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77## Compare the Agent SDK to other Claude tools
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9The Agent SDK, the CLI, the Client SDK, and Managed Agents each fit different needs. Use the table to find the one that matches what you're building.
9The Agent SDK, the CLI, the Client SDK, and Managed Agents differ in who runs the agent, what comes built in, and how you reach it. Find the row that matches how you want to build and run yours.
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11| If you're... | Use | Why |
12| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
13| Building an agent without implementing the tool loop yourself | **Agent SDK** | A Python or TypeScript library that runs the agent loop for you. |
14| Doing interactive development or running one-off tasks from a terminal | [**Claude Code CLI**](/docs/en/overview) | The terminal interface, built for daily interactive use. |
15| Calling the API directly and implementing the tool loop yourself | [**Client SDK**](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/api/client-sdks) | Direct access to the Anthropic API rather than to Claude Code. You implement the tool loop yourself. |
16| Running long-running or asynchronous agents without managing your own sandbox or session infrastructure | [**Managed Agents**](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/managed-agents/overview) | Hosted REST API, a separate product from the Agent SDK. Anthropic runs the agent and the sandbox. |
11| You want to | Use | What you get |
12| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
13| Embed Claude Code's agent in your own Python or TypeScript application, in a process you operate | **Agent SDK** | A library that runs the Claude Code binary, with Claude Code's [capabilities](#capabilities), such as built-in tools, permissions, sessions, and hooks. |
14| Do interactive development or run one-off tasks from a terminal | [**Claude Code CLI**](/docs/en/overview) | The terminal interface, built for daily interactive use. |
15| Call the Claude API directly from your own code | [**Client SDK**](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/cli-sdks-libraries/overview) | Direct access to the Claude API from any of the client SDK languages. You write the tool loop yourself, or let the client SDK's beta [tool runner](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/tool-runner) drive it. |
16| Have Anthropic host the agent, configured through the Claude API | [**Managed Agents**](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/managed-agents/overview) | A hosted agent harness that runs the agent loop, with sessions in an Anthropic-managed cloud sandbox or a [self-hosted sandbox](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/managed-agents/self-hosted-sandboxes) on your own infrastructure. Use it from the [SDK for your language](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/managed-agents/quickstart#install-the-sdk), the `ant` CLI, or the REST API. |
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18The SDK is available as a library for Python and TypeScript only. To drive the same agent loop from another language, [run the CLI as a subprocess](/docs/en/headless) with the `-p` flag and `--output-format json`.
18To drive the same agent loop from a language other than Python or TypeScript, [run the CLI as a subprocess](/docs/en/headless) with the `-p` flag and `--output-format json`.
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2020## Capabilities
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