The project is in a healthy, maintained state
Unofficial Ruby SDK for interacting with Claude Code, supporting bidirectional conversations, custom tools, and hooks. Not officially maintained by Anthropic.
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 Dependencies

Development

~> 2.0
~> 13.0
~> 3.0
~> 1.0

Runtime

~> 2.0
~> 0.4
 Project Readme

Claude Agent SDK for Ruby

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial, community-maintained Ruby SDK for Claude Agent. It is not officially supported by Anthropic. For official SDK support, see the Python SDK.

This implementation is based on the official Python SDK and aims to provide feature parity for Ruby developers. Use at your own risk.

Gem Version

Table of Contents

  • Installation
  • Quick Start
  • Basic Usage: query()
  • Client
  • Custom Tools (SDK MCP Servers)
  • Hooks
  • Permission Callbacks
  • Structured Output
  • Budget Control
  • Fallback Model
  • Types
  • Error Handling
  • Examples
  • Development
  • License

Installation

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'claude-agent-sdk', '~> 0.3.0'

And then execute:

bundle install

Or install it yourself as:

gem install claude-agent-sdk

Prerequisites:

  • Ruby 3.2+
  • Node.js
  • Claude Code 2.0.0+: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Quick Start

require 'claude_agent_sdk'

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "What is 2 + 2?") do |message|
  puts message
end

Basic Usage: query()

query() is a function for querying Claude Code. It yields response messages to a block.

require 'claude_agent_sdk'

# Simple query
ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "Hello Claude") do |message|
  if message.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::AssistantMessage)
    message.content.each do |block|
      puts block.text if block.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::TextBlock)
    end
  end
end

# With options
options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  system_prompt: "You are a helpful assistant",
  max_turns: 1
)

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "Tell me a joke", options: options) do |message|
  puts message
end

Using Tools

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  allowed_tools: ['Read', 'Write', 'Bash'],
  permission_mode: 'acceptEdits'  # auto-accept file edits
)

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(
  prompt: "Create a hello.rb file",
  options: options
) do |message|
  # Process tool use and results
end

Working Directory

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  cwd: "/path/to/project"
)

Streaming Input

The query() function supports streaming input, allowing you to send multiple messages dynamically instead of a single prompt string.

require 'claude_agent_sdk'

# Create a stream of messages
messages = ['Hello!', 'What is 2+2?', 'Thanks!']
stream = ClaudeAgentSDK::Streaming.from_array(messages)

# Query with streaming input
ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: stream) do |message|
  puts message if message.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::AssistantMessage)
end

You can also create custom streaming enumerators:

# Dynamic message generation
stream = Enumerator.new do |yielder|
  yielder << ClaudeAgentSDK::Streaming.user_message("First message")
  # Do some processing...
  yielder << ClaudeAgentSDK::Streaming.user_message("Second message")
  yielder << ClaudeAgentSDK::Streaming.user_message("Third message")
end

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: stream) do |message|
  # Process responses
end

For a complete example, see examples/streaming_input_example.rb.

Client

ClaudeAgentSDK::Client supports bidirectional, interactive conversations with Claude Code. Unlike query(), Client enables custom tools, hooks, and permission callbacks, all of which can be defined as Ruby procs/lambdas.

The Client class automatically uses streaming mode for bidirectional communication, allowing you to send multiple queries dynamically during a single session without closing the connection.

Basic Client Usage

require 'claude_agent_sdk'
require 'async'

Async do
  client = ClaudeAgentSDK::Client.new

  begin
    # Connect automatically uses streaming mode for bidirectional communication
    client.connect

    # Send a query
    client.query("What is the capital of France?")

    # Receive the response
    client.receive_response do |msg|
      if msg.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::AssistantMessage)
        msg.content.each do |block|
          puts block.text if block.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::TextBlock)
        end
      elsif msg.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::ResultMessage)
        puts "Cost: $#{msg.total_cost_usd}" if msg.total_cost_usd
      end
    end

  ensure
    client.disconnect
  end
end.wait

Advanced Client Features

Async do
  client = ClaudeAgentSDK::Client.new
  client.connect

  # Send interrupt signal
  client.interrupt

  # Change permission mode during conversation
  client.set_permission_mode('acceptEdits')

  # Change AI model during conversation
  client.set_model('claude-sonnet-4-5')

  # Get server initialization info
  info = client.server_info
  puts "Available commands: #{info}"

  client.disconnect
end.wait

Custom Tools (SDK MCP Servers)

A custom tool is a Ruby proc/lambda that you can offer to Claude, for Claude to invoke as needed.

Custom tools are implemented as in-process MCP servers that run directly within your Ruby application, eliminating the need for separate processes that regular MCP servers require.

Implementation: This SDK uses the official Ruby MCP SDK (mcp gem) internally, providing full protocol compliance while offering a simpler block-based API for tool definition.

Creating a Simple Tool

require 'claude_agent_sdk'
require 'async'

# Define a tool using create_tool
greet_tool = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_tool('greet', 'Greet a user', { name: :string }) do |args|
  { content: [{ type: 'text', text: "Hello, #{args[:name]}!" }] }
end

# Create an SDK MCP server
server = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_sdk_mcp_server(
  name: 'my-tools',
  version: '1.0.0',
  tools: [greet_tool]
)

# Use it with Claude
options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  mcp_servers: { tools: server },
  allowed_tools: ['mcp__tools__greet']
)

Async do
  client = ClaudeAgentSDK::Client.new(options: options)
  client.connect

  client.query("Greet Alice")
  client.receive_response { |msg| puts msg }

  client.disconnect
end.wait

Benefits Over External MCP Servers

  • No subprocess management - Runs in the same process as your application
  • Better performance - No IPC overhead for tool calls
  • Simpler deployment - Single Ruby process instead of multiple
  • Easier debugging - All code runs in the same process
  • Direct access - Tools can directly access your application's state

Calculator Example

# Define calculator tools
add_tool = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_tool('add', 'Add two numbers', { a: :number, b: :number }) do |args|
  result = args[:a] + args[:b]
  { content: [{ type: 'text', text: "#{args[:a]} + #{args[:b]} = #{result}" }] }
end

divide_tool = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_tool('divide', 'Divide numbers', { a: :number, b: :number }) do |args|
  if args[:b] == 0
    { content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'Error: Division by zero' }], is_error: true }
  else
    result = args[:a] / args[:b]
    { content: [{ type: 'text', text: "Result: #{result}" }] }
  end
end

# Create server
calculator = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_sdk_mcp_server(
  name: 'calculator',
  tools: [add_tool, divide_tool]
)

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  mcp_servers: { calc: calculator },
  allowed_tools: ['mcp__calc__add', 'mcp__calc__divide']
)

Mixed Server Support

You can use both SDK and external MCP servers together:

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  mcp_servers: {
    internal: sdk_server,      # In-process SDK server
    external: {                # External subprocess server
      type: 'stdio',
      command: 'external-server'
    }
  }
)

MCP Resources and Prompts

SDK MCP servers can also expose resources (data sources) and prompts (reusable templates):

# Create a resource (data source Claude can read)
config_resource = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_resource(
  uri: 'config://app/settings',
  name: 'Application Settings',
  description: 'Current app configuration',
  mime_type: 'application/json'
) do
  config_data = { app_name: 'MyApp', version: '1.0.0' }
  {
    contents: [{
      uri: 'config://app/settings',
      mimeType: 'application/json',
      text: JSON.pretty_generate(config_data)
    }]
  }
end

# Create a prompt template
review_prompt = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_prompt(
  name: 'code_review',
  description: 'Review code for best practices',
  arguments: [
    { name: 'code', description: 'Code to review', required: true }
  ]
) do |args|
  {
    messages: [{
      role: 'user',
      content: {
        type: 'text',
        text: "Review this code: #{args[:code]}"
      }
    }]
  }
end

# Create server with tools, resources, and prompts
server = ClaudeAgentSDK.create_sdk_mcp_server(
  name: 'dev-tools',
  tools: [my_tool],
  resources: [config_resource],
  prompts: [review_prompt]
)

For complete examples, see examples/mcp_calculator.rb and examples/mcp_resources_prompts_example.rb.

Hooks

A hook is a Ruby proc/lambda that the Claude Code application (not Claude) invokes at specific points of the Claude agent loop. Hooks can provide deterministic processing and automated feedback for Claude. Read more in Claude Code Hooks Reference.

Example

require 'claude_agent_sdk'
require 'async'

Async do
  # Define a hook that blocks dangerous bash commands
  bash_hook = lambda do |input, tool_use_id, context|
    tool_name = input[:tool_name]
    tool_input = input[:tool_input]

    return {} unless tool_name == 'Bash'

    command = tool_input[:command] || ''
    block_patterns = ['rm -rf', 'foo.sh']

    block_patterns.each do |pattern|
      if command.include?(pattern)
        return {
          hookSpecificOutput: {
            hookEventName: 'PreToolUse',
            permissionDecision: 'deny',
            permissionDecisionReason: "Command contains forbidden pattern: #{pattern}"
          }
        }
      end
    end

    {} # Allow if no patterns match
  end

  # Create options with hook
  options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
    allowed_tools: ['Bash'],
    hooks: {
      'PreToolUse' => [
        ClaudeAgentSDK::HookMatcher.new(
          matcher: 'Bash',
          hooks: [bash_hook]
        )
      ]
    }
  )

  client = ClaudeAgentSDK::Client.new(options: options)
  client.connect

  # Test: Command with forbidden pattern (will be blocked)
  client.query("Run the bash command: ./foo.sh --help")
  client.receive_response { |msg| puts msg }

  client.disconnect
end.wait

For more examples, see examples/hooks_example.rb.

Permission Callbacks

A permission callback is a Ruby proc/lambda that allows you to programmatically control tool execution. This gives you fine-grained control over what tools Claude can use and with what inputs.

Example

require 'claude_agent_sdk'
require 'async'

Async do
  # Define a permission callback
  permission_callback = lambda do |tool_name, input, context|
    # Allow Read operations
    if tool_name == 'Read'
      return ClaudeAgentSDK::PermissionResultAllow.new
    end

    # Block Write to sensitive files
    if tool_name == 'Write'
      file_path = input[:file_path] || input['file_path']
      if file_path && file_path.include?('/etc/')
        return ClaudeAgentSDK::PermissionResultDeny.new(
          message: 'Cannot write to sensitive system files',
          interrupt: false
        )
      end
      return ClaudeAgentSDK::PermissionResultAllow.new
    end

    # Default: allow
    ClaudeAgentSDK::PermissionResultAllow.new
  end

  # Create options with permission callback
  options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
    allowed_tools: ['Read', 'Write', 'Bash'],
    can_use_tool: permission_callback
  )

  client = ClaudeAgentSDK::Client.new(options: options)
  client.connect

  # This will be allowed
  client.query("Create a file called test.txt with content 'Hello'")
  client.receive_response { |msg| puts msg }

  # This will be blocked
  client.query("Write to /etc/passwd")
  client.receive_response { |msg| puts msg }

  client.disconnect
end.wait

For more examples, see examples/permission_callback_example.rb.

Structured Output

Use output_format to get validated JSON responses matching a schema. The Claude CLI returns structured output via a StructuredOutput tool use block.

require 'claude_agent_sdk'
require 'json'

# Define a JSON schema
schema = {
  type: 'object',
  properties: {
    name: { type: 'string' },
    age: { type: 'integer' },
    skills: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } }
  },
  required: %w[name age skills]
}

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  output_format: { type: 'json_schema', schema: schema },
  max_turns: 3
)

structured_data = nil

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(
  prompt: "Create a profile for a software engineer",
  options: options
) do |message|
  if message.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::AssistantMessage)
    message.content.each do |block|
      # Structured output comes via StructuredOutput tool use
      if block.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::ToolUseBlock) && block.name == 'StructuredOutput'
        structured_data = block.input
      end
    end
  end
end

if structured_data
  puts "Name: #{structured_data[:name]}"
  puts "Age: #{structured_data[:age]}"
  puts "Skills: #{structured_data[:skills].join(', ')}"
end

For complete examples, see examples/structured_output_example.rb.

Budget Control

Use max_budget_usd to set a spending cap for your queries:

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  max_budget_usd: 0.10,  # Cap at $0.10
  max_turns: 3
)

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "Explain recursion", options: options) do |message|
  if message.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::ResultMessage)
    puts "Cost: $#{message.total_cost_usd}"
  end
end

For complete examples, see examples/budget_control_example.rb.

Fallback Model

Use fallback_model to specify a backup model if the primary is unavailable:

options = ClaudeAgentSDK::ClaudeAgentOptions.new(
  model: 'claude-sonnet-4-20250514',
  fallback_model: 'claude-3-5-haiku-20241022'
)

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "Hello", options: options) do |message|
  if message.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::AssistantMessage)
    puts "Model used: #{message.model}"
  end
end

For complete examples, see examples/fallback_model_example.rb.

Types

See lib/claude_agent_sdk/types.rb for complete type definitions.

Message Types

# Union type of all possible messages
Message = UserMessage | AssistantMessage | SystemMessage | ResultMessage

UserMessage

User input message.

class UserMessage
  attr_accessor :content,           # String | Array<ContentBlock>
                :parent_tool_use_id # String | nil
end

AssistantMessage

Assistant response message with content blocks.

class AssistantMessage
  attr_accessor :content,           # Array<ContentBlock>
                :model,             # String
                :parent_tool_use_id,# String | nil
                :error              # String | nil ('authentication_failed', 'billing_error', 'rate_limit', 'invalid_request', 'server_error', 'unknown')
end

SystemMessage

System message with metadata.

class SystemMessage
  attr_accessor :subtype,  # String ('init', etc.)
                :data      # Hash
end

ResultMessage

Final result message with cost and usage information.

class ResultMessage
  attr_accessor :subtype,           # String
                :duration_ms,       # Integer
                :duration_api_ms,   # Integer
                :is_error,          # Boolean
                :num_turns,         # Integer
                :session_id,        # String
                :total_cost_usd,    # Float | nil
                :usage,             # Hash | nil
                :result,            # String | nil (final text result)
                :structured_output  # Hash | nil (when using output_format)
end

Content Block Types

# Union type of all content blocks
ContentBlock = TextBlock | ThinkingBlock | ToolUseBlock | ToolResultBlock

TextBlock

Text content block.

class TextBlock
  attr_accessor :text  # String
end

ThinkingBlock

Thinking content block (for models with extended thinking capability).

class ThinkingBlock
  attr_accessor :thinking,  # String
                :signature  # String
end

ToolUseBlock

Tool use request block.

class ToolUseBlock
  attr_accessor :id,    # String
                :name,  # String
                :input  # Hash
end

ToolResultBlock

Tool execution result block.

class ToolResultBlock
  attr_accessor :tool_use_id,  # String
                :content,      # String | Array<Hash> | nil
                :is_error      # Boolean | nil
end

Error Types

# Base exception class for all SDK errors
class ClaudeSDKError < StandardError; end

# Raised when Claude Code CLI is not found
class CLINotFoundError < CLIConnectionError
  # @param message [String] Error message (default: "Claude Code not found")
  # @param cli_path [String, nil] Optional path to the CLI that was not found
end

# Raised when connection to Claude Code fails
class CLIConnectionError < ClaudeSDKError; end

# Raised when the Claude Code process fails
class ProcessError < ClaudeSDKError
  attr_reader :exit_code,  # Integer | nil
              :stderr      # String | nil
end

# Raised when JSON parsing fails
class CLIJSONDecodeError < ClaudeSDKError
  attr_reader :line,           # String - The line that failed to parse
              :original_error  # Exception - The original JSON decode exception
end

# Raised when message parsing fails
class MessageParseError < ClaudeSDKError
  attr_reader :data  # Hash | nil
end

Configuration Types

Type Description
ClaudeAgentOptions Main configuration for queries and clients
HookMatcher Hook configuration with matcher pattern and timeout
PermissionResultAllow Permission callback result to allow tool use
PermissionResultDeny Permission callback result to deny tool use
AgentDefinition Agent definition with description, prompt, tools, model
McpStdioServerConfig MCP server config for stdio transport
McpSSEServerConfig MCP server config for SSE transport
McpHttpServerConfig MCP server config for HTTP transport
SdkPluginConfig SDK plugin configuration

Error Handling

AssistantMessage Errors

AssistantMessage includes an error field for API-level errors:

ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "Hello") do |message|
  if message.is_a?(ClaudeAgentSDK::AssistantMessage) && message.error
    case message.error
    when 'rate_limit'
      puts "Rate limited - retry after delay"
    when 'authentication_failed'
      puts "Check your API key"
    when 'billing_error'
      puts "Check your billing status"
    when 'invalid_request'
      puts "Invalid request format"
    when 'server_error'
      puts "Server error - retry later"
    end
  end
end

For complete examples, see examples/error_handling_example.rb.

Exception Handling

require 'claude_agent_sdk'

begin
  ClaudeAgentSDK.query(prompt: "Hello") do |message|
    puts message
  end
rescue ClaudeAgentSDK::CLINotFoundError
  puts "Please install Claude Code"
rescue ClaudeAgentSDK::ProcessError => e
  puts "Process failed with exit code: #{e.exit_code}"
rescue ClaudeAgentSDK::CLIJSONDecodeError => e
  puts "Failed to parse response: #{e}"
end

Error Types

Error Description
ClaudeSDKError Base error for all SDK errors
CLINotFoundError Claude Code not installed
CLIConnectionError Connection issues
ProcessError Process failed (includes exit_code and stderr)
CLIJSONDecodeError JSON parsing issues
MessageParseError Message parsing issues

See lib/claude_agent_sdk/errors.rb for all error types.

Available Tools

See the Claude Code documentation for a complete list of available tools.

Examples

Example Description
examples/quick_start.rb Basic query() usage with options
examples/client_example.rb Interactive Client usage
examples/streaming_input_example.rb Streaming input for multi-turn conversations
examples/mcp_calculator.rb Custom tools with SDK MCP servers
examples/mcp_resources_prompts_example.rb MCP resources and prompts
examples/hooks_example.rb Using hooks to control tool execution
examples/permission_callback_example.rb Dynamic tool permission control
examples/structured_output_example.rb JSON schema structured output
examples/budget_control_example.rb Budget control with max_budget_usd
examples/fallback_model_example.rb Fallback model configuration
examples/advanced_hooks_example.rb Typed hook inputs/outputs
examples/error_handling_example.rb Error handling with AssistantMessage.error
examples/extended_thinking_example.rb Extended thinking (API parity)

Development

After checking out the repo, run bundle install to install dependencies. Then, run bundle exec rspec to run the tests.

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.