Create Agent

post /v1/agents

Create Agent

Header Parameters

• "anthropic-beta": optional array of AnthropicBeta

  Optional header to specify the beta version(s) you want to use.

  • string

  • "message-batches-2024-09-24" or "prompt-caching-2024-07-31" or "computer-use-2024-10-22" or 22 more

    • "message-batches-2024-09-24"

    • "prompt-caching-2024-07-31"

    • "computer-use-2024-10-22"

    • "computer-use-2025-01-24"

    • "pdfs-2024-09-25"

    • "token-counting-2024-11-01"

    • "token-efficient-tools-2025-02-19"

    • "output-128k-2025-02-19"

    • "files-api-2025-04-14"

    • "mcp-client-2025-04-04"

    • "mcp-client-2025-11-20"

    • "dev-full-thinking-2025-05-14"

    • "interleaved-thinking-2025-05-14"

    • "code-execution-2025-05-22"

    • "extended-cache-ttl-2025-04-11"

    • "context-1m-2025-08-07"

    • "context-management-2025-06-27"

    • "model-context-window-exceeded-2025-08-26"

    • "skills-2025-10-02"

    • "fast-mode-2026-02-01"

    • "output-300k-2026-03-24"

    • "user-profiles-2026-03-24"

    • "advisor-tool-2026-03-01"

    • "managed-agents-2026-04-01"

    • "cache-diagnosis-2026-04-07"

Body Parameters

• model: BetaManagedAgentsModel or BetaManagedAgentsModelConfigParams

  Model identifier. Accepts the model string, e.g. claude-opus-4-6, or a model_config object for additional configuration control

  • BetaManagedAgentsModel = "claude-opus-4-7" or "claude-opus-4-6" or "claude-sonnet-4-6" or 6 more or string

    The model that will power your agent.

    See models for additional details and options.

    • "claude-opus-4-7" or "claude-opus-4-6" or "claude-sonnet-4-6" or 6 more

      The model that will power your agent.

      See models for additional details and options.

      • "claude-opus-4-7"

        Frontier intelligence for long-running agents and coding

      • "claude-opus-4-6"

        Most intelligent model for building agents and coding

      • "claude-sonnet-4-6"

        Best combination of speed and intelligence

      • "claude-haiku-4-5"

        Fastest model with near-frontier intelligence

      • "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001"

        Fastest model with near-frontier intelligence

      • "claude-opus-4-5"

        Premium model combining maximum intelligence with practical performance

      • "claude-opus-4-5-20251101"

        Premium model combining maximum intelligence with practical performance

      • "claude-sonnet-4-5"

        High-performance model for agents and coding

      • "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"

        High-performance model for agents and coding

    • string

  • BetaManagedAgentsModelConfigParams object { id, speed }

    An object that defines additional configuration control over model use

    • id: BetaManagedAgentsModel

      The model that will power your agent.

      See models for additional details and options.

    • speed: optional "standard" or "fast"

      Inference speed mode. fast provides significantly faster output token generation at premium pricing. Not all models support fast; invalid combinations are rejected at create time.

      • "standard"

      • "fast"

• name: string

  Human-readable name for the agent. 1-256 characters.

• description: optional string

  Description of what the agent does. Up to 2048 characters.

• mcp_servers: optional array of BetaManagedAgentsURLMCPServerParams

  MCP servers this agent connects to. Maximum 20. Names must be unique within the array.

  • name: string

    Unique name for this server, referenced by mcp_toolset configurations. 1-255 characters.

  • type: "url"

    • "url"

  • url: string

    Endpoint URL for the MCP server.

• metadata: optional map[string]

  Arbitrary key-value metadata. Maximum 16 pairs, keys up to 64 chars, values up to 512 chars.

• multiagent: optional BetaManagedAgentsMultiagentParams

  A coordinator topology: the session's primary thread orchestrates work by spawning session threads, each running an agent drawn from the agents roster.

  • agents: array of BetaManagedAgentsMultiagentRosterEntryParams

    Agents the coordinator may spawn as session threads. 1–20 entries. Each entry is an agent ID string, a versioned {"type":"agent","id","version"} reference, or {"type":"self"} to allow recursive self-invocation. Entries must reference distinct agents (after resolving self and string forms); at most one self. Referenced agents must exist, must not be archived, and must not themselves have multiagent set (depth limit 1).

    • string

    • BetaManagedAgentsAgentParams object { id, type, version }

      Specification for an Agent. Provide a specific version or use the short-form agent="agent_id" for the most recent version

      • id: string

        The agent ID.

      • type: "agent"

        • "agent"

      • version: optional number

        The specific agent version to use. Omit to use the latest version. Must be at least 1 if specified.

    • BetaManagedAgentsMultiagentSelfParams object { type }

      Sentinel roster entry meaning "the agent that owns this configuration". Resolved server-side to a concrete agent reference.

      • type: "self"

        • "self"

  • type: "coordinator"

    • "coordinator"

• skills: optional array of BetaManagedAgentsSkillParams

  Skills available to the agent. Maximum 20.

  • BetaManagedAgentsAnthropicSkillParams object { skill_id, type, version }

    An Anthropic-managed skill.

    • skill_id: string

      Identifier of the Anthropic skill (e.g., "xlsx").

    • type: "anthropic"

      • "anthropic"

    • version: optional string

      Version to pin. Defaults to latest if omitted.

  • BetaManagedAgentsCustomSkillParams object { skill_id, type, version }

    A user-created custom skill.

    • skill_id: string

      Tagged ID of the custom skill (e.g., "skill_01XJ5...").

    • type: "custom"

      • "custom"

    • version: optional string

      Version to pin. Defaults to latest if omitted.

• system: optional string

  System prompt for the agent. Up to 100,000 characters.

• tools: optional array of BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolset20260401Params or BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolsetParams or BetaManagedAgentsCustomToolParams

  Tool configurations available to the agent. Maximum of 128 tools across all toolsets allowed.

  • BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolset20260401Params object { type, configs, default_config }

    Configuration for built-in agent tools. Use this to enable or disable groups of tools available to the agent.

    • type: "agent_toolset_20260401"

      • "agent_toolset_20260401"

    • configs: optional array of BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolConfigParams

      Per-tool configuration overrides.

      • name: "bash" or "edit" or "read" or 5 more

        Built-in agent tool identifier.

        • "bash"

        • "edit"

        • "read"

        • "write"

        • "glob"

        • "grep"

        • "web_fetch"

        • "web_search"

      • enabled: optional boolean

        Whether this tool is enabled and available to Claude. Overrides the default_config setting.

      • permission_policy: optional BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

        Permission policy for tool execution.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

          • type: "always_allow"

            • "always_allow"

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

          • type: "always_ask"

            • "always_ask"

    • default_config: optional BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolsetDefaultConfigParams

      Default configuration for all tools in a toolset.

      • enabled: optional boolean

        Whether tools are enabled and available to Claude by default. Defaults to true if not specified.

      • permission_policy: optional BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

        Permission policy for tool execution.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

  • BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolsetParams object { mcp_server_name, type, configs, default_config }

    Configuration for tools from an MCP server defined in mcp_servers.

    • mcp_server_name: string

      Name of the MCP server. Must match a server name from the mcp_servers array. 1-255 characters.

    • type: "mcp_toolset"

      • "mcp_toolset"

    • configs: optional array of BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolConfigParams

      Per-tool configuration overrides.

      • name: string

        Name of the MCP tool to configure. 1-128 characters.

      • enabled: optional boolean

        Whether this tool is enabled. Overrides the default_config setting.

      • permission_policy: optional BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

        Permission policy for tool execution.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

    • default_config: optional BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolsetDefaultConfigParams

      Default configuration for all tools from an MCP server.

      • enabled: optional boolean

        Whether tools are enabled by default. Defaults to true if not specified.

      • permission_policy: optional BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

        Permission policy for tool execution.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

        • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

          Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

  • BetaManagedAgentsCustomToolParams object { description, input_schema, name, type }

    A custom tool that is executed by the API client rather than the agent. When the agent calls this tool, an agent.custom_tool_use event is emitted and the session goes idle, waiting for the client to provide the result via a user.custom_tool_result event.

    • description: string

      Description of what the tool does, shown to the agent to help it decide when to use the tool. 1-1024 characters.

    • input_schema: BetaManagedAgentsCustomToolInputSchema

      JSON Schema for custom tool input parameters.

      • properties: optional map[unknown]

        JSON Schema properties defining the tool's input parameters.

      • required: optional array of string

        List of required property names.

      • type: optional "object"

        Must be 'object' for tool input schemas.

        • "object"

    • name: string

      Unique name for the tool. 1-128 characters; letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens.

    • type: "custom"

      • "custom"

Returns

• BetaManagedAgentsAgent object { id, archived_at, created_at, 12 more }

  A Managed Agents agent.

  • id: string

  • archived_at: string

    A timestamp in RFC 3339 format

  • created_at: string

    A timestamp in RFC 3339 format

  • description: string

  • mcp_servers: array of BetaManagedAgentsMCPServerURLDefinition

    • name: string

    • type: "url"

      • "url"

    • url: string

  • metadata: map[string]

  • model: BetaManagedAgentsModelConfig

    Model identifier and configuration.

    • id: BetaManagedAgentsModel

      The model that will power your agent.

      See models for additional details and options.

      • "claude-opus-4-7" or "claude-opus-4-6" or "claude-sonnet-4-6" or 6 more

        The model that will power your agent.

        See models for additional details and options.

        • "claude-opus-4-7"

          Frontier intelligence for long-running agents and coding

        • "claude-opus-4-6"

          Most intelligent model for building agents and coding

        • "claude-sonnet-4-6"

          Best combination of speed and intelligence

        • "claude-haiku-4-5"

          Fastest model with near-frontier intelligence

        • "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001"

          Fastest model with near-frontier intelligence

        • "claude-opus-4-5"

          Premium model combining maximum intelligence with practical performance

        • "claude-opus-4-5-20251101"

          Premium model combining maximum intelligence with practical performance

        • "claude-sonnet-4-5"

          High-performance model for agents and coding

        • "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"

          High-performance model for agents and coding

      • string

    • speed: optional "standard" or "fast"

      Inference speed mode. fast provides significantly faster output token generation at premium pricing. Not all models support fast; invalid combinations are rejected at create time.

      • "standard"

      • "fast"

  • multiagent: BetaManagedAgentsMultiagent

    Resolved coordinator topology with a concrete agent roster.

    • agents: array of BetaManagedAgentsAgentReference

      Agents the coordinator may spawn as session threads, each resolved to a specific version.

      • id: string

      • type: "agent"

        • "agent"

      • version: number

    • type: "coordinator"

      • "coordinator"

  • name: string

  • skills: array of BetaManagedAgentsAnthropicSkill or BetaManagedAgentsCustomSkill

    • BetaManagedAgentsAnthropicSkill object { skill_id, type, version }

      A resolved Anthropic-managed skill.

      • skill_id: string

      • type: "anthropic"

        • "anthropic"

      • version: string

    • BetaManagedAgentsCustomSkill object { skill_id, type, version }

      A resolved user-created custom skill.

      • skill_id: string

      • type: "custom"

        • "custom"

      • version: string

  • system: string

  • tools: array of BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolset20260401 or BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolset or BetaManagedAgentsCustomTool

    • BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolset20260401 object { configs, default_config, type }

      • configs: array of BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolConfig

        • enabled: boolean

        • name: "bash" or "edit" or "read" or 5 more

          Built-in agent tool identifier.

          • "bash"

          • "edit"

          • "read"

          • "write"

          • "glob"

          • "grep"

          • "web_fetch"

          • "web_search"

        • permission_policy: BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

          Permission policy for tool execution.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

            • type: "always_allow"

              • "always_allow"

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

            • type: "always_ask"

              • "always_ask"

      • default_config: BetaManagedAgentsAgentToolsetDefaultConfig

        Resolved default configuration for agent tools.

        • enabled: boolean

        • permission_policy: BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

          Permission policy for tool execution.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

      • type: "agent_toolset_20260401"

        • "agent_toolset_20260401"

    • BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolset object { configs, default_config, mcp_server_name, type }

      • configs: array of BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolConfig

        • enabled: boolean

        • name: string

        • permission_policy: BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

          Permission policy for tool execution.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

      • default_config: BetaManagedAgentsMCPToolsetDefaultConfig

        Resolved default configuration for all tools from an MCP server.

        • enabled: boolean

        • permission_policy: BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy or BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy

          Permission policy for tool execution.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAllowPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls are automatically approved without user confirmation.

          • BetaManagedAgentsAlwaysAskPolicy object { type }

            Tool calls require user confirmation before execution.

      • mcp_server_name: string

      • type: "mcp_toolset"

        • "mcp_toolset"

    • BetaManagedAgentsCustomTool object { description, input_schema, name, type }

      A custom tool as returned in API responses.

      • description: string

      • input_schema: BetaManagedAgentsCustomToolInputSchema

        JSON Schema for custom tool input parameters.

        • properties: optional map[unknown]

          JSON Schema properties defining the tool's input parameters.

        • required: optional array of string

          List of required property names.

        • type: optional "object"

          Must be 'object' for tool input schemas.

          • "object"

      • name: string

      • type: "custom"

        • "custom"

  • type: "agent"

    • "agent"

  • updated_at: string

    A timestamp in RFC 3339 format

  • version: number

    The agent's current version. Starts at 1 and increments when the agent is modified.

Example

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/agents \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'anthropic-version: 2023-06-01' \
    -H 'anthropic-beta: managed-agents-2026-04-01' \
    -H "X-Api-Key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
    -d "{
          \"model\": \"claude-sonnet-4-6\",
          \"name\": \"My First Agent\",
          \"description\": \"A general-purpose starter agent.\",
          \"metadata\": {
            \"foo\": \"bar\"
          },
          \"system\": \"You are a general-purpose agent that can research, write code, run commands, and use connected tools to complete the user's task end to end.\",
          \"tools\": [
            {
              \"type\": \"agent_toolset_20260401\"
            }
          ]
        }"

Response

{
  "id": "agent_011CZkYpogX7uDKUyvBTophP",
  "archived_at": null,
  "created_at": "2026-03-15T10:00:00Z",
  "description": "A general-purpose starter agent.",
  "mcp_servers": [
    {
      "name": "example-mcp",
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://example-server.modelcontextprotocol.io/sse"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "foo": "bar"
  },
  "model": {
    "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "speed": "standard"
  },
  "multiagent": {
    "agents": [
      {
        "id": "agent_011CZkYqphY8vELVzwCUpqiQ",
        "type": "agent",
        "version": 1
      }
    ],
    "type": "coordinator"
  },
  "name": "My First Agent",
  "skills": [
    {
      "skill_id": "xlsx",
      "type": "anthropic",
      "version": "1"
    },
    {
      "skill_id": "skill_011CZkZFNu9hAbo3jZPRgTlx",
      "type": "custom",
      "version": "2"
    }
  ],
  "system": "You are a general-purpose agent that can research, write code, run commands, and use connected tools to complete the user's task end to end.",
  "tools": [
    {
      "configs": [
        {
          "enabled": true,
          "name": "bash",
          "permission_policy": {
            "type": "always_allow"
          }
        }
      ],
      "default_config": {
        "enabled": true,
        "permission_policy": {
          "type": "always_ask"
        }
      },
      "type": "agent_toolset_20260401"
    }
  ],
  "type": "agent",
  "updated_at": "2026-03-15T10:00:00Z",
  "version": 1
}