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

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. 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