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/skills/anton-abyzov/sw-claude-sdk
This skill provides expert guidance on Claude Code SDK usage, tools, and extension development to accelerate building robust automation and integrations.
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---
name: claude-sdk
description: Claude Code SDK - tools (Read, Write, Edit, Bash), agent tools (Task, Skill), hooks, and MCP integration. Use for Claude Code extension development.
---
# Claude SDK Expert
Expert knowledge of Claude Code SDK, tools, and extension development.
## Core Tools
**File Operations**:
```typescript
// Read files
Read({ file_path: '/absolute/path/file.ts' });
// Write files (creates new or overwrites)
Write({
file_path: '/absolute/path/file.ts',
content: 'export const hello = () => "world";'
});
// Edit files (precise replacements)
Edit({
file_path: '/absolute/path/file.ts',
old_string: 'const x = 1;',
new_string: 'const x = 2;'
});
```
**Search**:
```typescript
// Find files by pattern
Glob({ pattern: '**/*.ts' });
// Search file contents
Grep({
pattern: 'TODO',
output_mode: 'files_with_matches'
});
// Search with context
Grep({
pattern: 'function.*export',
output_mode: 'content',
'-C': 3, // 3 lines before/after
'-n': true // Line numbers
});
```
**Execution**:
```typescript
// Run commands
Bash({
command: 'npm test',
description: 'Run test suite'
});
// Background processes
Bash({
command: 'npm run dev',
run_in_background: true
});
```
## Agent Tools
**Sub-agents**:
```typescript
// Invoke specialized sub-agent
Task({
subagent_type: 'plugin:agent-folder:agent-name',
prompt: 'Analyze this architecture'
});
```
**Skills**:
```typescript
// Activate skill explicitly
Skill({ skill: 'skill-name' });
// Or let auto-activation handle it
```
**Commands**:
```typescript
// Execute slash command
SlashCommand({ command: '/plugin:command arg1 arg2' });
```
## Plugin Hooks
**Available Hook Events**:
```typescript
type HookEvent =
| 'PostToolUse' // After tool executes
| 'PreToolUse' // Before tool executes
| 'PermissionRequest' // User permission dialog
| 'Notification' // System notification
| 'UserPromptSubmit' // After user submits prompt
| 'Stop' // Conversation stopped
| 'SubagentStop' // Sub-agent stopped
| 'PreCompact' // Before context compaction
| 'SessionStart' // Session started
| 'SessionEnd'; // Session ended
```
**Hook Configuration**:
```json
{
"hooks": {
"PostToolUse": [
{
"matcher": "TodoWrite",
"hooks": [{
"type": "command",
"command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/post-task.sh",
"timeout": 10
}]
}
]
}
}
```
## MCP (Model Context Protocol)
> **Code-First Preferred**: Anthropic research shows [code execution achieves 98% token reduction vs MCP](https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/code-execution-with-mcp). Use MCP only for: quick debugging, Claude Desktop integration, or tools with no code equivalent. For automation, CI/CD, and production - write code instead.
**MCP Server Integration** (when needed):
```typescript
// Connect to MCP server
const mcp = await connectMCP({
name: 'filesystem',
transport: 'stdio',
command: 'node',
args: ['mcp-server-filesystem.js']
});
// Use MCP tools
mcp.call('read_file', { path: '/path/to/file' });
```
## Best Practices
**Tool Usage**:
- Use absolute paths (not relative)
- Handle errors gracefully
- Provide clear descriptions
- Batch independent operations
**Performance**:
- Minimize tool calls
- Use Grep before Read (search first)
- Parallel independent operations
- Cache results when possible
**Security**:
- Validate file paths
- Sanitize user input
- No hardcoded secrets
- Use environment variables
Build powerful Claude Code extensions!
This skill provides expert guidance and tools for developing Claude Code extensions using the Claude SDK. It bundles file operations, search, execution, agent/skill orchestration, plugin hooks, and MCP integration for building reliable, performant extensions. Use it to read, write, edit code, run commands, invoke sub-agents, and integrate protocol-based tooling into extensions.
The skill exposes programmatic tools to manipulate repository files (Read, Write, Edit), search code (Glob, Grep), and execute shell commands (Bash). It supports composing sub-agents (Task) and activating skills (Skill), wiring plugin hooks for lifecycle events, and optionally connecting to an MCP server for protocol-based tool access. Best-practice patterns and safety checks are recommended by the SDK.
When should I use MCP vs direct code tools?
Prefer code-first tools for automation, CI/CD, and production. Use MCP only for quick debugging, desktop integrations, or tools without a code equivalent.
How do I minimize performance overhead when scanning code?
Use Grep or Glob to locate targets before reading files, batch operations, cache results, and parallelize independent tasks.