Anthropic Claude API

Integrate Anthropic's Claude API to access advanced AI capabilities for text generation, vision, and tool use. This pack guides you through setting up your environment and making your first API call.

beginner15 min5 steps

The play

Obtain Your Anthropic API Key
Sign up or log in to the Anthropic console at `console.anthropic.com/settings/keys`. Generate and copy a new API key.
Install the Anthropic Python SDK
Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command to install the official Python client library:
Set Your API Key Environment Variable
For secure access, set your API key as an environment variable named `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`. Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with the key you obtained in Step 1. **Linux/macOS:** `export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='YOUR_API_KEY'` **Windows (Command Prompt):** `set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='YOUR_API_KEY'` **Windows (PowerShell):** `$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='YOUR_API_KEY'`
Make Your First API Call for Text Generation
Use the provided starter code to send a prompt to Claude and receive a text completion. Save the code as a Python file (e.g., `claude_test.py`) and run it.
Explore Advanced Features
Refer to the official Anthropic documentation for examples on vision capabilities, tool use, and other advanced integrations with Claude models.

Starter code

import os
from anthropic import Anthropic

# Ensure your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is set
# Alternatively, pass api_key="your_api_key_here" directly
client = Anthropic(api_key=os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"))

message = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-3-opus-20240229", # Consider "claude-3-sonnet-20240229" or "claude-3-haiku-20240307" for cost-effectiveness
    max_tokens=100,
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello, Claude. Write a haiku about a bustling city."}
    ]
)

for block in message.content:
    if block.type == "text":
        print(block.text)

Source

Articledocs.anthropic.com