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Support list-form system_prompt for subprocess CLI (fixes #899) #947

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Support list-form system_prompt for subprocess CLI (fixes #899) #947

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11fe1aa
Export EffortLevel TypeAlias and use it in types (fixes #938)\n\nCo-a…
studiorocky May 10, 2026
6b9963b
Support list-form system_prompt by writing temp JSON file and using -…
studiorocky May 10, 2026
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3 changes: 2 additions & 1 deletion src/claude_agent_sdk/__init__.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -142,7 +142,8 @@
ToolUseBlock,
UserMessage,
UserPromptSubmitHookInput,
)

EffortLevel,)

Comment on lines +145 to 147
# MCP Server Support

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17 changes: 16 additions & 1 deletion src/claude_agent_sdk/_internal/transport/subprocess_cli.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -230,7 +230,22 @@ def _build_command(self) -> list[str]:
cmd.extend(["--system-prompt", self._options.system_prompt])
else:
sp = self._options.system_prompt
if sp.get("type") == "file":
# Support list-of-content-blocks form for system_prompt (Anthropic API accepts this).
if isinstance(sp, list):
# Write JSON array to a temporary file and pass via --system-prompt-file so
# the CLI can forward the structured content as-is.
import tempfile

tmp = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile("w", delete=False, suffix=".json", encoding="utf-8")
json.dump(sp, tmp)
tmp.flush()
tmp.close()
Comment on lines +233 to +242
# Ensure the temporary file is removed when the Python process exits
import atexit, os

atexit.register(lambda p=tmp.name: os.remove(p) if os.path.exists(p) else None)
cmd.extend(["--system-prompt-file", tmp.name])
Comment on lines +234 to +247
Comment on lines +244 to +247
elif sp.get("type") == "file":
cmd.extend(["--system-prompt-file", cast(SystemPromptFile, sp)["path"]])
elif sp.get("type") == "preset" and "append" in sp:
cmd.extend(
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6 changes: 4 additions & 2 deletions src/claude_agent_sdk/types.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -32,6 +32,8 @@
SettingSource = Literal["user", "project", "local"]


EffortLevel: TypeAlias = EffortLevel

Comment on lines +35 to +36
class SystemPromptPreset(TypedDict):
"""System prompt preset configuration."""

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -96,7 +98,7 @@ class AgentDefinition:
initialPrompt: str | None = None # noqa: N815
maxTurns: int | None = None # noqa: N815
background: bool | None = None
effort: Literal["low", "medium", "high", "xhigh", "max"] | int | None = None
effort: EffortLevel | int | None = None
permissionMode: PermissionMode | None = None # noqa: N815
Comment on lines 99 to 102


Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1864,7 +1866,7 @@ class ClaudeAgentOptions:
See https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/adaptive-thinking.
"""

effort: Literal["low", "medium", "high", "xhigh", "max"] | None = None
effort: EffortLevel | None = None
"""Controls how much effort Claude puts into its response.

Works with adaptive thinking to guide thinking depth.
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