Anthropic SDK for PHP

Why it's ranked here

This is a capable integration layer, not a thin request wrapper. Automatic pagination, configurable retries, stream accumulation, typed structured output, and per-attempt middleware address real production concerns. Its prerelease status and reliance on a separately installed HTTP client temper that breadth.

What's good

Streaming support includes an accumulator that joins text, assembles chunked tool inputs, merges usage totals, and exposes partial snapshots. Structured output converts PHP classes into JSON schemas and parses results back into typed objects. Middleware can log, alter headers, cache responses, or issue follow-up requests.

Tradeoffs

The package requires PHP 8.1 or newer and a compatible PSR-18 HTTP client implementation. Some clients buffer complete responses, so streaming may require a separate capable transport. The package remains below version one, and its documentation warns that APIs may change at any time.

How to use it well

Choose it for PHP services that need Claude requests, streaming, uploads, structured responses, pagination, or transport customization. Configure retry behavior deliberately and verify that your HTTP client truly streams. It does not supply the underlying HTTP client, and optional Bedrock, Vertex, and MCP integrations require additional packages.

Observed

License

MIT

Primary language

PHP

Packaging

Composer package anthropic-ai/sdk with PSR-4 autoloading

Install surface

Library installed through Composer

Interface

PHP client library for the Claude API

Runtime requirement

PHP 8.1 or newer and a PSR-18 HTTP client implementation

Transport support

Standard requests and Server-Sent Events streaming

Repository structure

Source and test directories are configured for PHPUnit, PHPStan, and PHP CS Fixer