| name | managing-anthropic-api |
| description | Use when working with Anthropic Api — anthropic API platform management
covering models, usage tracking, rate limits, and message analytics. Use when
monitoring API usage and costs, analyzing model request patterns, reviewing
rate limit health, or troubleshooting Anthropic Claude API issues.
|
| connection_type | anthropic |
| preload | false |
Anthropic API Management Skill
Manage and analyze Anthropic API resources including models, usage, and rate limit health.
API Conventions
Authentication
All API calls use x-api-key header, injected automatically.
Base URL
https://api.anthropic.com/v1
Core Helper Function
#!/bin/bash
anthropic_api() {
local method="$1"
local endpoint="$2"
local data="${3:-}"
if [ -n "$data" ]; then
curl -s -X "$method" \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.anthropic.com/v1${endpoint}" \
-d "$data"
else
curl -s -X "$method" \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
"https://api.anthropic.com/v1${endpoint}"
fi
}
Output Rules
- Target ≤50 lines per script output
- Use
jq to extract only needed fields
- Never dump full API responses
Phase 1: Discovery
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Available Models ==="
anthropic_api GET "/models?limit=20" \
| jq -r '.data[] | "\(.id)\t\(.display_name)\t\(.created_at[0:10])"' \
| column -t | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== API Health Check ==="
RESPONSE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X POST \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages" \
-d '{"model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "max_tokens": 1, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}]}')
echo "API Status: $RESPONSE"
echo ""
echo "=== Rate Limit Info ==="
curl -s -D- -o /dev/null -X POST \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages" \
-d '{"model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "max_tokens": 1, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}]}' \
| grep -i "anthropic-ratelimit\|retry-after\|x-ratelimit"
Phase 2: Analysis
Usage & Rate Limits
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Rate Limit Status ==="
HEADERS=$(curl -s -D- -o /dev/null -X POST \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages" \
-d '{"model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "max_tokens": 1, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "test"}]}')
echo "$HEADERS" | grep -i "ratelimit" | while read line; do
echo " $line"
done
echo ""
echo "=== Model Availability ==="
for model in "claude-sonnet-4-20250514" "claude-opus-4-20250514" "claude-haiku-35-20241022"; do
STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X POST \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages" \
-d "{\"model\": \"$model\", \"max_tokens\": 1, \"messages\": [{\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"test\"}]}")
echo "$model: HTTP $STATUS"
done
API Configuration Check
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== API Key Validation ==="
RESULT=$(anthropic_api POST "/messages" '{"model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "max_tokens": 1, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "test"}]}')
echo "$RESULT" | jq '{model: .model, type: .type, stop_reason: .stop_reason, usage: .usage}' 2>/dev/null || echo "Error: $(echo $RESULT | jq -r '.error.message // "unknown"')"
Output Format
=== Anthropic API ===
Models Available: <list>
API Status: <healthy|degraded>
--- Rate Limits ---
Requests: <used>/<limit> per minute
Tokens: <used>/<limit> per minute
--- Model Availability ---
<model>: <available|unavailable>
Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--help output.
- NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |
Common Pitfalls
- Version header required: Always include
anthropic-version: 2023-06-01 header
- Rate limit headers: Check
anthropic-ratelimit-* headers for current limits
- Token counting: Input and output tokens are counted separately for billing
- Model names: Use full model IDs (e.g.,
claude-sonnet-4-20250514) not aliases
- No usage API: Anthropic does not expose a usage/billing API; use Console for cost tracking