Data: Claude API reference — cURL

Claude API — cURL / Raw HTTP

Use these examples when the user needs raw HTTP requests or is working in a language without an official SDK.

Setup

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key"

Basic Message Request

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{
    "model": "{{OPUS_ID}}",
    "max_tokens": 16000,
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "What is the capital of France?"}
    ]
  }'

Parsing the response

Use jq to extract fields from the JSON response. Do not use grep/sed — JSON strings can contain any character and regex parsing will break on quotes, escapes, or multi-line content.

# Capture the response, then extract fields
response=$(curl -s https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{"model":"{{OPUS_ID}}","max_tokens":16000,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}]}')

# Print the first text block (-r strips the JSON quotes)
echo "$response" | jq -r '.content[0].text'

# Read usage fields
input_tokens=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.usage.input_tokens')
output_tokens=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.usage.output_tokens')

# Read stop reason (for tool-use loops)
stop_reason=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.stop_reason')

# Extract all text blocks (content is an array; filter to type=="text")
echo "$response" | jq -r '.content[] | select(.type == "text") | .text'

Streaming (SSE)

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{
    "model": "{{OPUS_ID}}",
    "max_tokens": 64000,
    "stream": true,
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku"}]
  }'

The response is a stream of Server-Sent Events:

event: message_start
data: {"type":"message_start","message":{"id":"msg_...","type":"message",...}}

event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":0,"content_block":{"type":"text","text":""}}

event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"Hello"}}

event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":0}

event: message_delta
data: {"type":"message_delta","delta":{"stop_reason":"end_turn"},"usage":{"output_tokens":12}}

event: message_stop
data: {"type":"message_stop"}

Tool Use

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{
    "model": "{{OPUS_ID}}",
    "max_tokens": 16000,
    "tools": [{
      "name": "get_weather",
      "description": "Get current weather for a location",
      "input_schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "location": {"type": "string", "description": "City name"}
        },
        "required": ["location"]
      }
    }],
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What is the weather in Paris?"}]
  }'

When Claude responds with a tool_use block, send the result back:

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{
    "model": "{{OPUS_ID}}",
    "max_tokens": 16000,
    "tools": [{
      "name": "get_weather",
      "description": "Get current weather for a location",
      "input_schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "location": {"type": "string", "description": "City name"}
        },
        "required": ["location"]
      }
    }],
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "What is the weather in Paris?"},
      {"role": "assistant", "content": [
        {"type": "text", "text": "Let me check the weather."},
        {"type": "tool_use", "id": "toolu_abc123", "name": "get_weather", "input": {"location": "Paris"}}
      ]},
      {"role": "user", "content": [
        {"type": "tool_result", "tool_use_id": "toolu_abc123", "content": "72°F and sunny"}
      ]}
    ]
  }'

Prompt Caching

Put cache_control on the last block of the stable prefix. See shared/prompt-caching.md for placement patterns and the silent-invalidator audit checklist.

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{
    "model": "{{OPUS_ID}}",
    "max_tokens": 16000,
    "system": [
      {"type": "text", "text": "<large shared prompt...>", "cache_control": {"type": "ephemeral"}}
    ],
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize the key points"}]
  }'

For 1-hour TTL: "cache_control": {"type": "ephemeral", "ttl": "1h"}. Top-level "cache_control" on the request body auto-places on the last cacheable block. Verify hits via the response usage.cache_creation_input_tokens / usage.cache_read_input_tokens fields.

Extended Thinking

Opus 4.8, Opus 4.7, Opus 4.6, and Sonnet 4.6: Use adaptive thinking. budget_tokens is removed on Opus 4.8 and 4.7 (400 if sent); deprecated on Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6. Older models: Use "type": "enabled" with "budget_tokens": N (must be < max_tokens, min 1024).

# Opus 4.8 / 4.7 / 4.6: adaptive thinking (recommended)
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{
    "model": "{{OPUS_ID}}",
    "max_tokens": 16000,
    "thinking": {
      "type": "adaptive"
    },
    "output_config": {
      "effort": "high"
    },
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Solve this step by step..."}]
  }'

Required Headers