Lord1Egypt Tool Use — Python
For conceptual overview (tool definitions, tool choice, tips), see shared/tool-use-concepts.md.
Tool Runner (Recommended)
Beta: The tool runner is in beta in the Python SDK.
Use the @beta_tool decorator to define tools as typed functions, then pass them to client.beta.messages.tool_runner():
import anthropic
from anthropic import beta_tool
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
@beta_tool
def get_weather(location: str, unit: str = "celsius") -> str:
"""Get current weather for a location.
Args:
location: City and state, e.g., San Francisco, CA.
unit: Temperature unit, either "celsius" or "fahrenheit".
"""
# Your implementation here
return f"72°F and sunny in {location}"
# The tool runner handles the agentic loop automatically
runner = client.beta.messages.tool_runner(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=[get_weather],
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in Paris?"}],
)
# Each iteration yields a BetaMessage; iteration stops when Claude is done
for message in runner:
print(message)
For async usage, use @beta_async_tool with async def functions.
Key benefits of the tool runner:
- No manual loop — the SDK handles calling tools and feeding results back
- Type-safe tool inputs via decorators
- Tool schemas are generated automatically from function signatures
- Iteration stops automatically when Claude has no more tool calls
MCP Tool Conversion Helpers
Beta. Convert MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools, prompts, and resources to Anthropic API types for use with the tool runner. Requires pip install anthropic[mcp] (Python 3.10+).
Note: The Claude API also supports an
mcp_serversparameter that lets Claude connect directly to remote MCP servers. Use these helpers instead when you need local MCP servers, prompts, resources, or more control over the MCP connection.
MCP Tools with Tool Runner
from anthropic import AsyncAnthropic
from anthropic.lib.tools.mcp import async_mcp_tool
from mcp import ClientSession
from mcp.client.stdio import stdio_client, StdioServerParameters
client = AsyncAnthropic()
async with stdio_client(StdioServerParameters(command="mcp-server")) as (read, write):
async with ClientSession(read, write) as mcp_client:
await mcp_client.initialize()
tools_result = await mcp_client.list_tools()
# tool_runner is sync — returns the runner, not a coroutine
runner = client.beta.messages.tool_runner(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Use the available tools"}],
tools=[async_mcp_tool(t, mcp_client) for t in tools_result.tools],
)
async for message in runner:
print(message)
For sync usage, use mcp_tool instead of async_mcp_tool.
MCP Prompts
from anthropic.lib.tools.mcp import mcp_message
prompt = await mcp_client.get_prompt(name="my-prompt")
response = await client.beta.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[mcp_message(m) for m in prompt.messages],
)
MCP Resources as Content
from anthropic.lib.tools.mcp import mcp_resource_to_content
resource = await mcp_client.read_resource(uri="file:///path/to/doc.txt")
response = await client.beta.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{
"role": "user",
"content": [
mcp_resource_to_content(resource),
{"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this document"},
],
}],
)
Upload MCP Resources as Files
from anthropic.lib.tools.mcp import mcp_resource_to_file
resource = await mcp_client.read_resource(uri="file:///path/to/data.json")
uploaded = await client.beta.files.upload(file=mcp_resource_to_file(resource))
Conversion functions raise UnsupportedMCPValueError if an MCP value cannot be converted (e.g., unsupported content types like audio, unsupported MIME types).
Manual Agentic Loop
Use this when you need fine-grained control over the loop (e.g., custom logging, conditional tool execution, human-in-the-loop approval):
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
tools = [...] # Your tool definitions
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": user_input}]
# Agentic loop: keep going until Claude stops calling tools
while True:
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=tools,
messages=messages
)
# If Claude is done (no more tool calls), break
if response.stop_reason == "end_turn":
break
# Server-side tool hit iteration limit; re-send to continue
if response.stop_reason == "pause_turn":
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": user_input},
{"role": "assistant", "content": response.content},
]
continue
# Extract tool use blocks from the response
tool_use_blocks = [b for b in response.content if b.type == "tool_use"]
# Append assistant's response (including tool_use blocks)
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": response.content})
# Execute each tool and collect results
tool_results = []
for tool in tool_use_blocks:
result = execute_tool(tool.name, tool.input) # Your implementation
tool_results.append({
"type": "tool_result",
"tool_use_id": tool.id, # Must match the tool_use block's id
"content": result
})
# Append tool results as a user message
messages.append({"role": "user", "content": tool_results})
# Final response text
final_text = next(b.text for b in response.content if b.type == "text")
Handling Tool Results
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=tools,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in Paris?"}]
)
for block in response.content:
if block.type == "tool_use":
tool_name = block.name
tool_input = block.input
tool_use_id = block.id
result = execute_tool(tool_name, tool_input)
followup = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=tools,
messages=[
{"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in Paris?"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": response.content},
{
"role": "user",
"content": [{
"type": "tool_result",
"tool_use_id": tool_use_id,
"content": result
}]
}
]
)
Multiple Tool Calls
tool_results = []
for block in response.content:
if block.type == "tool_use":
result = execute_tool(block.name, block.input)
tool_results.append({
"type": "tool_result",
"tool_use_id": block.id,
"content": result
})
# Send all results back at once
if tool_results:
followup = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=tools,
messages=[
*previous_messages,
{"role": "assistant", "content": response.content},
{"role": "user", "content": tool_results}
]
)
Error Handling in Tool Results
tool_result = {
"type": "tool_result",
"tool_use_id": tool_use_id,
"content": "Error: Location 'xyz' not found. Please provide a valid city name.",
"is_error": True
}
Tool Choice
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=tools,
tool_choice={"type": "tool", "name": "get_weather"}, # Force specific tool
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in Paris?"}]
)
Code Execution
Basic Usage
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{
"role": "user",
"content": "Calculate the mean and standard deviation of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]"
}],
tools=[{
"type": "code_execution_20260120",
"name": "code_execution"
}]
)
for block in response.content:
if block.type == "text":
print(block.text)
elif block.type == "bash_code_execution_tool_result":
print(f"stdout: {block.content.stdout}")
Upload Files for Analysis
# 1. Upload a file
uploaded = client.beta.files.upload(file=open("sales_data.csv", "rb"))
# 2. Pass to code execution via container_upload block
# Code execution is GA; Files API is still beta (pass via extra_headers)
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
extra_headers={"anthropic-beta": "files-api-2025-04-14"},
messages=[{
"role": "user",
"content": [
{"type": "text", "text": "Analyze this sales data. Show trends and create a visualization."},
{"type": "container_upload", "file_id": uploaded.id}
]
}],
tools=[{"type": "code_execution_20260120", "name": "code_execution"}]
)
Retrieve Generated Files
import os
OUTPUT_DIR = "./claude_outputs"
os.makedirs(OUTPUT_DIR, exist_ok=True)
for block in response.content:
if block.type == "bash_code_execution_tool_result":
result = block.content
if result.type == "bash_code_execution_result" and result.content:
for file_ref in result.content:
if file_ref.type == "bash_code_execution_output":
metadata = client.beta.files.retrieve_metadata(file_ref.file_id)
file_content = client.beta.files.download(file_ref.file_id)
# Use basename to prevent path traversal; validate result
safe_name = os.path.basename(metadata.filename)
if not safe_name or safe_name in (".", ".."):
print(f"Skipping invalid filename: {metadata.filename}")
continue
output_path = os.path.join(OUTPUT_DIR, safe_name)
file_content.write_to_file(output_path)
print(f"Saved: {output_path}")
Container Reuse
# First request: set up environment
response1 = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Install tabulate and create data.json with sample data"}],
tools=[{"type": "code_execution_20260120", "name": "code_execution"}]
)
# Get container ID from response
container_id = response1.container.id
# Second request: reuse the same container
response2 = client.messages.create(
container=container_id,
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Read data.json and display as a formatted table"}],
tools=[{"type": "code_execution_20260120", "name": "code_execution"}]
)
Response Structure
for block in response.content:
if block.type == "text":
print(block.text) # Claude's explanation
elif block.type == "server_tool_use":
print(f"Running: {block.name} - {block.input}") # What Claude is doing
elif block.type == "bash_code_execution_tool_result":
result = block.content
if result.type == "bash_code_execution_result":
if result.return_code == 0:
print(f"Output: {result.stdout}")
else:
print(f"Error: {result.stderr}")
else:
print(f"Tool error: {result.error_code}")
elif block.type == "text_editor_code_execution_tool_result":
print(f"File operation: {block.content}")
Memory Tool
Basic Usage
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Remember that my preferred language is Python."}],
tools=[{"type": "memory_20250818", "name": "memory"}],
)
SDK Memory Helper
Subclass BetaAbstractMemoryTool:
from anthropic.lib.tools import BetaAbstractMemoryTool
class MyMemoryTool(BetaAbstractMemoryTool):
def view(self, command): ...
def create(self, command): ...
def str_replace(self, command): ...
def insert(self, command): ...
def delete(self, command): ...
def rename(self, command): ...
memory = MyMemoryTool()
# Use with tool runner
runner = client.beta.messages.tool_runner(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
tools=[memory],
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Remember my preferences"}],
)
for message in runner:
print(message)
For full implementation examples, use WebFetch:
https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-python/blob/main/examples/memory/basic.py
Structured Outputs
JSON Outputs (Pydantic — Recommended)
from pydantic import BaseModel
from typing import List
import anthropic
class ContactInfo(BaseModel):
name: str
email: str
plan: str
interests: List[str]
demo_requested: bool
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
response = client.messages.parse(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{
"role": "user",
"content": "Extract: Jane Doe (jane@co.com) wants Enterprise, interested in API and SDKs, wants a demo."
}],
output_format=ContactInfo,
)
# response.parsed_output is a validated ContactInfo instance
contact = response.parsed_output
print(contact.name) # "Jane Doe"
print(contact.interests) # ["API", "SDKs"]
Raw Schema
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{
"role": "user",
"content": "Extract info: John Smith (john@example.com) wants the Enterprise plan."
}],
output_config={
"format": {
"type": "json_schema",
"schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"name": {"type": "string"},
"email": {"type": "string"},
"plan": {"type": "string"},
"demo_requested": {"type": "boolean"}
},
"required": ["name", "email", "plan", "demo_requested"],
"additionalProperties": False
}
}
}
)
import json
# output_config.format guarantees the first block is text with valid JSON
text = next(b.text for b in response.content if b.type == "text")
data = json.loads(text)
Strict Tool Use
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Book a flight to Tokyo for 2 passengers on March 15"}],
tools=[{
"name": "book_flight",
"description": "Book a flight to a destination",
"strict": True,
"input_schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"destination": {"type": "string"},
"date": {"type": "string", "format": "date"},
"passengers": {"type": "integer", "enum": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]}
},
"required": ["destination", "date", "passengers"],
"additionalProperties": False
}
}]
)
Using Both Together
response = client.messages.create(
model="{{OPUS_ID}}",
max_tokens=16000,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Plan a trip to Paris next month"}],
output_config={
"format": {
"type": "json_schema",
"schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"summary": {"type": "string"},
"next_steps": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string"}}
},
"required": ["summary", "next_steps"],
"additionalProperties": False
}
}
},
tools=[{
"name": "search_flights",
"description": "Search for available flights",
"strict": True,
"input_schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"destination": {"type": "string"},
"date": {"type": "string", "format": "date"}
},
"required": ["destination", "date"],
"additionalProperties": False
}
}]
)