claude-agent-sdk-agent-creation✓ Pass

SKILL.md Content

---
name: claude-agent-sdk-agent-creation
user-invocable: false
description: Use when creating or configuring Claude AI agents using the Agent SDK. Covers agent initialization, configuration, and basic setup patterns.
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Bash
  - Grep
  - Glob
---

# Claude Agent SDK - Agent Creation

Creating and configuring AI agents using the Claude Agent SDK with TypeScript.

## Core Agent Initialization

### Basic Agent Creation

```typescript
import { Agent } from '@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk';

const agent = new Agent({
  model: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022',  // Latest model
  systemPrompt: 'You are a helpful assistant specialized in...',
  settingSources: ['project'],  // Load .claude/CLAUDE.md from project
  allowedTools: ['read_file', 'write_file', 'list_files'],
});
```

## Configuration Options

### System Prompts

```typescript
// Direct system prompt
const agent = new Agent({
  systemPrompt: 'You are an expert code reviewer...',
});

// Load from CLAUDE.md
const agent = new Agent({
  settingSources: ['project'],  // Loads ./.claude/CLAUDE.md
});

// User-level memory
const agent = new Agent({
  settingSources: ['user'],  // Loads ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
});
```

### Tool Permissions

```typescript
// Allow specific tools
const agent = new Agent({
  allowedTools: [
    'read_file',
    'write_file',
    'list_files',
    'grep',
    'bash',
  ],
});

// Block specific tools
const agent = new Agent({
  disallowedTools: ['bash', 'web_search'],
});

// Permission modes
const agent = new Agent({
  permissionMode: 'strict',  // Require explicit approval
});
```

## Agent Directory Structure

### Required Structure

```
project/
├── .claude/
│   ├── CLAUDE.md              # Project memory
│   ├── agents/
│   │   └── specialist.md      # Subagent definitions
│   ├── skills/
│   │   └── my-skill/
│   │       └── SKILL.md       # Skill definitions
└── src/
    └── index.ts               # Your code
```

## Authentication

### Environment Variables

```bash
# Anthropic API (primary)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

# Alternative providers
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="..."
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="..."
export AWS_REGION="us-east-1"

# Google Vertex AI
export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/credentials.json"

# Azure
export AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY="..."
export AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT="..."
```

### SDK Configuration

```typescript
// Anthropic direct
const agent = new Agent({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
});

// Amazon Bedrock
const agent = new Agent({
  provider: 'bedrock',
  model: 'anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022-v2:0',
});
```

## Best Practices

### Always Specify Model

```typescript
// Good
const agent = new Agent({
  model: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022',
});

// Avoid: relying on default model
const agent = new Agent({});
```

### Use Explicit Setting Sources

```typescript
// Good
const agent = new Agent({
  settingSources: ['project'],
});

// Avoid: unclear memory source
const agent = new Agent({
  systemPrompt: '...',
});
```

### Separate Project and User Memory

```typescript
// Project-specific context
const projectAgent = new Agent({
  settingSources: ['project'],
});

// User preferences
const userAgent = new Agent({
  settingSources: ['user'],
});
```

## Anti-Patterns

### Don't Hardcode API Keys

```typescript
// Bad
const agent = new Agent({
  apiKey: 'sk-ant-hardcoded-key',
});

// Good
const agent = new Agent({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
});
```

### Don't Mix Conflicting Permissions

```typescript
// Bad: contradictory permissions
const agent = new Agent({
  allowedTools: ['read_file', 'write_file'],
  disallowedTools: ['read_file'],  // Conflict!
});

// Good: clear permissions
const agent = new Agent({
  allowedTools: ['read_file'],
});
```

## Related Skills

- **tool-integration**: Working with tools and MCP servers
- **context-management**: Managing agent context and memory

License

No license was declared in this skill's source.

The full license text is available in the source repository.

View the license in the source repository — the version published there is authoritative.