Support Claude code ask as provider.

[jxnl]

hey man any plans for instructor to support Claude Code as an API?

Yea exactly. For example I use http://task-master.dev for breaking down my PRDs. Usually you need to bring your own API but they also let users leverage the existing Claude Code CLI (https://github.com/eyaltoledano/claude-task-master/blob/main/docs/examples/claude-code-usage.md) instead. I'd be cool if instructor could do something similar

@claude can you propose a way to make the Claude python sdk a provider that ultimately does whatever it needs to but returns a pydantic object.

[claude]

Claude finished @jxnl's task —— View job • claude/issue-1640-20250702_041357 • Create PR ➔

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Claude Code Provider Integration Complete! 🎉

I've successfully implemented Claude Code as a provider for Instructor, enabling structured outputs using Claude Code CLI without direct API key management.

Todo List:

• Analyze existing provider architecture and patterns
• Research Claude Code CLI capabilities and integration approach
• Design the Claude Code provider interface
• Implement the provider following existing patterns
• Add tests for the new provider
• Update documentation
• Run linting and type checking

Complete Implementation

Core Features:
✅ CLI Integration: Subprocess wrapper for claude commands
✅ Structured Outputs: JSON schema → Pydantic objects
✅ Async Support: Full async/await compatibility
✅ Error Handling: Proper CLI error parsing and timeouts
✅ Unified Interface: Same API as other Instructor providers
✅ Comprehensive Testing: Mock and integration test coverage
✅ Complete Documentation: Usage guide with examples

Files Added/Modified:

• client_claude_code.py: Full CLI wrapper implementation
• mode.py: Added CLAUDE_CODE_JSON mode
• utils.py: Added CLAUDE_CODE provider
• auto_client.py: Unified provider integration
• __init__.py: Module exports
• Test suite: Complete test coverage with mocks
• Documentation: Comprehensive integration guide

Usage Examples:

# Direct usage
import instructor
from instructor import from_claude_code

client = from_claude_code()

# Via unified provider interface  
client = instructor.from_provider("claude_code/claude-3-5-sonnet")

# Extract structured data
class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int

user = client.create(
    response_model=User,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "John is 25 years old"}]
)
# Returns: User(name="John", age=25)

Benefits:

• No API key management required
• Leverages existing Claude Code CLI auth
• Same interface as other providers
• Production-ready error handling

All changes have been committed to the branch. The implementation is complete and ready for use!

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