Claude Agent SDK for .NET

A modern .NET library for interacting with the Claude Code CLI, providing both a simple one-shot QueryAsync() API and a full bidirectional client with control-protocol support.

Disclaimer: This is an independent, unofficial port and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic, PBC.

Features

• Simple Claude.QueryAsync() API for one-shot requests
• ClaudeSDKClient for multi-turn, bidirectional conversations
• Control protocol support (interrupts, modes, dynamic model switching)
• Hook system (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, UserPromptSubmit)
• Tool permission callbacks with allow/deny control
• In-process MCP server support (tools, prompts, resources)
• Cross-platform: Windows, Linux, macOS
• Source-generated JSON models for message types
• Well-tested: 109 tests (90 unit + 19 integration; integration tests are disabled by default)

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 or .NET 9.0
• Claude Code CLI >= 2.0.0:

  npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
  

CLI Path Resolution

The SDK discovers the Claude Code CLI in this order:

1. ClaudeAgentOptions.CliPath (explicit path)
2. CLAUDE_CLI_PATH environment variable
3. PATH search for claude (or claude.cmd on Windows)

Quick Start

One-Shot Query

using Claude.AgentSdk;

await foreach (var msg in Claude.QueryAsync("What is 2+2?"))
{
    if (msg is AssistantMessage am)
        foreach (var block in am.Content)
            if (block is TextBlock tb)
                Console.Write(tb.Text);
}

Multi-Turn Conversation

using Claude.AgentSdk;

await using var client = new ClaudeSDKClient();
await client.ConnectAsync();

await client.QueryAsync("Write a Python hello world");

await foreach (var msg in client.ReceiveResponseAsync())
{
    if (msg is AssistantMessage am)
        foreach (var block in am.Content)
            if (block is TextBlock tb)
                Console.Write(tb.Text);
}

With Options

var options = Claude.Options()
    .SystemPrompt("You are a helpful coding assistant.")
    .MaxTurns(5)
    .Model("claude-sonnet-4-20250514")
    .AcceptEdits()
    .Build();

await foreach (var msg in Claude.QueryAsync("Explain async/await", options))
{
    // handle messages
}

Tool Permission Callback

var options = Claude.Options()
    .CanUseTool(async (toolName, input, context, ct) =>
    {
        if (toolName == "Bash" && input.GetProperty("command").GetString()?.Contains("rm") == true)
            return new PermissionResultDeny("Destructive commands not allowed");
        return new PermissionResultAllow();
    })
    .Build();

Hooks

var options = Claude.Options()
    .AllowTools("Bash")
    .Hooks(h => h
        .PreToolUse("Bash", (input, toolUseId, ctx, ct) =>
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"[Hook] Bash: {input}");
            return Task.FromResult(new HookOutput { Continue = true });
        }))
    .Build();

MCP Tools (In-Process)

using Claude.AgentSdk;
using Claude.AgentSdk.Mcp;

var options = Claude.Options()
    .McpServers(m => m.AddSdk("calculator", s => s
        .Tool("add", (double a, double b) => a + b, "Add two numbers")))
    .AllowAllTools()
    .Build();

Custom Agents

var options = Claude.Options()
    .Agents(a => a
        .Add("reviewer", "Reviews code", "You are a code reviewer.", "Read", "Grep")
        .Add("writer", "Writes code", "You are a clean coder.", tools: ["Read", "Write"]))
    .Build();

Sandbox Configuration

var options = Claude.Options()
    .Sandbox(s => s
        .Enable()
        .AutoAllowBash()
        .ExcludeCommands("rm", "sudo")
        .Network(n => n.AllowLocalBinding()))
    .Build();

Configuration

ClaudeAgentOptions mirrors the Python SDK's options:

Property	Type	Description
SystemPrompt	string?	Custom system prompt
MaxTurns	int?	Maximum conversation turns
MaxBudgetUsd	decimal?	Spending limit in USD
Model	string?	Model to use
FallbackModel	string?	Fallback model
PermissionMode	PermissionMode?	Default, AcceptEdits, BypassPermissions
McpServers	object?	MCP server configurations
CanUseTool	CanUseToolCallback?	Tool permission callback
Hooks	IReadOnlyDictionary<...>?	Event hooks
AllowedTools	IReadOnlyList<string>	Whitelist tools
DisallowedTools	IReadOnlyList<string>	Blacklist tools
Cwd	string?	Working directory
CliPath	string?	Explicit CLI path

Message Types

• AssistantMessage - Claude's response with Content blocks
• UserMessage - User input
• SystemMessage - System notifications
• ResultMessage - Query completion with cost/duration info

Content Blocks

• TextBlock - Text content
• ThinkingBlock - Extended thinking (with signature)
• ToolUseBlock - Tool invocation
• ToolResultBlock - Tool output

Examples

See the examples/ directory:

Example	Description
BasicQuery	Simple one-shot query
StreamingMode	Interactive bidirectional client
SystemPrompt	Custom system prompts
McpCalculator	In-process MCP tools
McpPrompts	MCP prompt templates
Hooks	Pre/post tool use hooks
ToolPermissionCallback	Permission control
Agents	Agent configurations
MaxBudget	Spending limits

Status & Parity

• Current version: 0.1.0
• Status: Preview (API and behavior may change)
• Parity: Designed to match the Python Claude Agent SDK API, behavior, and ergonomics
• Tests: 109 tests (90 unit + 19 integration; integration tests are disabled by default)

Known Limitations

• control_cancel_request is currently ignored (cancellation of in-flight control requests is not implemented yet; matches Python SDK TODO).

Running Integration Tests

Integration tests require a working Claude Code CLI and are disabled by default.

• Enable them with: CLAUDE_AGENT_SDK_RUN_INTEGRATION_TESTS=1 dotnet test

Canonical rule: The Python claude-agent-sdk is the canonical reference. This .NET port tracks its behavior and API.

Installation

NuGet Package (Coming Soon)

dotnet add package Claude.AgentSdk

From Source

git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-agent-sdk-dotnet.git
cd claude-agent-sdk-dotnet
dotnet build

Related Projects

Project	Language	Description
claude-agent-sdk-python	Python	Official Python SDK (canonical reference)
claude-agent-sdk-cpp	C++	C++ port with full feature parity

License

Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

This is a .NET port of claude-agent-sdk-python by Anthropic, PBC.

Support

• Issues: Use the GitHub issue tracker
• Examples: See examples/
• Tests: See tests/