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.

Note

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.

Note

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.

Tip

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

  1. 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).

  2. Add the output_config.format parameter

    Include the output_config.format parameter in your API request with type: "json_schema" and your schema definition.

  3. 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.

Note

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 with jsonSchemaOutputFormat()
  • Java: Plain Java classes with automatic schema derivation through outputConfig(Class<T>)
  • Ruby: Anthropic::BaseModel classes with output_config: {format: Model}
  • PHP: Classes implementing StructuredOutputModel with outputConfig: ['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().

Note

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.NO if 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:

  • @JsonIgnore excludes a public field or getter method
  • @JsonProperty includes a non-public field 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 public members are annotated with @JsonIgnore
  • All non-public members lack @JsonProperty annotations
  • A field uses a Map type, 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 a public field or getter from the schema
  • @JsonProperty: Include a non-public field 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 typeJSON Schema
string"string"
int"integer"
float"number"
bool"boolean"
array"array" (see the following note)
?type (nullable)Optional field
Class implementing StructuredOutputModelNested 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 output
  • Anthropic::ArrayOf[T]: Typed arrays. Pass array-level constraints (min_items:, max_items:) as keywords on required/optional, not on ArrayOf itself
  • Anthropic::EnumOf[:a, :b]: Enum fields with constrained values
  • Anthropic::UnionOf[T1, T2]: Union types mapped to anyOf
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:

  1. Remove unsupported constraints (for example, minimum, maximum, minLength, maxLength)
  2. Update descriptions with constraint info (for example, "Must be at least 100"), when the constraint is not directly supported with structured outputs
  3. Add additionalProperties: false to all objects
  4. Filter string formats to supported list only
  5. 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 name or description fields 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.format parameter 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)
  • const
  • anyOf and allOf (with limitations - allOf with $ref not supported)
  • $ref, $def, and definitions (external $ref not supported)
  • default property for all supported types
  • required and additionalProperties (must be set to false for 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 minItems of 0 or 1
  • additionalProperties set to anything other than false

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.

Tip

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:

  1. name (required, in schema order)
  2. email (required, in schema order)
  3. notes (optional, in schema order)
  4. 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_tokens value 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:

LimitValueDescription
Strict tools per request20Maximum number of tools with strict: true. Non-strict tools don't count toward this limit.
Optional parameters24Total optional parameters across all strict tool schemas and JSON output schemas. Each parameter not listed in required counts toward this limit.
Parameters with union types16Total 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.
Note

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:

  1. 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.

  2. Reduce optional parameters. Make parameters required where 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.

  3. Simplify nested structures. Deeply nested objects with optional fields compound the complexity. Flatten structures where possible.

  4. 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
Tip

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.