ReadMcpResourceDirInput = {
server: string;
uri: string;
};
Lists the direct children of a directory resource on an MCP server. Only usable against a server that has declared support for directory listing; the listing isn't recursive. Directory listing isn't enabled in every session: when it's off, the call returns an empty resources list and the error field reports that directory listing isn't enabled.
RefreshMcpTools
Tool name: RefreshMcpTools
type RefreshMcpToolsInput = {
server?: string; // refresh only this server; omit to refresh all connected servers
};
Re-queries the tool list of connected MCP servers and applies any changes. The types are exported, but Claude Code registers the tool only when you set CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_REFRESH_MCP_TOOLS=1 in the env option, and only in sessions with at least one MCP server. Requires Claude Code v2.1.211 or later.
ShowOnboardingRolePicker
Tool name: ShowOnboardingRolePicker
type ShowOnboardingRolePickerInput = {};
Renders a clickable role-picker chip row during Cowork onboarding so the user can pick their role and get a matching plugin installed. Takes no arguments; the role list is defined by the client. The call blocks until the user responds.
McpInput
Tool name: dynamic MCP tool names of the form mcp__<server>__<tool>
type McpInput = {
[k: string]: unknown;
};
MCP tool arguments are an open object: each server defines its own parameters, so the type places no constraints on field names or values. Consult the server's own tool schema for the fields a specific tool accepts.
Tool Output Types
Documentation of output schemas for all built-in Claude Code tools. These types are exported from @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk and represent the actual response data returned by each tool.
ToolOutputSchemas
Union of tool output types exported from @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk; members include:
type ToolOutputSchemas =
| AgentOutput
| ArtifactOutput
| AskUserQuestionOutput
| BashOutput
| CronCreateOutput
| CronDeleteOutput
| CronListOutput
| EnterPlanModeOutput
| EnterWorktreeOutput
| ExitPlanModeOutput
| ExitWorktreeOutput
| FileEditOutput
| FileReadOutput
| FileWriteOutput
| GlobOutput
| GrepOutput
| ListMcpResourcesOutput
| McpOutput
| MonitorOutput
| NotebookEditOutput
| ProjectsOutput
| PushNotificationOutput
| ReadMcpResourceDirOutput
| ReadMcpResourceOutput
| RefreshMcpToolsOutput
| RemoteTriggerOutput
| REPLOutput
| ReportFindingsOutput
| ScheduleWakeupOutput
| ShowOnboardingRolePickerOutput
| TaskCreateOutput
| TaskGetOutput
| TaskListOutput
| TaskStopOutput
| TaskUpdateOutput
| TodoWriteOutput
| WebFetchOutput
| WebSearchOutput
| WorkflowOutput;
Agent
Tool name: Agent. The previous name Task is still accepted as an alias, and the tools array in the SDKSystemMessage init message currently lists this tool as Task for backward compatibility.
type AgentOutput =
| {
status: "completed";
agentId: string;
agentType?: string;
content: Array<{ type: "text"; text: string; citations?: unknown[] | null }>;
resolvedModel?: string;
modelsUsed?: string[];
totalToolUseCount: number;
totalDurationMs: number;
totalTokens: number;
usage: {
input_tokens: number;
output_tokens: number;
cache_creation_input_tokens: number | null;
cache_read_input_tokens: number | null;
server_tool_use: {
web_search_requests: number;
web_fetch_requests: number;
} | null;
service_tier: string | null;
cache_creation: {
ephemeral_1h_input_tokens: number;
ephemeral_5m_input_tokens: number;
} | null;
inference_geo?: string | null;
speed?: string | null;
iterations?: unknown;
output_tokens_details?: {
thinking_tokens?: number | null;
} | null;
};
toolStats?: {
readCount: number;
searchCount: number;
bashCount: number;
editFileCount: number;
linesAdded: number;
linesRemoved: number;
otherToolCount: number;
frameCount?: number;
};
prompt: string;
worktreePath?: string;
worktreeBranch?: string;
}
| {
status: "async_launched";
isAsync?: true;
agentId: string;
description: string;
resolvedModel?: string;
modelsUsed?: string[];
prompt: string;
outputFile: string;
canReadOutputFile?: boolean;
}
| {
status: "remote_launched";
taskId: string;
sessionUrl: string;
description: string;
prompt: string;
outputFile: string;
};
Returns the result from the subagent. Discriminated on the status field: "completed" for finished tasks, "async_launched" for background tasks, and "remote_launched" for tasks Claude Code dispatched to a remote cloud session, where sessionUrl links to that session and taskId identifies it.
On the completed variant, resolvedModel names the model the subagent started on, which can differ from the requested model input when availableModels or another override applies. This field requires Claude Code v2.1.174 or later. On async_launched, it names the model in use when the task moved to the background.
modelsUsed lists the models the subagent used, in order. The field is present only when a mid-run swap happened, and a model appears again when the run swapped back to it. On async_launched, the list covers the models used before backgrounding. Both modelsUsed and the backgrounding behavior of resolvedModel require Claude Code v2.1.212 or later.
If Claude Code kept the subagent's isolated worktree, worktreePath on the completed result is where to find it. worktreeBranch is its branch, present when Claude Code created the worktree with git.
Claude Code fills usage and totalTokens from the subagent's final API request, not from the whole run, so usage.service_tier is the service tier string the API reported on that request. When present, usage.output_tokens_details.thinking_tokens is the number of that request's output tokens that were thinking tokens. The output_tokens_details field requires TypeScript SDK v0.3.228 or later, which bundles Claude Code v2.1.228.
Before v2.1.207, the published type was narrower. It omitted worktreePath, worktreeBranch, citations, toolStats.frameCount, and the inference_geo, speed, and iterations usage fields, and it typed service_tier as "standard" | "priority" | "batch". Fields the type marks optional can be absent on results recorded by earlier versions.
AskUserQuestion
Tool name: AskUserQuestion
type AskUserQuestionOutput = {
questions: Array<{
question: string;
header: string;
options: Array<{ label: string; description: string; preview?: string }>;
multiSelect: boolean;
}>;
answers: Record<string, string>;
response?: string;
annotations?: Record<string, { preview?: string; notes?: string }>;
afkTimeoutMs?: number;
};
Returns the questions asked and the user's answers. response is set when the user typed a freeform reply instead of answering the structured questions; when present, Claude receives "The user responded: …" instead of the per-question answer list.
Bash
Tool name: Bash
type BashOutput = {
stdout: string;
stderr: string;
rawOutputPath?: string;
interrupted: boolean;
isImage?: boolean;
backgroundTaskId?: string;
backgroundedByUser?: boolean;
timedOutAfterMs?: number;
backgroundCwdHint?: string;
backgroundEndsWithFinalResponse?: true;
dangerouslyDisableSandbox?: boolean;
returnCodeInterpretation?: string;
noOutputExpected?: boolean;
structuredContent?: unknown[];
persistedOutputPath?: string;
persistedOutputSize?: number;
staleReadFileStateHint?: string;
ghRateLimitHint?: string;
gitOperation?: {
commit?: { sha: string; kind: "committed" | "amended" | "cherry-picked"; branch?: string };
push?: { branch: string };
branch?: { ref: string; action: "merged" | "rebased" };
pr?: {
number: number;
url?: string;
action: "created" | "edited" | "merged" | "commented" | "closed" | "reopened" | "ready" | "draft" | "auto-merge-enabled" | "auto-merge-disabled";
};
};
};
The stdout, stderr, and backgroundTaskId fields carry:
| Field | What it carries |
|---|---|
stdout |
The command's stdout and stderr, merged into one interleaved stream |
stderr |
Notices the tool itself adds, such as a shell working-directory reset, not the command's stderr |
backgroundTaskId |
Present for background commands |
timedOutAfterMs is the timeout in milliseconds, set when the command reached its timeout and moved to the background rather than starting there explicitly. backgroundCwdHint is set when the backgrounded command contained a directory-change builtin such as cd, pushd, popd, or chdir, and notes that the session working directory didn't change. Both fields require Claude Code v2.1.210 or later.
When a subagent running in the foreground owns a backgrounded command, Claude Code terminates the command when that subagent gives its final response. Claude Code sets backgroundEndsWithFinalResponse to true on such commands, and omits the field when the command survives the turn, as commands started by the main conversation or by background subagents do. The field requires Claude Code v2.1.227 or later.
Claude Code sets gitOperation.commit.branch to the branch named in git's commit summary line, and omits it for a commit made on a detached HEAD. The field requires Agent SDK v0.3.227 or later. Claude Code reports a gh pr reopen command as the reopened PR action, which requires Agent SDK v0.3.234 or later.
Monitor
Tool name: Monitor
type MonitorOutput = {
taskId: string;
timeoutMs: number;
persistent?: boolean;
};
Returns the background task ID for the running monitor. Use this ID with TaskStop to cancel the watch early.
Edit
Tool name: Edit
type FileEditOutput = {
filePath: string;
oldString: string;
newString: string;
originalFile: string | null;
structuredPatch: Array<{
oldStart: number;
oldLines: number;
newStart: number;
newLines: number;
lines: string[];
}>;
userModified: boolean;
replaceAll: boolean;
gitDiff?: {
filename: string;
status: "modified" | "added";
additions: number;
deletions: number;
changes: number;
patch: string;
repository?: string | null;
};
};
Returns the structured diff of the edit operation.
Read
Tool name: Read
type FileReadOutput =
| {
type: "text";
file: {
filePath: string;
content: string;
numLines: number;
startLine: number;
totalLines: number;
/** True when a whole-file read was auto-paginated because it exceeded the token cap (the content is a partial first page). */
truncatedByTokenCap?: boolean;
};
}
| {
type: "image";
file: {
base64: string;
type: "image/jpeg" | "image/png" | "image/gif" | "image/webp";
originalSize: number;
dimensions?: {
originalWidth?: number;
originalHeight?: number;
displayWidth?: number;
displayHeight?: number;
};
};
}
| {
type: "notebook";
file: {
filePath: string;
cells: unknown[];
};
}
| {
type: "pdf";
file: {
filePath: string;
base64: string;
originalSize: number;
};
}
| {
type: "parts";
file: {
filePath: string;
originalSize: number;
count: number;
outputDir: string;
};
}
| {
type: "file_unchanged";
file: {
filePath: string;
};
/** Set when the dedup matched a startup-seeded entry (CLAUDE.md / nested memory) rather than a prior Read tool_result. */
source?: "seeded";
};
Returns file contents in a format appropriate to the file type. Discriminated on the type field.
Write
Tool name: Write
type FileWriteOutput = {
type: "create" | "update";
filePath: string;
content: string;
structuredPatch: Array<{
oldStart: number;
oldLines: number;
newStart: number;
newLines: number;
lines: string[];
}>;
originalFile: string | null;
gitDiff?: {
filename: string;
status: "modified" | "added";
additions: number;
deletions: number;
changes: number;
patch: string;
repository?: string | null;
};
userModified?: boolean;
};
Returns the write result with structured diff information.
Glob
Tool name: Glob
type GlobOutput = {
durationMs: number;
numFiles: number;
filenames: string[];
truncated: boolean;
totalMatches?: number;
countIsComplete?: boolean;
};
Returns file paths matching the glob pattern, sorted by modification time.
totalMatches and countIsComplete require Claude Code v2.1.191 or later. totalMatches reports the number of matching files before truncation. When countIsComplete is false, totalMatches is a lower bound because the underlying search truncated its own output.
Grep
Tool name: Grep
type GrepOutput = {
mode?: "content" | "files_with_matches" | "count";
numFiles: number;
filenames: string[];
content?: string;
numLines?: number;
numMatches?: number;
totalFiles?: number;
totalLines?: number;
appliedLimit?: number;
appliedOffset?: number;
};
Returns search results. The shape varies by mode: file list, content with matches, or match counts. In count mode, numFiles and numMatches are totals over the full result set, not the paginated slice. Before v2.1.208, a head_limit or offset that truncated the listed entries also truncated those totals.
totalFiles requires Claude Code v2.1.208 or later and reports the total number of results before head_limit and offset pagination in files_with_matches mode. totalLines requires Claude Code v2.1.210 or later and reports the total number of lines before pagination in content mode.
TaskStop
Tool name: TaskStop
type TaskStopOutput = {
message: string;
task_id: string;
task_type: string;
command?: string;
};
Returns confirmation after stopping the background task.
NotebookEdit
Tool name: NotebookEdit
type NotebookEditOutput = {
new_source: string;
old_source?: string;
cell_id?: string;
cell_type: "code" | "markdown";
language: string;
edit_mode: string;
error?: string;
notebook_path: string;
original_file: string;
updated_file: string;
};
Returns the result of the notebook edit with original and updated file contents.
WebFetch
Tool name: WebFetch
type WebFetchOutput = {
bytes: number;
code: number;
codeText: string;
result: string;
durationMs: number;
url: string;
artifactRead?: {
slug: string;
ver?: string;
seeded?: false;
};
};
Returns the fetched content with HTTP status and metadata.
artifactRead is present only when Claude fetched an artifact the session can publish to, and it always carries that artifact's slug.
seeded is false on a read that didn't deliver the page's full source, and that entry carries no ver. The field requires Agent SDK v0.3.239 or later.
WebSearch
Tool name: WebSearch
type WebSearchOutput = {
query: string;
results: Array<
| {
tool_use_id: string;
content: Array<{ title: string; url: string }>;
}
| string
>;
durationSeconds: number;
searchCount?: number;
};
Returns search results from the web.
Workflow
Tool name: Workflow
type WorkflowOutput = {
status: "async_launched" | "remote_launched";
taskId: string;
taskType?: "local_workflow" | "remote_agent";
workflowName?: string;
runId?: string;
summary?: string;
transcriptDir?: string;
scriptPath?: string;
sessionUrl?: string; // set when the workflow launched as a remote session
warning?: string;
error?: string;
};
Returns immediately after the tool accepts the invocation. The final result arrives later as a task completion. Check error before treating the run as started: a script that fails its syntax check returns status: "async_launched" with error set, and never runs.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
status |
"async_launched" | "remote_launched" |
The tool accepted the invocation. "async_launched" for in-process runs, "remote_launched" for runs dispatched to a remote session instead of running in-process |
taskId |
string |
Background task identifier for the run |
taskType |
"local_workflow" | "remote_agent" |
Task type of the registered background task, matching the status arm |
workflowName |
string |
The meta.name from the workflow script |
runId |
string |
Workflow run identifier to pass as resumeFromRunId on a later invocation. Absent for remote_launched runs, where the cloud session URL is the resume handle |
summary |
string |
One-line description of what the workflow does |
transcriptDir |
string |
Directory where subagent transcripts are written during execution |
scriptPath |
string |
Path to the persisted workflow script for this run. Edit it and pass back as scriptPath to rerun without resending the script |
sessionUrl |
string |
Cloud session URL, set when status is "remote_launched" |
warning |
string |
Non-blocking heads-up, such as local git state diverging from the pushed branch a cloud session will clone |
error |
string |
Set when the script fails its syntax check. When present, the run did not start despite the launched status |
TodoWrite
Tool name: TodoWrite
type TodoWriteOutput = {
oldTodos: Array<{
content: string;
status: "pending" | "in_progress" | "completed";
activeForm: string;
}>;
newTodos: Array<{
content: string;
status: "pending" | "in_progress" | "completed";
activeForm: string;
}>;
};
Returns the previous and updated task lists.
On TypeScript Agent SDK 0.3.233 and later, the following tools aren't available on Opus 4.8, Sonnet 5, Fable 5, Mythos 5, or later versions of those families unless you opt in:
TodoWriteTaskCreateTaskGetTaskUpdateTaskList
On other models, Claude Code provides the Task tools by default and TodoWrite only when you set CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS=0.
See Model availability to opt in.
TaskCreate
Tool name: TaskCreate
type TaskCreateOutput = {
task: {
id: string;
subject: string;
};
};
Returns the created task with its assigned ID.
TaskUpdate
Tool name: TaskUpdate
type TaskUpdateOutput = {
success: boolean;
taskId: string;
updatedFields: string[];
error?: string;
statusChange?: {
from: string;
to: string;
};
};
Returns the update result, including which fields changed.
TaskGet
Tool name: TaskGet
type TaskGetOutput = {
task: {
id: string;
subject: string;
description: string;
status: "pending" | "in_progress" | "completed";
blocks: string[];
blockedBy: string[];
} | null;
};
Returns the full task record, or null when the ID is not found.
TaskList
Tool name: TaskList
type TaskListOutput = {
tasks: Array<{
id: string;
subject: string;
status: "pending" | "in_progress" | "completed";
owner?: string;
blockedBy: string[];
}>;
};
Returns a snapshot of all tasks in the current list.
ExitPlanMode
Tool name: ExitPlanMode
type ExitPlanModeOutput = {
plan: string | null;
isAgent: boolean;
filePath?: string;
hasTaskTool?: boolean;
planWasEdited?: boolean;
awaitingLeaderApproval?: boolean;
requestId?: string;
};
Returns the plan state after exiting plan mode.
ListMcpResources
Tool name: ListMcpResourcesTool
type ListMcpResourcesOutput = Array<{
uri: string;
name: string;
mimeType?: string;
description?: string;
server: string;
}>;
Returns an array of available MCP resources.
ReadMcpResource
Tool name: ReadMcpResourceTool
type ReadMcpResourceOutput = {
contents: Array<{
uri: string;
mimeType?: string;
text?: string;
blobSavedTo?: string;
}>;
error?: string;
};
Returns the contents of the requested MCP resource.
EnterWorktree
Tool name: EnterWorktree
type EnterWorktreeOutput = {
worktreePath: string;
worktreeBranch?: string;
message: string;
};
Returns information about the git worktree.
ExitWorktree
Tool name: ExitWorktree
type ExitWorktreeOutput = {
action: "keep" | "remove";
originalCwd: string;
worktreePath: string;
worktreeBranch?: string;
tmuxSessionName?: string;
discardedFiles?: number;
discardedCommits?: number;
message: string;
};
Returns the action taken and details about the worktree that was exited.
EnterPlanMode
Tool name: EnterPlanMode
type EnterPlanModeOutput = {
message: string;
};
Returns a confirmation that plan mode was entered.
CronCreate
Tool name: CronCreate
type CronCreateOutput = {
id: string;
humanSchedule: string;
recurring: boolean;
durable?: boolean; // true when persisted to .claude/scheduled_tasks.json; false when session-only
};
Returns the job ID and a human-readable description of the schedule.
CronDelete
Tool name: CronDelete
type CronDeleteOutput = {
id: string;
};
Returns the ID of the deleted job.
CronList
Tool name: CronList
type CronListOutput = {
jobs: {
id: string;
cron: string;
humanSchedule: string;
prompt: string;
recurring?: boolean;
durable?: boolean;
}[];
};
Returns the scheduled cron jobs: durable jobs from .claude/scheduled_tasks.json and session-only jobs from the current session. A session-only job carries durable: false; jobs read from disk omit the field.
ScheduleWakeup
Tool name: ScheduleWakeup
type ScheduleWakeupOutput = {
scheduledFor: number;
clampedDelaySeconds: number;
wasClamped: boolean;
stopped?: boolean;
cancelledWakeups?: number;
};
Returns when the wake-up will fire as an epoch millisecond timestamp, the delay actually used, and whether the requested delay was clamped. The stopped field is true when the call ended the loop with stop: true. It requires Claude Code v2.1.202 or later. The cancelledWakeups field counts how many pending wakeups a stop: true call cancelled. A value of 0 means nothing was pending, and a recurring /loop cron isn't cancelled by stop: true. It requires Claude Code v2.1.206 or later.
RemoteTrigger
Tool name: RemoteTrigger
type RemoteTriggerOutput = {
status: number;
json: string;
summary?: string;
};
Returns the API response status and body for the trigger operation.
PushNotification
Tool name: PushNotification
type PushNotificationOutput = {
message: string;
pushSent?: boolean;
localSent?: boolean;
disabledReason?: "config_off" | "user_present" | "no_transport";
sentAt?: string;
};
Returns delivery details, including whether a push or local notification was sent and why delivery was skipped.
REPL
Tool name: REPL
type REPLOutput = {
code: string;
result: {
[k: string]: unknown;
};
stdout: string;
stderr: string;
error?: string;
registeredTools?: string[];
images?: {
base64: string;
mediaType: string;
}[];
documents?: {
base64: string;
}[];
};
Returns the execution result, captured console output, and any images or documents surfaced by inner Read calls.
ReportFindings
Tool name: ReportFindings
type ReportFindingsOutput = {
count: number;
level?: "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max";
findings: Array<{
file: string;
line?: number;
summary: string;
failure_scenario: string;
short_summary?: string;
category?: string;
verdict?: "CONFIRMED" | "PLAUSIBLE";
outcome?: "fixed" | "skipped" | "no_change_needed";
}>;
};
Returns the number of findings reported, the effort level the review ran at, and the findings echoed back for the result body. Requires Claude Code v2.1.196 or later. The echoed short_summary field requires Claude Code v2.1.212 or later.
Artifact
Tool name: Artifact
type ArtifactOutput =
| {
url: string;
path: string;
title?: string;
version?: string;
capabilities?: unknown;
stored?: {
contract: string;
capabilities?: Record<string, unknown>;
};
warnings?: string[];
contract?: string;
updated?: boolean;
liveSubscription?: string;
}
| {
artifacts: Array<{
title: string;
url: string;
updatedAt?: string;
rel?: "mine" | "shared";
}>;
truncated?: boolean;
scope?: "shared" | "all";
};
Returns the published page's url and the local path that was published for the publish action, with updated set to true when the publish redeployed an existing artifact, and warnings carrying any publish-time advisories. The list action returns the artifacts rows instead, with truncated set when more artifacts exist than the requested limit. On listings whose scope isn't "mine", each row carries rel marking whether the user owns the artifact or it was shared with them, and the output's scope records which non-default scope produced the listing; both are absent on default listings.
Projects
Tool name: Projects
type ProjectsOutput =
| {
method: "project_info";
notice?: string;
name: string;
description: string;
instructions: string;
docs: Array<{ path: string; created_at: string | null }>;
files?: Array<{
path: string;
file_kind: string;
created_at: string | null;
}>;
sync_sources?: Array<{
type: string | null;
config: Record<string, unknown>;
}>;
knowledge: {
knowledge_size: number;
max_knowledge_size: number;
};
}
| {
method: "project_read";
notice?: string;
path: string;
file_kind?: string;
content?: string;
local_file?: string;
created_at: string | null;
}
| {
method: "project_search";
notice?: string;
rag: boolean;
hits?: Array<{ name?: string; doc_uuid?: string; text?: string }>;
docs?: string[];
}
| {
method: "project_write";
notice?: string;
path: string;
doc_uuid: string;
replaced: boolean;
present_to_user?: boolean;
local_path?: string;
}
| {
method: "project_delete";
notice?: string;
path: string;
deleted: boolean;
};
Discriminated on the method field, mirroring the input. project_read returns small text docs inline in content and writes larger docs to a local_file path instead; project_search returns RAG hits with rag: true when the project's index is available and falls back to a docs path list otherwise.
ReadMcpResourceDir
Tool name: ReadMcpResourceDirTool
type ReadMcpResourceDirOutput = {
resources: Array<{
uri: string;
name: string;
mimeType?: string;
}>;
error?: string;
};
Returns the direct children of the directory resource. Subdirectories appear with mimeType "inode/directory"; error carries a human-readable message when the server couldn't list the directory.
RefreshMcpTools
Tool name: RefreshMcpTools
type RefreshMcpToolsOutput = Array<{
server: string;
status: "refreshed" | "error" | "not_connected";
toolCount?: number; // tools now available from this server
added?: string[]; // tool names this refresh added
removed?: string[]; // tool names this refresh removed
error?: string; // why the refresh failed or the server was unavailable
}>;
Returns one entry per server: refreshed means the re-queried tool list was applied, error means the re-query failed and the previous tool set was kept, and not_connected means the server has no live connection to query.
ShowOnboardingRolePicker
Tool name: ShowOnboardingRolePicker
type ShowOnboardingRolePickerOutput = {
role?: string;
dismissed?: boolean;
};
Returns the user's selection: role when they picked a role chip or typed one, and dismissed: true when they closed the picker. An empty object means the user approved the call without picking a role.
McpOutput
Tool name: dynamic MCP tool names of the form mcp__<server>__<tool>
type McpOutput =
| string
| {
type: string;
[k: string]: unknown;
}[]
| {
[k: string]: unknown;
};
MCP tool results are returned as a string or an array of content blocks, depending on the server. The trailing plain-object branch in the exported type is a schema-generation artifact: the SDK doesn't return a bare object, because a server's structured output is serialized to a JSON string before being returned. At runtime the value may also be undefined, although the exported type doesn't model this.
Permission Types
PermissionUpdate
Operations for updating permissions.
type PermissionUpdate =
| {
type: "addRules";
rules: PermissionRuleValue[];
behavior: PermissionBehavior;
destination: PermissionUpdateDestination;
}
| {
type: "replaceRules";
rules: PermissionRuleValue[];
behavior: PermissionBehavior;
destination: PermissionUpdateDestination;
}
| {
type: "removeRules";
rules: PermissionRuleValue[];
behavior: PermissionBehavior;
destination: PermissionUpdateDestination;
}
| {
type: "setMode";
mode: PermissionMode;
destination: PermissionUpdateDestination;
}
| {
type: "addDirectories";
directories: string[];
destination: PermissionUpdateDestination;
}
| {
type: "removeDirectories";
directories: string[];
destination: PermissionUpdateDestination;
};
PermissionBehavior
type PermissionBehavior = "allow" | "deny" | "ask";
PermissionUpdateDestination
type PermissionUpdateDestination =
| "userSettings" // Global user settings
| "projectSettings" // Per-directory project settings
| "localSettings" // Local project settings
| "session" // Current session only
| "cliArg"; // CLI argument
PermissionRuleValue
type PermissionRuleValue = {
toolName: string;
ruleContent?: string;
};
Other Types
ApiKeySource
Where the API key for the session's requests came from, reported as apiKeySource on the SDKSystemMessage init message.
type ApiKeySource =
| "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
| "apiKeyHelper"
| "/login managed key"
| "none"
| "user"
| "project"
| "org"
| "temporary"
| "oauth";
Claude Code reports one of four values:
| Value | Key in use |
|---|---|
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
The key in the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable |
apiKeyHelper |
The key returned by your apiKeyHelper command |
/login managed key |
The key Claude Code stored when you logged in with a Claude Console account |
none |
No API key. The session authenticates another way, such as a claude.ai login, a bearer token, or a cloud provider |
Agent SDK v0.3.234 and later list these four values in the type. The type also keeps user, project, org, temporary, and oauth so older code still compiles, and Claude Code doesn't report them.
SdkBeta
Available beta features that can be enabled via the betas option. See Beta headers for more information.
type SdkBeta = "context-1m-2025-08-07";
The context-1m-2025-08-07 beta is retired as of April 30, 2026. Passing this value with Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Sonnet 4 has no effect, and requests that exceed the standard 200k-token context window return an error. To use a 1M-token context window, migrate to Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Opus 4.7, or Claude Opus 4.8, which include 1M context at standard pricing with no beta header required.
SlashCommand
Information about an available slash command.
type SlashCommand = {
name: string;
description: string;
argumentHint: string;
aliases?: string[];
};
ModelInfo
Information about an available model.
type ModelInfo = {
value: string;
resolvedModel?: string;
displayName: string;
description: string;
supportsEffort?: boolean;
supportedEffortLevels?: ("low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max")[];
supportsAdaptiveThinking?: boolean;
supportsFastMode?: boolean;
supportsAutoMode?: boolean;
};
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
value |
string |
Model identifier to pass in API calls |
resolvedModel |
string | undefined |
Canonical wire model ID that this entry's value resolves to. An alias entry such as sonnet resolves to an explicit model ID such as claude-sonnet-5, so a host can match a stored explicit model ID against the alias entry that covers it. Requires Claude Code v2.1.197 or later. |
displayName |
string |
Human-readable display name |
description |
string |
Description of the model's capabilities |
supportsEffort |
boolean | undefined |
Whether this model supports effort levels |
supportedEffortLevels |
("low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max")[] | undefined |
Effort levels this model accepts |
supportsAdaptiveThinking |
boolean | undefined |
Whether this model supports adaptive thinking, where Claude decides when and how much to think |
supportsFastMode |
boolean | undefined |
Whether this model supports fast mode |
supportsAutoMode |
boolean | undefined |
Whether this model supports auto mode |
AgentInfo
Information about an available subagent that can be invoked via the Agent tool.
type AgentInfo = {
name: string;
description: string;
model?: string;
};
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name |
string |
Agent type identifier (e.g., "Explore", "general-purpose") |
description |
string |
Description of when to use this agent |
model |
string | undefined |
Model alias this agent uses. If omitted, inherits the parent's model |
McpServerStatus
Status of a connected MCP server.
type McpServerStatus = {
name: string;
status: "connected" | "failed" | "needs-auth" | "pending" | "disabled";
serverInfo?: {
name: string;
version: string;
};
error?: string;
config?: McpServerStatusConfig;
scope?: string;
tools?: {
name: string;
description?: string;
annotations?: {
readOnly?: boolean;
destructive?: boolean;
openWorld?: boolean;
};
}[];
};
McpServerStatusConfig
The configuration of an MCP server as reported by mcpServerStatus(). This is the union of all MCP server transport types.
type McpServerStatusConfig =
| McpStdioServerConfig
| McpSSEServerConfig
| McpHttpServerConfig
| McpSdkServerConfig
| McpClaudeAIProxyServerConfig;
See McpServerConfig for details on each transport type.
AccountInfo
Account information for the authenticated user.
type AccountInfo = {
email?: string;
organization?: string;
subscriptionType?: string;
tokenSource?: string;
apiKeySource?: string;
};
ModelUsage
Per-model usage statistics returned in result messages. The costUSD value is a client-side estimate. See Track cost and usage for billing caveats.
type ModelUsage = {
inputTokens: number;
outputTokens: number;
cacheReadInputTokens: number;
cacheCreationInputTokens: number;
webSearchRequests: number;
costUSD: number;
contextWindow: number;
maxOutputTokens: number;
canonicalModel?: string;
provider?: string;
};
The canonicalModel and provider fields require Claude Code v2.1.218 or later. canonicalModel is the canonical model ID that the pricing lookup uses; it can differ from the raw model string that keys the entry, for example when that string is a provider-specific ID or an alias.
provider names the API backend that served the model, such as firstParty, bedrock, vertex, foundry, anthropicAws, mantle, or gateway.
ConfigScope
type ConfigScope = "local" | "user" | "project";
NonNullableUsage
A version of Usage with all nullable fields made non-nullable.
type NonNullableUsage = {
[K in keyof Usage]: NonNullable<Usage[K]>;
};
Usage
Token usage statistics. This is the BetaUsage type from @anthropic-ai/sdk.
type Usage = {
input_tokens: number;
output_tokens: number;
cache_creation_input_tokens: number | null;
cache_read_input_tokens: number | null;
cache_creation: {
ephemeral_5m_input_tokens: number;
ephemeral_1h_input_tokens: number;
} | null;
server_tool_use: BetaServerToolUsage | null;
service_tier: "standard" | "priority" | "batch" | null;
speed: "standard" | "fast" | null;
inference_geo: string | null;
iterations: BetaIterationsUsage | null;
};
BetaServerToolUsage and BetaIterationsUsage are defined in @anthropic-ai/sdk.
CallToolResult
MCP tool result type (from @modelcontextprotocol/sdk/types.js). structuredContent is a JSON object that can be returned alongside content, including image blocks. See Return structured data.
type CallToolResult = {
content: Array<{
type: "text" | "image" | "audio" | "resource" | "resource_link";
// Additional fields vary by type
}>;
structuredContent?: Record<string, unknown>;
isError?: boolean;
};
ThinkingConfig
Controls Claude's thinking/reasoning behavior. Takes precedence over the deprecated maxThinkingTokens.
type ThinkingDisplay = "summarized" | "omitted";
type ThinkingConfig =
| { type: "adaptive"; display?: ThinkingDisplay } // The model determines when and how much to reason (Opus 4.6+)
| { type: "enabled"; budgetTokens?: number; display?: ThinkingDisplay } // Fixed thinking token budget
| { type: "disabled" }; // No extended thinking
The optional display field controls whether thinking text is returned "summarized" or "omitted". On Claude Opus 4.7 and later, the API default is "omitted", so set "summarized" to receive thinking content in thinking blocks. Claude Code doesn't send display to Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud's Agent Platform, so on those providers Opus 4.7 and later return empty thinking blocks even when you set display to "summarized".
SpawnedProcess
Interface for custom process spawning (used with spawnClaudeCodeProcess option). ChildProcess already satisfies this interface.
interface SpawnedProcess {
stdin: Writable;
stdout: Readable;
readonly killed: boolean;
readonly exitCode: number | null;
kill(signal: NodeJS.Signals): boolean;
on(
event: "exit",
listener: (code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null) => void
): void;
on(event: "error", listener: (error: Error) => void): void;
once(
event: "exit",
listener: (code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null) => void
): void;
once(event: "error", listener: (error: Error) => void): void;
off(
event: "exit",
listener: (code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null) => void
): void;
off(event: "error", listener: (error: Error) => void): void;
}
SpawnOptions
Options passed to the custom spawn function.
interface SpawnOptions {
command: string;
args: string[];
cwd?: string;
env: Record<string, string | undefined>;
signal: AbortSignal;
}
The signal field tells your spawn function when to tear down the process. Pass it as the signal option to Node's spawn(), or pass it to your VM or container teardown handler.
This signal does not fire the instant Options.abortController aborts. The SDK first closes the process's stdin and waits about two seconds so the CLI can shut down cleanly, then aborts this signal. To react the moment the caller aborts instead, listen on your own Options.abortController.signal, which your spawn function can reference from its enclosing scope.
McpSetServersResult
Result of a setMcpServers() operation.
type McpSetServersResult = {
added: string[];
removed: string[];
errors: Record<string, string>;
};
RewindFilesResult
Result of a rewindFiles() operation.
type RewindFilesResult = {
canRewind: boolean;
error?: string;
filesChanged?: string[];
insertions?: number;
deletions?: number;
skippedLinks?: number;
};
skippedLinks counts the tracked paths the rewind refused to restore or delete for link safety: a symlink, hard link, or other non-regular file at the tracked path, a parent directory that no longer resolves to where it pointed when the checkpoint was taken, or a backup that couldn't be read safely. The field requires Claude Code v2.1.216 or later. A preview call with rewindFiles(userMessageId, { dryRun: true }) never sets it.
SDKStatusMessage
Status update message (e.g., compacting).
type SDKStatusMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "status";
status: "compacting" | null;
permissionMode?: PermissionMode;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKTaskNotificationMessage
Notification when a background task completes, fails, or is stopped. Background tasks include run_in_background Bash commands, Monitor watches, and background subagents.
type SDKTaskNotificationMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "task_notification";
task_id: string;
tool_use_id?: string;
status: "completed" | "failed" | "stopped";
output_file: string;
summary: string;
usage?: {
total_tokens: number;
tool_uses: number;
duration_ms: number;
};
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
Claude Code prepends a notice to every task notification it sends to the model, except deliveries stamped with the scheduled-trigger subkind, which carry an assigned-task framing instead. The notice states that no human input has occurred, so the model doesn't treat the notification as a user instruction or approval.
To detect a task-notification turn, check origin.kind === "task-notification" on the SDKUserMessage or SDKResultMessage rather than matching on the notice text. Read subkind from the same field if you need to know what raised it. Before v2.1.205, Claude Code left the notice off notifications that arrived while the session was idle.
SDKToolUseSummaryMessage
Summary of tool usage in a conversation.
type SDKToolUseSummaryMessage = {
type: "tool_use_summary";
summary: string;
preceding_tool_use_ids: string[];
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKHookStartedMessage
Emitted when a hook begins executing.
Claude Code delivers this message, SDKHookProgressMessage, and SDKHookResponseMessage to the message stream immediately, including while a SessionStart or Setup hook is still running during session startup. Claude Code v2.1.169 through v2.1.203 delivered these messages in one batch after a SessionStart or Setup hook completed; v2.1.204 restored live delivery.
type SDKHookStartedMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "hook_started";
hook_id: string;
hook_name: string;
hook_event: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKHookProgressMessage
Emitted while a hook is running, with stdout/stderr output.
type SDKHookProgressMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "hook_progress";
hook_id: string;
hook_name: string;
hook_event: string;
stdout: string;
stderr: string;
output: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKHookResponseMessage
Emitted when a hook finishes executing.
type SDKHookResponseMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "hook_response";
hook_id: string;
hook_name: string;
hook_event: string;
output: string;
stdout: string;
stderr: string;
exit_code?: number;
outcome: "success" | "error" | "cancelled";
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKToolProgressMessage
Emitted periodically while a tool is executing to indicate progress.
type SDKToolProgressMessage = {
type: "tool_progress";
tool_use_id: string;
tool_name: string;
parent_tool_use_id: string | null;
elapsed_time_seconds: number;
task_id?: string;
heartbeat?: boolean;
subagent_type?: string;
subagent_retry?: {
agent_id: string;
attempt: number;
max_retries: number;
retry_delay_ms: number;
error_status: number | null;
error_category: string;
};
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
While a tool call runs in the main conversation, Claude Code emits a tool_progress message every 30 seconds with heartbeat: true. Each heartbeat carries the tool name and elapsed seconds, so you can distinguish a long-running call from a stalled session. Claude Code doesn't emit heartbeats for the Agent tool, whose subagents stream their own progress, or for tool calls inside a subagent. The heartbeat field requires Agent SDK v0.3.214 or later.
On tool_progress messages for the Agent tool, subagent_type names the running subagent type, such as general-purpose. subagent_retry is present while that subagent waits out an API error backoff, such as a rate limit or overload, with one message per retry attempt. Both fields require Agent SDK v0.3.214 or later.
To render a retry indicator from subagent_retry:
- Track the indicator by
parent_tool_use_id, which is unique per subagent.tool_use_idis shared by parallel subagents from one assistant turn, so tracking by it would let one subagent's update clear another's indicator. - Clear the indicator when a later
tool_progressfor the sameparent_tool_use_idarrives without the field, or when the tool's result message arrives.attemptcan exceedmax_retriesunder persistent retry, so don't derive clearing from the counters. - Treat
error_categoryas a closed set of tokens for choosing your own message text, not as display text:rate_limit,overloaded,authentication_failed,server_error, orunknown.
SDKAuthStatusMessage
Emitted during authentication flows.
type SDKAuthStatusMessage = {
type: "auth_status";
isAuthenticating: boolean;
output: string[];
error?: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKTaskStartedMessage
Emitted when a task begins. The task_type field is "local_bash" for Bash commands and Monitor watches, "local_agent" for subagents, or "remote_agent".
type SDKTaskStartedMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "task_started";
task_id: string;
tool_use_id?: string;
description: string;
task_type?: string;
is_backgrounded?: boolean;
spawn_depth?: number;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
is_backgrounded and spawn_depth describe how Claude Code started the task. Both fields require Agent SDK v0.3.238 or later.
is_backgrounded: Claude Code sets it on"local_agent"and"local_bash"tasks.truemeans the task runs in the background.falsemeans the task runs in the foreground, and the tool call that started it stays blocked until the task finishes or moves to the background.spawn_depth: Claude Code sets it on"local_agent"tasks only. A subagent that the main thread spawned has depth1. A subagent that a depth1subagent spawned has depth2, and so on.
A resumed subagent always reports is_backgrounded: true, because Claude Code runs every resumed subagent in the background. When a foreground task moves to the background later, Claude Code reports the new is_backgrounded value in a task_updated message rather than sending a second task_started.
SDKTaskProgressMessage
Emitted periodically while a subagent or background task is running. The summary field is populated only when agentProgressSummaries is enabled.
type SDKTaskProgressMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "task_progress";
task_id: string;
tool_use_id?: string;
description: string;
subagent_type?: string;
usage: {
total_tokens: number;
tool_uses: number;
duration_ms: number;
};
last_tool_name?: string;
summary?: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKTaskUpdatedMessage
Emitted when a background task's state changes, such as when it transitions from running to completed. Merge patch into your local task map keyed by task_id. The end_time field is a Unix epoch timestamp in milliseconds, comparable with Date.now().
type SDKTaskUpdatedMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "task_updated";
task_id: string;
patch: {
status?: "pending" | "running" | "completed" | "failed" | "killed";
description?: string;
end_time?: number;
total_paused_ms?: number;
error?: string;
is_backgrounded?: boolean;
};
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKBackgroundTasksChangedMessage
Emitted whenever the set of live background tasks changes: a task starts, completes, is killed, or a foreground agent is backgrounded. The tasks array is the full live set. Replace any cached set with each payload instead of pairing task_started and task_notification events, so the next membership change corrects any event you missed.
Ordering relative to those per-task events is unspecified, so don't correlate the two streams.
Nothing is emitted at startup. Reset to an empty set whenever the session's CLI process starts or restarts and let the next membership change repopulate it.
When you send a repeated initialize control request to a running session, such as with reinitialize() after a transport gap, Claude Code follows the response with a snapshot of the current live set, even when it is empty. A reconnecting host therefore learns what is running without waiting for the next membership change. Before Agent SDK v0.3.239, Claude Code sent no snapshot after a repeated initialize.
Requires Claude Code v2.1.203 or later.
type SDKBackgroundTasksChangedMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "background_tasks_changed";
tasks: {
task_id: string;
task_type: string;
description: string;
}[];
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKThinkingTokensMessage
Emitted while Claude is producing a thinking block, including a redacted one, carrying a running estimate of the thinking tokens generated so far. estimated_tokens is the running total for the current thinking block and estimated_tokens_delta is the increment carried by this frame. Use it for progress display. The final count for the top-level agent loop is the result message's usage.output_tokens, which doesn't include subagent tokens; use modelUsage for whole-tree accounting.
Requires Claude Code v2.1.153 or later.
type SDKThinkingTokensMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "thinking_tokens";
estimated_tokens: number;
estimated_tokens_delta: number;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKFilesPersistedEvent
Emitted when file checkpoints are persisted to disk.
type SDKFilesPersistedEvent = {
type: "system";
subtype: "files_persisted";
files: { filename: string; file_id: string }[];
failed: { filename: string; error: string }[];
processed_at: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKRateLimitEvent
Emitted when the session encounters a rate limit.
type SDKRateLimitEvent = {
type: "rate_limit_event";
rate_limit_info: {
status: "allowed" | "allowed_warning" | "rejected";
resetsAt?: number;
utilization?: number;
errorCode?: "credits_required";
canUserPurchaseCredits?: boolean;
hasChargeableSavedPaymentMethod?: boolean;
};
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
When errorCode is "credits_required", the rejection is from a claude.ai subscription whose included usage is exhausted, and the session cannot continue until the user buys usage credits. canUserPurchaseCredits indicates whether the authenticated user can buy credits for the account, and hasChargeableSavedPaymentMethod indicates whether a saved payment method is on file. All three fields are absent on rate-limit events that are not credits-required rejections. Requires Claude Code v2.1.181 or later.
SDKLocalCommandOutputMessage
Output from a local command such as /voice or /usage. Displayed as assistant-style text in the transcript.
type SDKLocalCommandOutputMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "local_command_output";
content: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKCommandsChangedMessage
Emitted when the set of available commands changes mid-session, such as when Claude Code discovers skills as the agent enters a subdirectory. The commands array is the full updated list, so replace any cached command list with this payload. Calling supportedCommands() after this message returns the same updated list, because the method tracks the latest push; this requires Agent SDK v0.3.216 or later. In earlier SDK versions, supportedCommands() returns the snapshot captured at initialization and never reflects mid-session changes.
type SDKCommandsChangedMessage = {
type: "system";
subtype: "commands_changed";
commands: SlashCommand[];
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKPromptSuggestionMessage
Emitted after a turn when promptSuggestions is enabled and Claude Code generated a suggestion for that turn. Contains the predicted next user prompt. For the turns that get none, see When Claude Code skips suggestions.
type SDKPromptSuggestionMessage = {
type: "prompt_suggestion";
suggestion: string;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
SDKConversationResetMessage
Emitted when the session's conversation is replaced without ending the session. In a query() call, only /clear and its aliases produce this message. Mount an empty transcript under new_conversation_id and discard any cached session title.
type SDKConversationResetMessage = {
type: "conversation_reset";
new_conversation_id: UUID;
uuid: UUID;
session_id: string;
};
The SDK's published typings declare SDKConversationResetMessage in Claude Code v2.1.203 and later. Before v2.1.203, SDKMessage referenced the type without declaring it, so narrowing on type === "conversation_reset" failed to typecheck when skipLibCheck was disabled.
AbortError
Custom error class for abort operations.
class AbortError extends Error {}
Sandbox Configuration
SandboxSettings
Configuration for sandbox behavior. Use this to enable command sandboxing and configure network restrictions programmatically.
type SandboxSettings = {
enabled?: boolean;
failIfUnavailable?: boolean;
autoAllowBashIfSandboxed?: boolean;
excludedCommands?: string[];
allowUnsandboxedCommands?: boolean;
network?: SandboxNetworkConfig;
filesystem?: SandboxFilesystemConfig;
ignoreViolations?: Record<string, string[]>;
enableWeakerNestedSandbox?: boolean;
ripgrep?: { command: string; args?: string[] };
};
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
enabled |
boolean |
false |
Enable sandbox mode for command execution |
failIfUnavailable |
boolean |
true |
Stop at startup if enabled is true but the sandbox can't start. Set false to fall back to unsandboxed execution with a warning on stderr |
autoAllowBashIfSandboxed |
boolean |
true |
Auto-approve bash commands when sandbox is enabled |
excludedCommands |
string[] |
[] |
Commands that always bypass sandbox restrictions (e.g., ['docker']). These run unsandboxed automatically without model involvement |
allowUnsandboxedCommands |
boolean |
true |
Allow the model to request running commands outside the sandbox. When true, the model can set dangerouslyDisableSandbox in tool input, which falls back to the permissions system |
network |
SandboxNetworkConfig |
undefined |
Network-specific sandbox configuration |
filesystem |
SandboxFilesystemConfig |
undefined |
Filesystem-specific sandbox configuration for read/write restrictions |
ignoreViolations |
Record<string, string[]> |
undefined |
Map of command substrings, or * for every command, to substrings of the violation text to ignore, such as { "*": ['/etc/hosts'] }; see sandbox.ignoreViolations |
enableWeakerNestedSandbox |
boolean |
false |
Enable a weaker nested sandbox for compatibility |
ripgrep |
{ command: string; args?: string[] } |
undefined |
Custom ripgrep binary configuration for sandbox environments |
The sandbox depends on platform support and, on Linux, tools like bubblewrap and socat. When enabled is true and the sandbox can't start, query() reports a result message with subtype: "error_during_execution" and the reason in errors. For a single message query() call, the SDK throws after yielding that error result, so wrap the loop in a try block to continue past it. See Handle the result for the error contract.
To run unsandboxed instead, set failIfUnavailable: false.
Example usage
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
try {
for await (const message of query({
prompt: "Build and test my project",
options: {
sandbox: {
enabled: true,
autoAllowBashIfSandboxed: true,
network: {
allowLocalBinding: true
}
}
}
})) {
if ("result" in message) console.log(message.result);
}
} catch (error) {
// A single-shot query() throws after yielding an error result,
// such as when the sandbox can't start (failIfUnavailable defaults to true).
console.log(`Session ended with an error: ${error}`);
}
Unix socket security: The allowUnixSockets option can grant access to powerful system services. For example, allowing /var/run/docker.sock effectively grants full host system access through the Docker API, bypassing sandbox isolation. Only allow Unix sockets that are strictly necessary and understand the security implications of each.
SandboxNetworkConfig
Network-specific configuration for sandbox mode. These settings apply to sandboxed Bash commands when enabled is true in the parent SandboxSettings. They do not restrict the WebFetch tool, which uses permission rules instead.
type SandboxNetworkConfig = {
allowedDomains?: string[];
deniedDomains?: string[];
strictAllowlist?: boolean;
allowManagedDomainsOnly?: boolean;
allowLocalBinding?: boolean;
allowUnixSockets?: string[];
allowAllUnixSockets?: boolean;
httpProxyPort?: number;
socksProxyPort?: number;
};
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
allowedDomains |
string[] |
[] |
Domain names that sandboxed processes can access |
deniedDomains |
string[] |
[] |
Domain names that sandboxed processes cannot access. Takes precedence over allowedDomains |
strictAllowlist |
boolean |
false |
Deny sandboxed commands access to hosts outside the network allowlist instead of prompting. Enforced for sandboxed commands only; in-process tools such as WebFetch aren't gated by it. Only honored from user, managed, or CLI --settings settings; project settings are ignored. Requires Claude Code v2.1.219 or later |
allowManagedDomainsOnly |
boolean |
false |
Managed-settings only. When set in managed settings, only allowedDomains entries and WebFetch(domain:...) allow rules from managed settings are honored, and allow entries from user, project, or local settings are ignored. Has no effect when set via SDK options |
allowLocalBinding |
boolean |
false |
Allow processes to bind to local ports (e.g., for dev servers) |
allowUnixSockets |
string[] |
[] |
Unix socket paths that processes can access (e.g., Docker socket) |
allowAllUnixSockets |
boolean |
false |
Allow access to all Unix sockets |
httpProxyPort |
number |
undefined |
HTTP proxy port for network requests |
socksProxyPort |
number |
undefined |
SOCKS proxy port for network requests |
The built-in sandbox proxy enforces allowedDomains based on the requested hostname and does not terminate or inspect TLS traffic, so techniques such as domain fronting can potentially bypass it. See Sandboxing security limitations for details and Secure deployment for configuring a TLS-terminating proxy.
SandboxFilesystemConfig
Filesystem-specific configuration for sandbox mode.
type SandboxFilesystemConfig = {
allowWrite?: string[];
denyWrite?: string[];
denyRead?: string[];
};
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
allowWrite |
string[] |
[] |
File path patterns to allow write access to |
denyWrite |
string[] |
[] |
File path patterns to deny write access to |
denyRead |
string[] |
[] |
File path patterns to deny read access to |
Permissions Fallback for Unsandboxed Commands
When allowUnsandboxedCommands is enabled, the model can request to run commands outside the sandbox by setting dangerouslyDisableSandbox: true in the tool input. These requests fall back to the existing permissions system, meaning your canUseTool handler is invoked, allowing you to implement custom authorization logic. In the example below, isCommandAuthorized stands in for an authorization check you define.
excludedCommands vs allowUnsandboxedCommands:
excludedCommands: A static list of commands that always bypass the sandbox automatically (e.g.,['docker']). The model has no control over this.allowUnsandboxedCommands: Lets the model decide at runtime whether to request unsandboxed execution by settingdangerouslyDisableSandbox: truein the tool input.
import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";
for await (const message of query({
prompt: "Deploy my application",
options: {
sandbox: {
enabled: true,
allowUnsandboxedCommands: true // Model can request unsandboxed execution
},
permissionMode: "default",
canUseTool: async (tool, input) => {
// Check if the model is requesting to bypass the sandbox
if (tool === "Bash" && input.dangerouslyDisableSandbox) {
// The model is requesting to run this command outside the sandbox
console.log(`Unsandboxed command requested: ${input.command}`);
if (isCommandAuthorized(input.command)) {
return { behavior: "allow" as const, updatedInput: input };
}
return {
behavior: "deny" as const,
message: "Command not authorized for unsandboxed execution"
};
}
return { behavior: "allow" as const, updatedInput: input };
}
}
})) {
if ("result" in message) console.log(message.result);
}
Commands running with dangerouslyDisableSandbox: true have full system access. Ensure your canUseTool handler validates these requests carefully.
If permissionMode is set to bypassPermissions and allowUnsandboxedCommands is enabled, the model can autonomously execute commands outside the sandbox without approval prompts, apart from the actions no mode auto-approves. This combination effectively allows the model to escape sandbox isolation silently.
See also
- SDK overview - General SDK concepts
- Python SDK reference - Python SDK documentation
- CLI reference - Command-line interface
- Common workflows - Step-by-step guides