| name | Claude Quickstarts |
| description | Claude Quickstarts is the official Anthropic repository of deployable reference applications built on the Claude API. Each project is a self-contained, runnable implementation demonstrating a... |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"topic":"claude-quickstarts","category":"developer-tools","source_url":"https://github.com/anthropics/claude-quickstarts","github":"anthropics/claude-quickstarts","version":"No releases; tracked via main branch commits","verified":"2026-02-19","next_review":"2026-08-19"} |
Overview
Claude Quickstarts is the official Anthropic repository of deployable reference applications built on the Claude API. Each project is a self-contained, runnable implementation demonstrating a distinct Claude capability: computer use (desktop control via Docker), browser automation (Playwright integration), autonomous multi-session coding (Claude Agent SDK two-agent pattern), a customer support agent (Next.js + TypeScript UI), a financial data analyst (interactive Recharts visualization), and a minimal agent loop reference implementation (<300 lines of Python). All projects include setup instructions, tests, and CLAUDE.md development guides aimed at getting developers from zero to running application without reading API documentation first.
Problem Addressed
| Problem | Solution |
|---|
| Claude API onboarding requires reading extensive docs | Self-contained runnable projects with step-by-step setup instructions |
| Computer use beta is complex to configure safely | Docker container with VNC + Streamlit pre-configured; security cautions documented inline |
| Autonomous multi-session agent patterns are non-obvious | Two-agent pattern (initializer + coding agent) with git-persisted progress across sessions |
| Building production UIs on Claude requires front-end setup | Next.js + TypeScript + shadcn/ui starter projects for customer support and financial analyst demos |
| Agent loop fundamentals are obscured by SDK abstractions | <300-line agents/ reference showing raw tool loop with MCP server integration |
| Browser automation with Claude has no canonical example | Full Playwright + Claude Browser Tools API demo with Docker and pytest suite |
Key Statistics
| Metric | Value | Date Gathered |
|---|
| GitHub Stars | 14,681 | 2026-02-19 |
| GitHub Forks | 2,446 | 2026-02-19 |
| Open Issues | 143 | 2026-02-19 |
| Contributors | ~28 (via Link header) | 2026-02-19 |
| Primary Language | Python (368KB), TypeScript (174KB) | 2026-02-19 |
| Repository Age | Since 2024-08-29 | 2026-02-19 |
| Latest Release | None (no versioned releases) | 2026-02-19 |
| Supported Models | Claude Opus 4.5, Sonnet 4.5, Sonnet 4, Opus 4, Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 3.7, Sonnet 3.5 | 2026-02-19 |
Key Features
Included Quickstart Projects
Computer Use Demo (computer-use-demo/)
- Docker container with full Linux desktop (VNC + noVNC + Streamlit interface)
- Exposes ports 5900 (VNC), 8501 (Streamlit), 6080 (noVNC), 8080 (web)
- Supports Anthropic API, AWS Bedrock, and Google Vertex backends
- Uses
computer_use_20251124 tool version with zoom actions
- Uses
str_replace_based_edit_tool (replaces deprecated str_replace_editor)
- Supports Claude 4 models (Opus 4.5, Sonnet 4.5, Sonnet 4, Opus 4, Haiku 4.5)
- Pre-built Docker image:
ghcr.io/anthropics/anthropic-quickstarts:computer-use-demo-latest
Browser Tools API Demo (browser-use-demo/)
- Playwright integration for web navigation, DOM inspection, form manipulation
- Docker + docker-compose deployment
- pytest suite with
browser_use_demo/ package structure
- CHANGELOG.md and NOTICE file indicating third-party attribution requirements
Autonomous Coding Agent (autonomous-coding/)
- Two-agent pattern: initializer agent (session 1) + coding agent (sessions 2+)
- Requires Claude Code CLI (
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code) and claude-code-sdk Python package
- Progress persisted via
feature_list.json (200 test cases) and git commits across sessions
- Defense-in-depth security: OS sandbox + filesystem restriction to project dir + bash command allowlist
- Allowed commands:
ls, cat, head, tail, wc, grep, npm, node, git, ps, lsof, sleep, pkill
- Configurable via
--project-dir, --max-iterations, --model CLI flags
Agents Reference Implementation (agents/)
- <300 lines of Python demonstrating agent loop fundamentals
agent.py handles Claude API interactions and tool execution loop- Supports both local tool classes and MCP server connections (stdio and other transports)
tools/ directory with ThinkTool and MCP tool wrappers; utils/ for message history + MCP connections- Includes Jupyter notebook
agent_demo.ipynb for interactive exploration
- Explicitly not a production SDK — educational reference only
Customer Support Agent (customer-support-agent/)
- Next.js application with TypeScript strict mode
- shadcn/ui component library; Tailwind CSS
- Three layout variants: left sidebar, right sidebar, chat-only (via
npm run dev:left/right/chat)
- AWS Amplify deployment config (
amplify.yml)
Financial Data Analyst (financial-data-analyst/)
- Next.js + TypeScript with Recharts visualization
- Interactive financial data analysis via chat interface
- React hooks for state management
Development Infrastructure
- Monorepo with
pyproject.toml and .pre-commit-config.yaml at root
- Python projects: ruff (lint + format) + pyright type checking + pytest
- TypeScript projects: ESLint Next.js configuration
CLAUDE.md at repo root documents all build commands for Claude Code context
Technical Architecture
Repository Structure
claude-quickstarts/
├── CLAUDE.md # Claude Code dev guide (build cmds, code style per project)
├── pyproject.toml # Root Python config
├── .pre-commit-config.yaml # Repo-wide pre-commit hooks
├── agents/ # Minimal agent loop reference (<300 lines Python)
│ ├── agent.py # Core API + tool loop
│ ├── tools/ # ThinkTool + MCP tool wrappers
│ └── utils/ # Message history, MCP connections
├── autonomous-coding/ # Multi-session coding agent (Claude Agent SDK)
│ ├── autonomous_agent_demo.py # CLI entry point
│ ├── agent.py # Session logic
│ ├── client.py # SDK client config
│ ├── security.py # Bash allowlist + OS sandbox
│ ├── prompts/ # initializer_prompt.md, coding_prompt.md, app_spec.txt
│ └── progress.py # Session tracking
├── browser-use-demo/ # Playwright + Claude Browser Tools API (Docker)
├── computer-use-demo/ # Desktop control (Docker + VNC + Streamlit)
│ ├── computer_use_demo/ # Python agent loop
│ └── Dockerfile # Full Linux desktop image
├── customer-support-agent/ # Next.js + shadcn/ui + Amplify
└── financial-data-analyst/ # Next.js + Recharts
Agent Loop Pattern (from agents/agent.py)
User message
→ Claude API call (with tools + MCP tool list)
→ Response: text block OR tool_use block
→ If tool_use: execute locally or via MCP server
→ Append tool_result to message history
→ Loop until no more tool_use blocks
→ Return final text response
Autonomous Coding Two-Agent Pattern
Session 1 (Initializer):
app_spec.txt → generate feature_list.json (200 test cases) → git init → project scaffold
Sessions 2+ (Coding Agent):
Read feature_list.json → pick next incomplete feature → implement → run tests → mark passing → git commit
(Each session: fresh context window; progress via feature_list.json + git history)
Computer Use Tool Version
Beta tool: computer_use_20251124
Actions: screenshot, click, type, scroll, key, zoom (new in 20251124)
Editor: str_replace_based_edit_tool (replaces str_replace_editor)
Ports: 5900/VNC, 8501/Streamlit, 6080/noVNC, 8080/web
Installation and Usage
Computer Use Demo (quickest start)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_api_key
docker run \
-e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY \
-v $HOME/.anthropic:/home/computeruse/.anthropic \
-p 5900:5900 -p 8501:8501 -p 6080:6080 -p 8080:8080 \
-it ghcr.io/anthropics/anthropic-quickstarts:computer-use-demo-latest
Agents Reference (Python)
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-quickstarts.git
cd claude-quickstarts
pip install anthropic mcp
python -c "
from agents.agent import Agent
from agents.tools.think import ThinkTool
agent = Agent(name='demo', system='You are helpful.', tools=[ThinkTool()])
print(agent.run('What are 3 key benefits of async I/O?'))
"
Autonomous Coding Agent
cd autonomous-coding
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
pip install -r requirements.txt
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key
python autonomous_agent_demo.py --project-dir ./my_project --max-iterations 5
Customer Support Agent (Next.js)
cd customer-support-agent
npm install
npm run dev
npm run dev:chat
Relevance to Claude Code Development
Direct Applications
-
CLAUDE.md Pattern: The repo-root CLAUDE.md documents build commands and code style conventions for each sub-project — a direct reference for how Anthropic structures CLAUDE.md for multi-language monorepos. The format is per-project headings with Setup, Testing, and Code Style subsections.
-
Agent SDK Integration: The autonomous-coding/ project demonstrates the claude-code-sdk Python package integration pattern — specifically how to spawn Claude Code sessions programmatically, manage context windows across sessions, and persist state via file + git. Directly applicable to Claude Code skill orchestration patterns.
-
Two-Agent Orchestration: The initializer + coding agent split (session 1 generates plan; sessions 2+ execute) is a concrete multi-session orchestration pattern applicable to claude_skills multi-agent workflows.
-
Security Hook Pattern: security.py shows how to implement a bash command allowlist as a pre-execution hook — directly analogous to Claude Code PreToolUse hooks for constraining tool execution scope.
-
MCP Integration Reference: agents/ shows how to connect both local tools and MCP servers in a single agent loop — relevant to the mcp-ecosystem research category and claude_skills MCP plugin development.
-
Computer Use Tool Version: Documents the computer_use_20251124 tool API with zoom support and str_replace_based_edit_tool — authoritative reference for current beta computer use tool versions.
Patterns Worth Examining
-
Feature list as session handoff: feature_list.json as the durable cross-session progress tracker (rather than a database or external state store) is a simple, git-trackable pattern for long-running agent workflows.
-
Per-project CLAUDE.md in monorepo: Project-level build command docs in a single shared CLAUDE.md at monorepo root — provides all tool context without per-directory CLAUDE.md proliferation.
-
Layout variants via npm scripts: npm run dev:left/right/chat for shipping multiple UI configurations from one codebase — relevant when building multi-surface Claude Code skill UIs.
-
Docker as isolation boundary for computer use: Using Docker to scope filesystem access and network exposure for computer use agents — a security pattern for any Claude Code plugin that invokes desktop tools.
References
Research Method: GitHub API for repository metadata, language breakdown, and contributor count (Link header pagination). README and sub-project READMEs decoded from base64 GitHub contents API. CLAUDE.md read for development patterns.
