Structured outputs
Get validated JSON results from agent workflows
Structured outputs constrain Claude's responses to follow a specific schema, ensuring valid, parseable output for downstream processing. Structured outputs provide two complementary features:
- JSON outputs (
output_config.format): Get Claude's response in a specific JSON format - Strict tool use (
strict: true): Guarantee schema validation on tool names and inputs
You can use these features independently or together in the same request.
Structured outputs are generally available on the Claude API for Claude Mythos Preview, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.5, and Claude Haiku 4.5. On Amazon Bedrock, structured outputs are generally available for Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.5, and Claude Haiku 4.5; Claude Opus 4.7 and Claude Mythos Preview are available through Claude in Amazon Bedrock (the Messages-API Bedrock endpoint). Structured outputs are available on Claude Platform on AWS and in beta on Microsoft Foundry. On Vertex AI, structured outputs are generally available for Claude Mythos Preview, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Opus 4.6, and Claude Sonnet 4.6.
This feature qualifies for Zero Data Retention (ZDR) with limited technical retention. See the Data retention section for details on what is retained and why.
Migrating from beta? The output_format parameter has moved to output_config.format, and beta headers are no longer required. The old beta header (structured-outputs-2025-11-13) and output_format parameter will continue working for a transition period. See the following code examples for the updated API shape.
Why use structured outputs
Without structured outputs, Claude can generate malformed JSON responses or invalid tool inputs that break your applications. Even with careful prompting, you may encounter:
- Parsing errors from invalid JSON syntax
- Missing required fields
- Inconsistent data types
- Schema violations requiring error handling and retries
Structured outputs guarantee schema-compliant responses through constrained decoding:
- Always valid: No more
JSON.parse()errors - Type safe: Guaranteed field types and required fields
- Reliable: No retries needed for schema violations
JSON outputs
JSON outputs control Claude's response format, ensuring Claude returns valid JSON matching your schema. Use JSON outputs when you need to:
- Control Claude's response format
- Extract data from images or text
- Generate structured reports
- Format API responses
Quick start
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-d '{
"model": "claude-opus-4-7",
"max_tokens": 1024,
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm."
}
],
"output_config": {
"format": {
"type": "json_schema",
"schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"name": {"type": "string"},
"email": {"type": "string"},
"plan_interest": {"type": "string"},
"demo_requested": {"type": "boolean"}
},
"required": ["name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested"],
"additionalProperties": false
}
}
}
}'
ant messages create \
--transform 'content.0.text|@fromstr' \
--format jsonl <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 1024
messages:
- role: user
content: >-
Extract the key information from this email: John Smith
(john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants
to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
name: {type: string}
email: {type: string}
plan_interest: {type: string}
demo_requested: {type: boolean}
required: [name, email, plan_interest, demo_requested]
additionalProperties: false
YAML
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
response = client.messages.create(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.",
}
],
output_config={
"format": {
"type": "json_schema",
"schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"name": {"type": "string"},
"email": {"type": "string"},
"plan_interest": {"type": "string"},
"demo_requested": {"type": "boolean"},
},
"required": ["name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested"],
"additionalProperties": False,
},
}
},
)
print(response.content[0].text)
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
const client = new Anthropic();
const response = await client.messages.create({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{
role: "user",
content:
"Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm."
}
],
output_config: {
format: {
type: "json_schema",
schema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
name: { type: "string" },
email: { type: "string" },
plan_interest: { type: "string" },
demo_requested: { type: "boolean" }
},
required: ["name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested"],
additionalProperties: false
}
}
}
});
for (const block of response.content) {
if (block.type === "text") {
console.log(block.text);
}
}
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
AnthropicClient client = new();
var parameters = new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 1024,
Messages = [new() { Role = Role.User, Content = "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan." }],
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
name = new { type = "string" },
email = new { type = "string" },
plan_interest = new { type = "string" },
demo_requested = new { type = "boolean" },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new[] { "name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
};
var message = await client.Messages.Create(parameters);
Console.WriteLine(message);
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
)
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
response, _ := client.Messages.New(context.Background(),
anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 1024,
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(
anthropic.NewTextBlock("Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan."),
),
},
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"properties": map[string]any{
"name": map[string]string{"type": "string"},
"email": map[string]string{"type": "string"},
"plan_interest": map[string]string{"type": "string"},
"demo_requested": map[string]string{"type": "boolean"},
},
"required": []string{"name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested"},
"additionalProperties": false,
},
},
},
})
fmt.Println(response.Content[0].Text)
}
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
static class ContactInfo {
public String name;
public String email;
public String plan_interest;
public boolean demo_requested;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
StructuredMessageCreateParams<ContactInfo> params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024)
.addUserMessage("Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan.")
.outputConfig(ContactInfo.class)
.build();
StructuredMessage<ContactInfo> response = client.messages().create(params);
ContactInfo contact = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println(contact.name + " (" + contact.email + ")");
}
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
$client = new Client();
$response = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
[
'role' => 'user',
'content' => 'Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan.'
]
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: [
'format' => [
'type' => 'json_schema',
'schema' => [
'type' => 'object',
'properties' => [
'name' => ['type' => 'string'],
'email' => ['type' => 'string'],
'plan_interest' => ['type' => 'string'],
'demo_requested' => ['type' => 'boolean']
],
'required' => ['name', 'email', 'plan_interest', 'demo_requested'],
'additionalProperties' => false
]
]
],
);
echo $response->content[0]->text;
require "anthropic"
client = Anthropic::Client.new
response = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{
role: "user",
content: "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan."
}
],
output_config: {
format: {
type: "json_schema",
schema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
name: { type: "string" },
email: { type: "string" },
plan_interest: { type: "string" },
demo_requested: { type: "boolean" }
},
required: ["name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested"],
additionalProperties: false
}
}
}
)
puts response.content[0].text
Response format: Valid JSON matching your schema in response.content[0].text
{
"name": "John Smith",
"email": "john@example.com",
"plan_interest": "Enterprise",
"demo_requested": true
}
How it works
Define your JSON schema
Create a JSON schema that describes the structure you want Claude to follow. The schema uses standard JSON Schema format with some limitations (see JSON Schema limitations).
Add the output_config.format parameter
Include the
output_config.formatparameter in your API request withtype: "json_schema"and your schema definition.Parse the response
Claude's response is valid JSON matching your schema, returned in
response.content[0].text.
Working with JSON outputs in SDKs
The SDKs provide helpers that make it easier to work with JSON outputs, including schema transformation, automatic validation, and integration with popular schema libraries.
The Python SDK's client.messages.parse() still accepts output_format as a convenience parameter and translates it to output_config.format internally. Other SDKs require output_config directly. The following examples show the SDK helper syntax.
Using native schema definitions
Instead of writing raw JSON schemas, you can use familiar schema definition tools in your language:
- Python: Pydantic models with
client.messages.parse() - TypeScript: Zod schemas with
zodOutputFormat()or typed JSON Schema literals withjsonSchemaOutputFormat() - Java: Plain Java classes with automatic schema derivation through
outputConfig(Class<T>) - Ruby:
Anthropic::BaseModelclasses withoutput_config: {format: Model} - PHP: Classes implementing
StructuredOutputModelwithoutputConfig: ['format' => MyClass::class] - CLI, C#, Go: Raw JSON schemas passed through
output_config
{ read -r _ NAME; read -r _ EMAIL; } < <(
ant messages create \
--transform 'content.0.text|@fromstr|{name,email}' --format yaml <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 1024
messages:
- role: user
content: >-
Extract the key information from this email: John Smith
(john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants
to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
name: {type: string}
email: {type: string}
plan_interest: {type: string}
demo_requested: {type: boolean}
required: [name, email, plan_interest, demo_requested]
additionalProperties: false
YAML
)
printf '%s (%s)\n' "$NAME" "$EMAIL"
from pydantic import BaseModel
from anthropic import Anthropic
class ContactInfo(BaseModel):
name: str
email: str
plan_interest: str
demo_requested: bool
client = Anthropic()
response = client.messages.parse(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.",
}
],
output_format=ContactInfo,
)
print(response.parsed_output)
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { z } from "zod";
import { zodOutputFormat } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk/helpers/zod";
const ContactInfoSchema = z.object({
name: z.string(),
email: z.string(),
plan_interest: z.string(),
demo_requested: z.boolean()
});
const client = new Anthropic();
const response = await client.messages.parse({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{
role: "user",
content:
"Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm."
}
],
output_config: { format: zodOutputFormat(ContactInfoSchema) }
});
// Automatically parsed and validated
console.log(response.parsed_output);
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
var client = new AnthropicClient();
var response = await client.Messages.Create(new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 1024,
Messages = [new() {
Role = Role.User,
Content = "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm."
}],
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
name = new { type = "string" },
email = new { type = "string" },
plan_interest = new { type = "string" },
demo_requested = new { type = "boolean" },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(
new[] { "name", "email", "plan_interest", "demo_requested" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
});
if (response.Content[0].TryPickText(out var textBlock))
{
// JSON is guaranteed to match the schema
var contact = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Dictionary<string, object>>(textBlock.Text)!;
Console.WriteLine({{CONTENT}}quot;{contact["name"]} ({contact["email"]})");
}
package main
import (
"context"
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
"github.com/invopop/jsonschema"
)
type ContactInfo struct {
Name string `json:"name" jsonschema:"description=Full name"`
Email string `json:"email" jsonschema:"description=Email address"`
PlanInterest string `json:"plan_interest" jsonschema:"description=Plan type"`
DemoRequested bool `json:"demo_requested" jsonschema:"description=Whether a demo was requested"`
}
func generateSchema(v any) map[string]any {
r := jsonschema.Reflector{AllowAdditionalProperties: false, DoNotReference: true}
s := r.Reflect(v)
b, _ := json.Marshal(s)
var m map[string]any
json.Unmarshal(b, &m)
return m
}
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
schema := generateSchema(&ContactInfo{})
message, _ := client.Messages.New(context.TODO(), anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 1024,
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(anthropic.NewTextBlock(
"Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.",
)),
},
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: schema,
},
},
})
for _, block := range message.Content {
switch variant := block.AsAny().(type) {
case anthropic.TextBlock:
var contact ContactInfo
json.Unmarshal([]byte(variant.Text), &contact)
fmt.Printf("%s (%s)\n", contact.Name, contact.Email)
}
}
}
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
static class ContactInfo {
public String name;
public String email;
public String planInterest;
public boolean demoRequested;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
StructuredMessageCreateParams<ContactInfo> createParams = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024)
.outputConfig(ContactInfo.class)
.addUserMessage("Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.")
.build();
StructuredMessage<ContactInfo> response = client.messages().create(createParams);
ContactInfo contact = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println(contact.name + " (" + contact.email + ")");
}
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
$client = new Client();
class ContactInfo implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
public string $name;
public string $email;
public string $plan_interest;
public bool $demo_requested;
}
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm.'],
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: ['format' => ContactInfo::class],
);
$contact = $message->parsedOutput();
if ($contact instanceof ContactInfo) {
echo "{$contact->name} ({$contact->email})\n";
}
require "anthropic"
client = Anthropic::Client.new
class ContactInfo < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :name, String
required :email, String
required :plan_interest, String
required :demo_requested, Anthropic::Boolean
end
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [{
role: "user",
content: "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan and wants to schedule a demo for next Tuesday at 2pm."
}],
output_config: {format: ContactInfo}
)
contact = message.parsed_output
puts "#{contact.name} (#{contact.email})"
SDK-specific methods
Each SDK provides helpers that make working with structured outputs easier. See individual SDK pages for full details.
Raw JSON schemas through heredoc body
The CLI passes raw JSON schemas as a YAML heredoc body. Use the GJSON @fromstr modifier with --transform to parse the JSON string returned in content[0].text and project specific fields.
ant messages create \
--transform 'content.0.text|@fromstr|{name,email}' \
--format yaml <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 1024
messages:
- role: user
content: >-
Extract contact info: John Smith, john@example.com,
interested in the Pro plan
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
name: {type: string}
email: {type: string}
plan_interest: {type: string}
required: [name, email, plan_interest]
additionalProperties: false
YAML
name: John Smith
email: john@example.com
client.messages.parse() (Recommended)
The parse() method automatically transforms your Pydantic model, validates the response, and returns a parsed_output attribute.
from pydantic import BaseModel
import anthropic
class ContactInfo(BaseModel):
name: str
email: str
plan_interest: str
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
response = client.messages.parse(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Extract contact info: John Smith, john@example.com, interested in the Pro plan",
}
],
output_format=ContactInfo,
)
# Access the parsed output directly
contact = response.parsed_output
print(contact.name, contact.email)
transform_schema() helper
For when you need to manually transform schemas before sending, or when you want to modify a Pydantic-generated schema. Unlike client.messages.parse(), which transforms provided schemas automatically, this gives you the transformed schema so you can further customize it.
from anthropic import transform_schema
from pydantic import TypeAdapter
# First convert Pydantic model to JSON schema, then transform
schema = TypeAdapter(ContactInfo).json_schema()
schema = transform_schema(schema)
# Modify schema if needed
schema["properties"]["custom_field"] = {"type": "string"}
response = client.messages.create(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "..."}],
output_config={
"format": {"type": "json_schema", "schema": schema},
},
)
client.messages.parse() with zodOutputFormat()
The parse() method accepts a Zod schema, validates the response, and returns a parsed_output attribute with the inferred TypeScript type matching the schema.
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { z } from "zod";
import { zodOutputFormat } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk/helpers/zod";
const ContactInfo = z.object({
name: z.string(),
email: z.string(),
planInterest: z.string()
});
const client = new Anthropic();
const response = await client.messages.parse({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{
role: "user",
content: "Extract contact info: John Smith, john@example.com, interested in the Pro plan"
}
],
output_config: { format: zodOutputFormat(ContactInfo) }
});
// Guaranteed type-safe
console.log(response.parsed_output!.email);
client.messages.parse() with jsonSchemaOutputFormat()
The jsonSchemaOutputFormat() helper accepts a JSON Schema object and integrates it with parse() without requiring Zod. Zod is an optional peer dependency you install separately; jsonSchemaOutputFormat() works out of the box because the SDK bundles json-schema-to-ts directly.
For inline schema literals (declared with as const in your source), you also get compile-time type inference: parsed_output is typed to match the schema structure. For imported or generated schemas (from a JSON file or OpenAPI codegen), the helper still sends the schema and parses the response, but the inferred type is unknown because as const can only apply to literal expressions.
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { jsonSchemaOutputFormat } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk/helpers/json-schema";
const client = new Anthropic();
const response = await client.messages.parse({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{
role: "user",
content: "Extract contact info: John Smith, john@example.com, interested in the Pro plan"
}
],
output_config: {
format: jsonSchemaOutputFormat({
type: "object",
properties: {
name: { type: "string" },
email: { type: "string" },
planInterest: { type: "string" }
},
required: ["name", "email", "planInterest"],
additionalProperties: false
} as const)
}
});
// response.parsed_output is typed as { name: string; email: string; planInterest: string } | null
console.log(response.parsed_output!.email);
Type inference requires as const. Use a literal object expression with a const assertion so TypeScript can narrow the property types. Without as const, the inferred type collapses to unknown.
Schema transformation. By default, the helper transforms the schema the same way zodOutputFormat() does: removing unsupported constraints, adding additionalProperties: false to objects, and filtering string formats. Pass jsonSchemaOutputFormat(schema, { transform: false }) to send your schema to the API unchanged. See How SDK transformation works.
Raw JSON schemas through OutputConfig
The C# SDK uses raw JSON schemas built programmatically with JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement. Deserialize the response JSON with JsonSerializer.Deserialize.
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
var client = new AnthropicClient();
var response = await client.Messages.Create(new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 1024,
Messages = [new() {
Role = Role.User,
Content = "Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan."
}],
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
name = new { type = "string" },
email = new { type = "string" },
plan_interest = new { type = "string" },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(
new[] { "name", "email", "plan_interest" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
});
if (response.Content[0].TryPickText(out var textBlock))
{
// JSON is guaranteed to match the schema
var contact = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Dictionary<string, object>>(textBlock.Text)!;
Console.WriteLine({{CONTENT}}quot;{contact["name"]} ({contact["email"]})");
}
Raw JSON schemas through OutputConfigParam
The Go SDK works with raw JSON schemas. Define a Go struct with json tags, generate the JSON schema (for example, using invopop/jsonschema), and unmarshal the response text into your struct.
package main
import (
"context"
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
"github.com/invopop/jsonschema"
)
type ContactInfo struct {
Name string `json:"name" jsonschema:"description=Full name"`
Email string `json:"email" jsonschema:"description=Email address"`
PlanInterest string `json:"plan_interest" jsonschema:"description=Plan type"`
}
func generateSchema(v any) map[string]any {
r := jsonschema.Reflector{AllowAdditionalProperties: false, DoNotReference: true}
s := r.Reflect(v)
b, _ := json.Marshal(s)
var m map[string]any
json.Unmarshal(b, &m)
return m
}
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
schema := generateSchema(&ContactInfo{})
message, _ := client.Messages.New(context.TODO(), anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 1024,
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(anthropic.NewTextBlock(
"Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan.",
)),
},
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: schema,
},
},
})
for _, block := range message.Content {
switch variant := block.AsAny().(type) {
case anthropic.TextBlock:
var contact ContactInfo
json.Unmarshal([]byte(variant.Text), &contact)
fmt.Printf("%s (%s)\n", contact.Name, contact.Email)
}
}
}
Java examples on this page use JDK 25 compact source file syntax; see the Java SDK requirements for the substitution on earlier JDKs.
outputConfig(Class<T>) method
Pass a Java class to outputConfig() and the SDK automatically derives a JSON schema, validates it, and returns a StructuredMessageCreateParams<T>. Access the parsed result through response.content().stream().flatMap(block -> block.text().stream()).findFirst().orElseThrow().text().
Declare your schema classes as top-level classes or static nested classes. This requirement comes from the Jackson Databind library (com.fasterxml.jackson.databind), which the SDK uses to deserialize JSON responses into your class instances and cannot instantiate non-static inner classes.
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
static class ContactInfo {
public String name;
public String email;
public String planInterest;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
StructuredMessageCreateParams<ContactInfo> createParams = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024)
.outputConfig(ContactInfo.class)
.addUserMessage("Extract contact info: John Smith, john@example.com, interested in the Pro plan")
.build();
StructuredMessage<ContactInfo> response = client.messages().create(createParams);
ContactInfo contact = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println(contact.name + " (" + contact.email + ")");
}
Generic type erasure
Java retains generic type information for fields in the class's metadata, but generic type erasure applies in other scopes. While a JSON schema can be derived from a BookList.books field with type List<Book>, a valid JSON schema cannot be derived from a local variable of that same type.
If an error occurs while converting a JSON response to a Java class instance, the error message includes the JSON response to assist in diagnosis. If your JSON response may contain sensitive information, avoid logging it directly, or ensure that you redact any sensitive details from the error message.
Local schema validation
Structured outputs support a subset of the JSON Schema language. The SDK generates schemas automatically from classes to align with this subset. The outputConfig(Class<T>) method performs a validation check on the schema derived from the specified class.
Key points:
- Local validation occurs without sending requests to the remote AI model.
- Remote validation is also performed by the AI model upon receiving the JSON schema.
- Version compatibility: Local validation may fail while remote validation succeeds if the SDK version is outdated.
- Disabling local validation: Pass
JsonSchemaLocalValidation.NOif you encounter compatibility issues:
import com.anthropic.core.JsonSchemaLocalValidation;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
static class BookList {
public List<String> books;
}
void main() {
StructuredMessageCreateParams<BookList> createParams = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(2048)
.outputConfig(BookList.class, JsonSchemaLocalValidation.NO)
.addUserMessage("List some famous late twentieth century novels.")
.build();
}
Streaming
Structured outputs also work with streaming. As responses arrive in stream events, you need to accumulate the full response before deserializing the JSON.
Use MessageAccumulator to collect the JSON strings from the stream. Once accumulated, call MessageAccumulator.message(Class<T>) to convert the accumulated Message into a StructuredMessage, which automatically deserializes the JSON into your Java class.
JSON schema properties
When the SDK derives a JSON schema from your Java classes, it includes all properties represented by public fields or public getter methods by default and excludes non-public fields and getter methods.
You can control visibility with annotations:
@JsonIgnoreexcludes apublicfield or getter method@JsonPropertyincludes a non-publicfield or getter method
If you define private fields with public getter methods, the SDK derives the property name from the getter (for example, private field myValue with public method getMyValue() produces a "myValue" property). To use a non-conventional getter name, annotate the method with @JsonProperty.
Each class must define at least one property for the JSON schema. A validation error occurs if no fields or getter methods can produce schema properties, such as when:
- There are no fields or getter methods in the class
- All
publicmembers are annotated with@JsonIgnore - All non-
publicmembers lack@JsonPropertyannotations - A field uses a
Maptype, which produces an empty"properties"field
Composition and inheritance
Your Java classes can use composition and inheritance to share structure when defining JSON schemas. Each pattern affects the output structure differently.
Composition produces nested JSON output. Deriving a schema from class Composed that composes A and B:
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
static class A {
public String a;
}
static class B {
public String b;
}
static class Composed {
public A composedA;
public B composedB;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
StructuredMessageCreateParams<Composed> params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024)
.outputConfig(Composed.class)
.addUserMessage("Populate field a with 'hello' and field b with 'world'.")
.build();
StructuredMessage<Composed> response = client.messages().create(params);
Composed result = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println("composedA.a=" + result.composedA.a);
IO.println("composedB.b=" + result.composedB.b);
}
The JSON output has this nested structure:
{
"composedA": { "a": "hello" },
"composedB": { "b": "world" }
}
Inheritance produces flat JSON output. Deriving a schema from class Derived that extends Base:
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
static class Base {
public String a;
}
static class Derived extends Base {
public String b;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
StructuredMessageCreateParams<Derived> params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024)
.outputConfig(Derived.class)
.addUserMessage("Populate field a with 'hello' and field b with 'world'.")
.build();
StructuredMessage<Derived> response = client.messages().create(params);
Derived result = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println("a=" + result.a);
IO.println("b=" + result.b);
}
The JSON output has this flat structure:
{
"a": "hello",
"b": "world"
}
Annotations (Jackson and Swagger)
You can use Jackson Databind annotations to enrich the JSON schema derived from your Java classes:
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonClassDescription;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonPropertyDescription;
static class Person {
@JsonPropertyDescription("The first name and surname of the person")
public String name;
public int birthYear;
@JsonPropertyDescription("The year the person died, or 'present' if the person is living.")
public String deathYear;
}
@JsonClassDescription("The details of one published book")
static class Book {
public String title;
public Person author;
@JsonPropertyDescription("The year in which the book was first published.")
public int publicationYear;
@JsonIgnore
public String genre;
}
static class BookList {
public List<Book> books;
}
void main() {}
Annotation summary:
@JsonClassDescription: Add a description to a class@JsonPropertyDescription: Add a description to a field or getter method@JsonIgnore: Exclude apublicfield or getter from the schema@JsonProperty: Include a non-publicfield or getter in the schema
If you use @JsonProperty(required = false), the SDK ignores the false value. Class-derived schemas always mark all properties as required.
You can also use Swagger Core (OpenAPI 3) @Schema and @ArraySchema annotations for type-specific constraints:
import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.media.ArraySchema;
import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.media.Schema;
static class Article {
@ArraySchema(minItems = 1)
public List<String> authors;
public String title;
@Schema(format = "date")
public String publicationDate;
public int pageCount;
}
void main() {}
Local validation checks that you haven't used any unsupported constraint keywords, but constraint values aren't validated locally. For example, an unsupported "format" value may pass local validation but cause a remote error.
If you use both Jackson and Swagger annotations to set the same schema field, the Jackson annotation takes precedence.
Defining schemas without a Java class
Class-based schema derivation is the most convenient path, but for direct control over the schema structure you can build a JsonOutputFormat.Schema manually and wrap it in an OutputConfig.
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.core.JsonValue;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.JsonOutputFormat;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.OutputConfig;
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
JsonOutputFormat.Schema schema = JsonOutputFormat.Schema.builder()
.putAdditionalProperty("type", JsonValue.from("object"))
.putAdditionalProperty("properties", JsonValue.from(Map.of(
"name", Map.of("type", "string"),
"email", Map.of("type", "string"),
"plan_interest", Map.of("type", "string"))))
.putAdditionalProperty("required", JsonValue.from(
List.of("name", "email", "plan_interest")))
.putAdditionalProperty("additionalProperties", JsonValue.from(false))
.build();
OutputConfig outputConfig = OutputConfig.builder()
.format(JsonOutputFormat.builder().schema(schema).build())
.build();
MessageCreateParams createParams = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024)
.outputConfig(outputConfig)
.addUserMessage(
"John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan.")
.build();
client.messages().create(createParams).content().stream()
.flatMap(contentBlock -> contentBlock.text().stream())
.forEach(textBlock -> IO.println(textBlock.text()));
}
For a more extensive example that builds a nested schema with arrays and descriptions, see StructuredOutputsRawExample.java in the SDK repository.
Classes through the StructuredOutputModel interface
Define a PHP class implementing StructuredOutputModel (using StructuredOutputModelTrait) and pass the class name to outputConfig: ['format' => MyClass::class]. The SDK derives a JSON schema from your native PHP 8 property types and returns a typed instance through $message->parsedOutput().
parsedOutput() returns your model instance on success, or null (or an error array) if parsing fails. Use instanceof to narrow the type before accessing fields.
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
$client = new Client();
class ContactInfo implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
public string $name;
public string $email;
public string $plan_interest;
}
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan.'],
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: ['format' => ContactInfo::class],
);
$contact = $message->parsedOutput();
if ($contact instanceof ContactInfo) {
echo "{$contact->name} ({$contact->email})\n";
}
Type inference
The SDK maps native PHP 8 property types to JSON Schema:
| PHP type | JSON Schema |
|---|---|
string | "string" |
int | "integer" |
float | "number" |
bool | "boolean" |
array | "array" (see the following note) |
?type (nullable) | Optional field |
Class implementing StructuredOutputModel | Nested object |
For array properties, the SDK adds an items schema only when the element type is a nested StructuredOutputModel, declared with #[Constrained(itemClass: MyModel::class)] or a /** @var MyModel[] */ docblock. Arrays of scalars (string[], int[]) emit an unconstrained {"type":"array"}.
All non-nullable properties become required fields.
Constraints with the #[Constrained] attribute
Add constraints with the #[Constrained] attribute:
<?php
use Anthropic\Lib\Attributes\Constrained;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
class Address implements StructuredOutputModel { use StructuredOutputModelTrait; public string $street; }
class Profile implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
#[Constrained(description: 'Age in years', minimum: 0, maximum: 150)]
public int $age;
#[Constrained(format: 'email')]
public string $email;
#[Constrained(itemClass: Address::class, minItems: 1)]
public array $addresses;
}
API-enforced constraints (sent in the schema): description, format, const, itemClass, minItems (0 or 1 only).
SDK-validated constraints (stripped from the wire schema, appended to the description, and validated against the response): minimum, maximum, multipleOf, minLength, maxLength.
Raw JSON schema fallback
For schemas that PHP type hints can't express, pass a raw associative array through OutputConfig::with(). This path skips the parsedOutput() helper; decode the response with json_decode():
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Messages\OutputConfig;
use Anthropic\Messages\JSONOutputFormat;
$client = new Client();
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Extract the key information from this email: John Smith (john@example.com) is interested in our Enterprise plan.'],
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: OutputConfig::with(format: JSONOutputFormat::with(schema: [
'type' => 'object',
'properties' => [
'name' => ['type' => 'string'],
'email' => ['type' => 'string'],
'plan_interest' => ['type' => 'string'],
],
'required' => ['name', 'email', 'plan_interest'],
'additionalProperties' => false,
])),
);
$contact = json_decode($message->content[0]->text, associative: true);
echo "{$contact['name']} ({$contact['email']})\n";
output_config: {format: Model} with parsed_output
Define a model class extending Anthropic::BaseModel and pass it as the format to messages.create(). The response includes a parsed_output attribute with a typed Ruby object.
require "anthropic"
class ContactInfo < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :name, String
required :email, String
required :plan_interest, String
end
client = Anthropic::Client.new
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{
role: "user",
content: "Extract contact info: John Smith, john@example.com, interested in the Pro plan"
}
],
output_config: {format: ContactInfo}
)
contact = message.parsed_output
puts "#{contact.name} (#{contact.email})"
Advanced model features
The Ruby SDK supports additional model definition features for richer schemas:
doc:keyword: Add descriptions to fields for more informative schema outputAnthropic::ArrayOf[T]: Typed arrays. Pass array-level constraints (min_items:,max_items:) as keywords onrequired/optional, not onArrayOfitselfAnthropic::EnumOf[:a, :b]: Enum fields with constrained valuesAnthropic::UnionOf[T1, T2]: Union types mapped toanyOf
class FamousNumber < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :value, Float
optional :reason, String, doc: "why is this number mathematically significant?"
end
class Output < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :numbers, Anthropic::ArrayOf[FamousNumber], min_items: 3, max_items: 5
end
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [{role: "user", content: "give me some famous numbers"}],
output_config: {format: Output}
)
message.parsed_output
# => #<Output numbers=[#<FamousNumber value=3.14159... reason="Pi is...">...]>
How SDK transformation works
The Python, TypeScript, Ruby, and PHP SDKs automatically transform schemas with unsupported features:
- Remove unsupported constraints (for example,
minimum,maximum,minLength,maxLength) - Update descriptions with constraint info (for example, "Must be at least 100"), when the constraint is not directly supported with structured outputs
- Add
additionalProperties: falseto all objects - Filter string formats to supported list only
- Validate responses against your original schema (with all constraints)
This means Claude receives a simplified schema, but your code still enforces all constraints through validation.
Example: A Pydantic field with minimum: 100 becomes a plain integer in the sent schema, but the SDK updates the description to "Must be at least 100" and validates the response against the original constraint.
Common use cases
Data extraction
Extract structured data from unstructured text:
ant messages create \
--transform 'content.0.text|@fromstr' --format jsonl <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 4096
messages:
- role: user
content: "Extract invoice data from: Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00"
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
invoice_number: {type: string}
date: {type: string}
total_amount: {type: number}
line_items:
type: array
items: {type: object, additionalProperties: false}
customer_name: {type: string}
required: [invoice_number, date, total_amount, line_items, customer_name]
additionalProperties: false
YAML
import anthropic
from pydantic import BaseModel
class Invoice(BaseModel):
invoice_number: str
date: str
total_amount: float
line_items: list[dict]
customer_name: str
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
invoice_text = "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00"
response = client.messages.parse(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=4096,
output_format=Invoice,
messages=[
{"role": "user", "content": f"Extract invoice data from: {invoice_text}"}
],
)
print(response.parsed_output)
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { z } from "zod";
import { zodOutputFormat } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk/helpers/zod";
const client = new Anthropic();
const InvoiceSchema = z.object({
invoice_number: z.string(),
date: z.string(),
total_amount: z.number(),
line_items: z.array(z.record(z.string(), z.any())),
customer_name: z.string()
});
const invoiceText = "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00";
const response = await client.messages.parse({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 4096,
output_config: { format: zodOutputFormat(InvoiceSchema) },
messages: [{ role: "user", content: `Extract invoice data from: ${invoiceText}` }]
});
console.log(response.parsed_output);
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
AnthropicClient client = new();
string invoiceText = "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00";
var parameters = new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 4096,
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
invoice_number = new { type = "string" },
date = new { type = "string" },
total_amount = new { type = "number" },
line_items = new
{
type = "array",
items = new
{
type = "object",
additionalProperties = false,
},
},
customer_name = new { type = "string" },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new[] { "invoice_number", "date", "total_amount", "line_items", "customer_name" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
Messages = [new() { Role = Role.User, Content = {{CONTENT}}quot;Extract invoice data from: {invoiceText}" }]
};
var message = await client.Messages.Create(parameters);
Console.WriteLine(message);
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
)
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
invoiceText := "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00"
schema := map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
"properties": map[string]any{
"invoice_number": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
"date": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
"total_amount": map[string]any{"type": "number"},
"line_items": map[string]any{
"type": "array",
"items": map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
"properties": map[string]any{
"description": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
"quantity": map[string]any{"type": "number"},
"unit_price": map[string]any{"type": "number"},
},
"required": []string{"description", "quantity", "unit_price"},
},
},
"customer_name": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
},
"required": []string{"invoice_number", "date", "total_amount", "line_items", "customer_name"},
}
response, err := client.Messages.New(context.TODO(), anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 4096,
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: schema,
},
},
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(anthropic.NewTextBlock(fmt.Sprintf("Extract invoice data from: %s", invoiceText))),
},
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
for _, block := range response.Content {
switch variant := block.AsAny().(type) {
case anthropic.TextBlock:
fmt.Println(variant.Text)
}
}
}
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
static class LineItem {
@JsonProperty("description")
public String description;
@JsonProperty("quantity")
public int quantity;
@JsonProperty("unit_price")
public double unitPrice;
}
static class Invoice {
@JsonProperty("invoice_number")
public String invoiceNumber;
@JsonProperty("date")
public String date;
@JsonProperty("total_amount")
public double totalAmount;
@JsonProperty("line_items")
public List<LineItem> lineItems;
@JsonProperty("customer_name")
public String customerName;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
String invoiceText = "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00";
StructuredMessageCreateParams<Invoice> params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(4096L)
.outputConfig(Invoice.class)
.addUserMessage("Extract invoice data from: " + invoiceText)
.build();
StructuredMessage<Invoice> response = client.messages().create(params);
Invoice invoice = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println(invoice.invoiceNumber + ": {{CONTENT}}quot; + invoice.totalAmount);
}
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
$client = new Client();
class Invoice implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
public string $invoice_number;
public string $date;
public float $total_amount;
public array $line_items;
public string $customer_name;
}
$invoiceText = "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00";
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 4096,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => "Extract invoice data from: $invoiceText"]
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: ['format' => Invoice::class],
);
$invoice = $message->parsedOutput();
if ($invoice instanceof Invoice) {
echo "Invoice {$invoice->invoice_number}: \${$invoice->total_amount}\n";
}
require "anthropic"
client = Anthropic::Client.new
class LineItem < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :description, String
required :amount, Float
end
class Invoice < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :invoice_number, String
required :date, String
required :total_amount, Float
required :line_items, Anthropic::ArrayOf[LineItem]
required :customer_name, String
end
invoice_text = "Invoice #12345, Date: 2024-01-15, Total: $500.00"
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 4096,
output_config: {format: Invoice},
messages: [
{role: "user", content: "Extract invoice data from: #{invoice_text}"}
]
)
invoice = message.parsed_output
puts "Invoice #{invoice.invoice_number}: $#{invoice.total_amount}"
Classification
Classify content with structured categories:
ant messages create \
--transform 'content.0.text|@fromstr' --format jsonl <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 1024
messages:
- role: user
content: "Classify this feedback: Great product, fast shipping!"
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
category:
type: string
confidence:
type: number
tags:
type: array
items:
type: string
sentiment:
type: string
required:
- category
- confidence
- tags
- sentiment
additionalProperties: false
YAML
from anthropic import Anthropic
from pydantic import BaseModel
client = Anthropic()
class Classification(BaseModel):
category: str
confidence: float
tags: list[str]
sentiment: str
feedback_text = "Great product, but the delivery was slow."
response = client.messages.parse(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
output_format=Classification,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": f"Classify this feedback: {feedback_text}"}],
)
print(response.parsed_output)
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { z } from "zod";
import { zodOutputFormat } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk/helpers/zod";
const client = new Anthropic();
const ClassificationSchema = z.object({
category: z.string(),
confidence: z.number(),
tags: z.array(z.string()),
sentiment: z.string()
});
const feedbackText = "Great product, but the delivery was slow.";
const response = await client.messages.parse({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
output_config: { format: zodOutputFormat(ClassificationSchema) },
messages: [{ role: "user", content: `Classify this feedback: ${feedbackText}` }]
});
console.log(response.parsed_output);
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
AnthropicClient client = new();
string feedbackText = "Great product, fast shipping!";
var parameters = new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 1024,
Messages = [new() { Role = Role.User, Content = {{CONTENT}}quot;Classify this feedback: {feedbackText}" }],
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
category = new { type = "string" },
confidence = new { type = "number" },
tags = new { type = "array", items = new { type = "string" } },
sentiment = new { type = "string" },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new[] { "category", "confidence", "tags", "sentiment" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
};
var message = await client.Messages.Create(parameters);
Console.WriteLine(message);
package main
import (
"context"
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
)
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
feedbackText := "Great product, fast shipping!"
schema := map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"properties": map[string]any{
"category": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
"confidence": map[string]any{"type": "number"},
"tags": map[string]any{"type": "array", "items": map[string]any{"type": "string"}},
"sentiment": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
},
"required": []string{"category", "confidence", "tags", "sentiment"},
"additionalProperties": false,
}
response, err := client.Messages.New(context.TODO(), anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 1024,
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: schema,
},
},
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(anthropic.NewTextBlock(fmt.Sprintf("Classify this feedback: %s", feedbackText))),
},
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
for _, block := range response.Content {
switch variant := block.AsAny().(type) {
case anthropic.TextBlock:
var result map[string]any
json.Unmarshal([]byte(variant.Text), &result)
fmt.Println(result)
}
}
}
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
static class Classification {
@JsonProperty("category")
public String category;
@JsonProperty("confidence")
public double confidence;
@JsonProperty("tags")
public List<String> tags;
@JsonProperty("sentiment")
public String sentiment;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
String feedbackText = "Great product, fast shipping!";
StructuredMessageCreateParams<Classification> params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024L)
.outputConfig(Classification.class)
.addUserMessage("Classify this feedback: " + feedbackText)
.build();
StructuredMessage<Classification> response = client.messages().create(params);
Classification result = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println(result.category + " (" + result.confidence + ")");
}
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
$client = new Client();
class Classification implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
public string $category;
public float $confidence;
public array $tags;
public string $sentiment;
}
$feedbackText = "Great product, fast shipping!";
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => "Classify this feedback: {$feedbackText}"]
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: ['format' => Classification::class],
);
$result = $message->parsedOutput();
if ($result instanceof Classification) {
echo "{$result->category} ({$result->confidence}): {$result->sentiment}\n";
}
require "anthropic"
client = Anthropic::Client.new
class Classification < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :category, String
required :confidence, Float
required :tags, Anthropic::ArrayOf[String]
required :sentiment, String
end
feedback_text = "Great product, fast shipping!"
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
output_config: {format: Classification},
messages: [
{role: "user", content: "Classify this feedback: #{feedback_text}"}
]
)
puts message.parsed_output
API response formatting
Generate API-ready responses:
ant messages create \
--transform 'content.0.text' --raw-output <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 1024
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
status:
type: string
data:
type: object
additionalProperties: false
errors:
type: array
items:
type: object
additionalProperties: false
metadata:
type: object
additionalProperties: false
required:
- status
- data
- metadata
additionalProperties: false
messages:
- role: user
content: "Process this request: ..."
YAML
from anthropic import Anthropic
from pydantic import BaseModel
client = Anthropic()
class APIResponse(BaseModel):
status: str
data: dict
errors: list[dict] | None
metadata: dict
response = client.messages.parse(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
output_format=APIResponse,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Process this request: ..."}],
)
print(response.parsed_output)
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { z } from "zod";
import { zodOutputFormat } from "@anthropic-ai/sdk/helpers/zod";
const client = new Anthropic();
const APIResponseSchema = z.object({
status: z.string(),
data: z.record(z.string(), z.any()),
errors: z.array(z.record(z.string(), z.any())).optional(),
metadata: z.record(z.string(), z.any())
});
const response = await client.messages.parse({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
output_config: { format: zodOutputFormat(APIResponseSchema) },
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Process this request..." }]
});
console.log(response.parsed_output);
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
AnthropicClient client = new();
var parameters = new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 1024,
Messages = [new() { Role = Role.User, Content = "Process this request: ..." }],
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
status = new { type = "string" },
data = new { type = "object", additionalProperties = false },
errors = new
{
type = "array",
items = new { type = "object", additionalProperties = false },
},
metadata = new { type = "object", additionalProperties = false },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new[] { "status", "data", "metadata" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
};
var message = await client.Messages.Create(parameters);
Console.WriteLine(message);
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
)
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
response, err := client.Messages.New(context.TODO(), anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 1024,
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
"properties": map[string]any{
"status": map[string]any{
"type": "string",
},
"data": map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
},
"errors": map[string]any{
"type": "array",
"items": map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
},
},
"metadata": map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
},
},
"required": []string{"status", "data", "metadata"},
},
},
},
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(anthropic.NewTextBlock("Process this request: ...")),
},
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
for _, block := range response.Content {
switch variant := block.AsAny().(type) {
case anthropic.TextBlock:
fmt.Println(variant.Text)
}
}
}
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessage;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.StructuredMessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
static class APIData {
@JsonProperty("message")
public String message;
@JsonProperty("resource_id")
public String resourceId;
}
static class APIError {
@JsonProperty("code")
public String code;
@JsonProperty("message")
public String message;
}
static class APIMetadata {
@JsonProperty("request_id")
public String requestId;
@JsonProperty("timestamp")
public String timestamp;
}
static class APIResponse {
@JsonProperty("status")
public String status;
@JsonProperty("data")
public APIData data;
@JsonProperty("errors")
public List<APIError> errors;
@JsonProperty("metadata")
public APIMetadata metadata;
}
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
StructuredMessageCreateParams<APIResponse> params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024L)
.outputConfig(APIResponse.class)
.addUserMessage("Process this request: ...")
.build();
StructuredMessage<APIResponse> response = client.messages().create(params);
APIResponse result = response.content().stream()
.flatMap(block -> block.text().stream())
.findFirst().orElseThrow().text();
IO.println(result.status);
}
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Lib\Attributes\Constrained;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
$client = new Client();
class Payload implements StructuredOutputModel { use StructuredOutputModelTrait; public string $message; }
class APIError implements StructuredOutputModel { use StructuredOutputModelTrait; public string $code; public string $detail; }
class Metadata implements StructuredOutputModel { use StructuredOutputModelTrait; public string $request_id; }
class APIResponse implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
public string $status;
public Payload $data;
#[Constrained(itemClass: APIError::class)]
public ?array $errors;
public Metadata $metadata;
}
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Process this request: ...']
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
outputConfig: ['format' => APIResponse::class],
);
$result = $message->parsedOutput();
if ($result instanceof APIResponse) {
echo "{$result->status}: {$result->data->message}\n";
}
require "anthropic"
client = Anthropic::Client.new
class Payload < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :message, String
end
class APIError < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :code, String
required :detail, String
end
class Metadata < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :request_id, String
end
class APIResponse < Anthropic::BaseModel
required :status, String
required :data, Payload
optional :errors, Anthropic::ArrayOf[APIError]
required :metadata, Metadata
end
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
output_config: {format: APIResponse},
messages: [
{role: "user", content: "Process this request: ..."}
]
)
puts message.parsed_output
Strict tool use
For enforcing JSON Schema compliance on tool inputs with grammar-constrained sampling, see Strict tool use.
Using both features together
JSON outputs and strict tool use solve different problems and work together:
- JSON outputs control Claude's response format (what Claude says)
- Strict tool use validates tool parameters (how Claude calls your functions)
When combined, Claude can call tools with guaranteed-valid parameters AND return structured JSON responses. This is useful for agentic workflows where you need both reliable tool calls and structured final outputs.
ant messages create <<'YAML'
model: claude-opus-4-7
max_tokens: 1024
messages:
- role: user
content: Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026
# JSON outputs: structured response format
output_config:
format:
type: json_schema
schema:
type: object
properties:
summary:
type: string
next_steps:
type: array
items:
type: string
required: [summary, next_steps]
additionalProperties: false
# Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
tools:
- name: search_flights
strict: true
input_schema:
type: object
properties:
destination:
type: string
date:
type: string
format: date
required: [destination, date]
additionalProperties: false
YAML
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
response = client.messages.create(
model="claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026",
}
],
# JSON outputs: structured response format
output_config={
"format": {
"type": "json_schema",
"schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"summary": {"type": "string"},
"next_steps": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string"}},
},
"required": ["summary", "next_steps"],
"additionalProperties": False,
},
}
},
# Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
tools=[
{
"name": "search_flights",
"strict": True,
"input_schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"destination": {"type": "string"},
"date": {"type": "string", "format": "date"},
},
"required": ["destination", "date"],
"additionalProperties": False,
},
}
],
)
print(response)
import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
const client = new Anthropic();
const response = await client.messages.create({
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026" }],
// JSON outputs: structured response format
output_config: {
format: {
type: "json_schema",
schema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
summary: { type: "string" },
next_steps: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } }
},
required: ["summary", "next_steps"],
additionalProperties: false
}
}
},
// Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
tools: [
{
name: "search_flights",
description: "Search for available flights to a destination on a specific date",
strict: true,
input_schema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
destination: { type: "string" },
date: { type: "string", format: "date" }
},
required: ["destination", "date"],
additionalProperties: false
}
}
]
});
// Claude may call the tool first (tool_use) or respond with JSON (text)
console.log("Stop reason:", response.stop_reason);
for (const block of response.content) {
if (block.type === "tool_use") {
console.log(`Tool call: ${block.name}(${JSON.stringify(block.input)})`);
} else if (block.type === "text") {
console.log("Response:", block.text);
}
}
using System.Text.Json;
using Anthropic;
using Anthropic.Models.Messages;
AnthropicClient client = new();
var parameters = new MessageCreateParams
{
Model = Model.ClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens = 1024,
Messages = [new() { Role = Role.User, Content = "Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026" }],
// JSON outputs: structured response format
OutputConfig = new OutputConfig
{
Format = new JsonOutputFormat
{
Schema = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["type"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement("object"),
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new
{
summary = new { type = "string" },
next_steps = new { type = "array", items = new { type = "string" } },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new[] { "summary", "next_steps" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
},
},
},
// Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
Tools =
[
new Tool
{
Name = "search_flights",
Strict = true,
InputSchema = new InputSchema(new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
{
["properties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new Dictionary<string, object>
{
["destination"] = new { type = "string" },
["date"] = new { type = "string", format = "date" },
}),
["required"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(new[] { "destination", "date" }),
["additionalProperties"] = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(false),
}),
}
],
};
var message = await client.Messages.Create(parameters);
Console.WriteLine(message);
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-go"
)
func main() {
client := anthropic.NewClient()
response, err := client.Messages.New(context.TODO(), anthropic.MessageNewParams{
Model: anthropic.ModelClaudeOpus4_7,
MaxTokens: 1024,
Messages: []anthropic.MessageParam{
anthropic.NewUserMessage(anthropic.NewTextBlock("Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026")),
},
// JSON outputs: structured response format
OutputConfig: anthropic.OutputConfigParam{
Format: anthropic.JSONOutputFormatParam{
Schema: map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"additionalProperties": false,
"properties": map[string]any{
"summary": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
"next_steps": map[string]any{"type": "array", "items": map[string]any{"type": "string"}},
},
"required": []string{"summary", "next_steps"},
},
},
},
// Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
Tools: []anthropic.ToolUnionParam{
{OfTool: &anthropic.ToolParam{
Name: "search_flights",
Strict: anthropic.Bool(true),
InputSchema: anthropic.ToolInputSchemaParam{
Properties: map[string]any{
"destination": map[string]any{"type": "string"},
"date": map[string]any{"type": "string", "format": "date"},
},
Required: []string{"destination", "date"},
ExtraFields: map[string]any{
"additionalProperties": false,
},
}}},
},
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Println(response.Content)
}
import com.anthropic.client.AnthropicClient;
import com.anthropic.client.okhttp.AnthropicOkHttpClient;
import com.anthropic.core.JsonValue;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.JsonOutputFormat;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Message;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.MessageCreateParams;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Model;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.OutputConfig;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Tool;
import com.anthropic.models.messages.Tool.InputSchema;
void main() {
AnthropicClient client = AnthropicOkHttpClient.fromEnv();
// JSON outputs: structured response format
JsonOutputFormat.Schema outputSchema = JsonOutputFormat.Schema.builder()
.putAdditionalProperty("type", JsonValue.from("object"))
.putAdditionalProperty("properties", JsonValue.from(Map.of(
"summary", Map.of("type", "string"),
"next_steps", Map.of("type", "array", "items", Map.of("type", "string"))
)))
.putAdditionalProperty("required", JsonValue.from(List.of("summary", "next_steps")))
.putAdditionalProperty("additionalProperties", JsonValue.from(false))
.build();
// Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
InputSchema toolSchema = InputSchema.builder()
.properties(JsonValue.from(Map.of(
"destination", Map.of("type", "string"),
"date", Map.of("type", "string", "format", "date")
)))
.putAdditionalProperty("required", JsonValue.from(List.of("destination", "date")))
.putAdditionalProperty("additionalProperties", JsonValue.from(false))
.build();
MessageCreateParams params = MessageCreateParams.builder()
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_7)
.maxTokens(1024L)
.addUserMessage("Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026")
.outputConfig(OutputConfig.builder()
.format(JsonOutputFormat.builder().schema(outputSchema).build())
.build())
.addTool(Tool.builder()
.name("search_flights")
.description("Search for available flights to a destination on a specific date")
.strict(true)
.inputSchema(toolSchema)
.build())
.build();
Message response = client.messages().create(params);
IO.println(response);
}
<?php
use Anthropic\Client;
use Anthropic\Lib\Concerns\StructuredOutputModelTrait;
use Anthropic\Lib\Contracts\StructuredOutputModel;
use Anthropic\Messages\ToolUseBlock;
$client = new Client();
class TripPlan implements StructuredOutputModel
{
use StructuredOutputModelTrait;
public string $summary;
public array $next_steps;
}
$message = $client->messages->create(
maxTokens: 1024,
messages: [
['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026']
],
model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
// JSON outputs: structured response format
outputConfig: ['format' => TripPlan::class],
// Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
tools: [
[
'name' => 'search_flights',
'strict' => true,
'input_schema' => [
'type' => 'object',
'properties' => [
'destination' => ['type' => 'string'],
'date' => ['type' => 'string', 'format' => 'date']
],
'required' => ['destination', 'date'],
'additionalProperties' => false
]
]
],
);
// Claude may call the tool first (tool_use) or respond with JSON (text)
$plan = $message->parsedOutput();
if ($plan instanceof TripPlan) {
echo $plan->summary, "\n";
} elseif ($toolUse = array_find($message->content, fn($block) => $block instanceof ToolUseBlock)) {
echo "Tool call: {$toolUse->name}(", json_encode($toolUse->input), ")\n";
}
require "anthropic"
client = Anthropic::Client.new
message = client.messages.create(
model: "claude-opus-4-7",
max_tokens: 1024,
messages: [
{role: "user", content: "Help me plan a trip to Paris departing May 15, 2026"}
],
# JSON outputs: structured response format
output_config: {
format: {
type: :json_schema,
schema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
summary: {type: "string"},
next_steps: {type: "array", items: {type: "string"}}
},
required: ["summary", "next_steps"],
additionalProperties: false
}
}
},
# Strict tool use: guaranteed tool parameters
tools: [
{
name: "search_flights",
strict: true,
input_schema: {
type: "object",
properties: {
destination: {type: "string"},
date: {type: "string", format: "date"}
},
required: ["destination", "date"],
additionalProperties: false
}
}
]
)
puts message
Important considerations
Grammar compilation and caching
Structured outputs use constrained sampling with compiled grammar artifacts. This introduces some performance characteristics to be aware of:
- First request latency: The first time you use a specific schema, there is additional latency while the grammar compiles
- Automatic caching: Compiled grammars are cached for 24 hours from last use, making subsequent requests much faster
- Cache invalidation: The cache is invalidated if you change:
- The JSON schema structure
- The set of tools in your request (when using both structured outputs and tool use)
- Changing only
nameordescriptionfields does not invalidate the cache
Prompt modification and token costs
When using structured outputs, Claude automatically receives an additional system prompt explaining the expected output format. This means:
- Your input token count is slightly higher
- The injected prompt costs you tokens like any other system prompt
- Changing the
output_config.formatparameter will invalidate any prompt cache for that conversation thread
JSON Schema limitations
Structured outputs support standard JSON Schema with some limitations. Both JSON outputs and strict tool use share these limitations.
Supported features
- All basic types: object, array, string, integer, number, boolean, null
enum(strings, numbers, bools, or nulls only - no complex types)constanyOfandallOf(with limitations -allOfwith$refnot supported)$ref,$def, anddefinitions(external$refnot supported)defaultproperty for all supported typesrequiredandadditionalProperties(must be set tofalsefor objects)- String formats:
date-time,time,date,duration,email,hostname,uri,ipv4,ipv6,uuid - Array
minItems(only values 0 and 1 supported)
Not supported
- Recursive schemas
- Complex types within enums
- External
$ref(for example,'$ref': 'http://...') - Numerical constraints (
minimum,maximum,multipleOf, etc.) - String constraints (
minLength,maxLength) - Array constraints beyond
minItemsof 0 or 1 additionalPropertiesset to anything other thanfalse
If you use an unsupported feature, you'll receive a 400 error with details.
Pattern support (regex)
Supported regex features:
- Full matching (
^...$) and partial matching - Quantifiers:
*,+,?, simple{n,m}cases - Character classes:
[],.,\d,\w,\s - Groups:
(...)
NOT supported:
- Backreferences to groups (for example,
\1,\2) - Lookahead/lookbehind assertions (for example,
(?=...),(?!...)) - Word boundaries:
\b,\B - Complex
{n,m}quantifiers with large ranges
Simple regex patterns work well. Complex patterns may result in 400 errors.
The Python, TypeScript, Ruby, and PHP SDKs can automatically transform schemas with unsupported features by removing them and adding constraints to field descriptions. See SDK-specific methods for details.
Property ordering
When using structured outputs, properties in objects maintain their defined ordering from your schema, with one important caveat: required properties appear first, followed by optional properties.
For example, given this schema:
{
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"notes": { "type": "string" },
"name": { "type": "string" },
"email": { "type": "string" },
"age": { "type": "integer" }
},
"required": ["name", "email"],
"additionalProperties": false
}
The output will order properties as:
name(required, in schema order)email(required, in schema order)notes(optional, in schema order)age(optional, in schema order)
This means the output might look like:
{
"name": "John Smith",
"email": "john@example.com",
"notes": "Interested in enterprise plan",
"age": 35
}
If property order in the output is important to your application, mark all properties as required, or account for this reordering in your parsing logic.
Invalid outputs
While structured outputs guarantee schema compliance in most cases, there are scenarios where the output may not match your schema:
Refusals (stop_reason: "refusal")
Claude maintains its safety and helpfulness properties even when using structured outputs. If Claude refuses a request for safety reasons:
- The response has
stop_reason: "refusal" - You'll receive a 200 status code
- You'll be billed for the tokens generated
- The output may not match your schema because the refusal message takes precedence over schema constraints
Token limit reached (stop_reason: "max_tokens")
If the response is cut off due to reaching the max_tokens limit:
- The response has
stop_reason: "max_tokens" - The output may be incomplete and not match your schema
- Retry with a higher
max_tokensvalue to get the complete structured output
Schema complexity limits
Structured outputs work by compiling your JSON schemas into a grammar that constrains Claude's output. More complex schemas produce larger grammars that take longer to compile. To protect against excessive compilation times, the API enforces several complexity limits.
Explicit limits
The following limits apply to all requests with output_config.format or strict: true:
| Limit | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Strict tools per request | 20 | Maximum number of tools with strict: true. Non-strict tools don't count toward this limit. |
| Optional parameters | 24 | Total optional parameters across all strict tool schemas and JSON output schemas. Each parameter not listed in required counts toward this limit. |
| Parameters with union types | 16 | Total parameters that use anyOf or type arrays (for example, "type": ["string", "null"]) across all strict schemas. These are especially expensive because they create exponential compilation cost. |
These limits apply to the combined total across all strict schemas in a single request. For example, if you have 4 strict tools with 6 optional parameters each, you'll reach the 24-parameter limit even though no single tool seems complex.
Additional internal limits
Beyond the explicit limits in the preceding table, there are additional internal limits on the compiled grammar size. These limits exist because schema complexity doesn't reduce to a single dimension: features like optional parameters, union types, nested objects, and number of tools interact with each other in ways that can make the compiled grammar disproportionately large.
When these limits are exceeded, you'll receive a 400 error with the message "Schema is too complex for compilation." These errors mean the combined complexity of your schemas exceeds what can be efficiently compiled, even if each individual limit in the preceding table is satisfied. As a final stop-gap, the API also enforces a compilation timeout of 180 seconds. Schemas that pass all explicit checks but produce very large compiled grammars may hit this timeout.
Tips for reducing schema complexity
If you're hitting complexity limits, try these strategies in order:
-
Mark only critical tools as strict. If you have many tools, reserve it for tools where schema violations cause real problems, and rely on Claude's natural adherence for simpler tools.
-
Reduce optional parameters. Make parameters
requiredwhere possible. Each optional parameter roughly doubles a portion of the grammar's state space. If a parameter always has a reasonable default, consider making it required and having Claude provide that default explicitly. -
Simplify nested structures. Deeply nested objects with optional fields compound the complexity. Flatten structures where possible.
-
Split into multiple requests. If you have many strict tools, consider splitting them across separate requests or sub-agents.
For persistent issues with valid schemas, contact support with your schema definition.
Data retention
Prompts and responses are processed with ZDR when using structured outputs. However, the JSON schema itself is temporarily cached for up to 24 hours since last use for optimization purposes. No prompt or response data is retained beyond the API response.
Structured outputs are HIPAA eligible, but PHI must not be included in JSON schema definitions. The API compiles JSON schemas into grammars that are cached separately from message content, and these cached schemas do not receive the same PHI protections as prompts and responses. Do not include PHI in schema property names, enum values, const values, or pattern regular expressions. PHI should only appear in message content (prompts and responses), where it is protected under HIPAA safeguards.
For ZDR and HIPAA eligibility across all features, see API and data retention.
Feature compatibility
Works with:
- Batch processing: Process structured outputs at scale with 50% discount
- Token counting: Count tokens without compilation
- Streaming: Stream structured outputs like normal responses
- Combined usage: Use JSON outputs (
output_config.format) and strict tool use (strict: true) together in the same request
Incompatible with:
- Citations: Citations require interleaving citation blocks with text, which conflicts with strict JSON schema constraints. Returns 400 error if citations enabled with
output_config.format. - Message Prefilling: Incompatible with JSON outputs
Grammar scope: Grammars apply only to Claude's direct output, not to tool use calls, tool results, or thinking tags (when using Extended Thinking). Grammar state resets between sections, allowing Claude to think freely while still producing structured output in the final response.