Anthropic SDK

PromptLayer can auto-instrument the official Anthropic SDK and export supported calls as OpenTelemetry spans. Each supported direct SDK call appears in PromptLayer as both a trace span and an associated request log without changing how you create or use the Anthropic client.

This guide covers the Anthropic model SDK. If you use the Claude Agent SDK or Claude Code, follow the Claude integration instead.

Supported APIs

API surface	Python	JavaScript
Messages (`messages.create`)	Supported (sync and async)	Supported
Messages streaming	Supported (`messages.create(..., stream=True)` and `messages.stream()`; sync and async)	Supported (`messages.create({ stream: true })`)
Structured message parsing (`messages.parse`)	Supported (sync and async)	Not supported
Beta Messages	Not documented	Supported
Beta Messages streaming	Not documented	Supported
Anthropic Vertex	Supported	Supported

Not documented means the surface is outside the verified coverage for that language. The Anthropic Bedrock client is not included in this provider integration. To trace direct Boto3 or AWS SDK v3 Bedrock Runtime calls, follow the AWS Bedrock guide. Other Anthropic SDK calls continue to work normally, but unsupported surfaces do not automatically create PromptLayer traces or request logs.

Prerequisites

A PromptLayer API key for the workspace that should receive the traces
An Anthropic API key, or the standard Google Cloud credentials and project configuration for Anthropic Vertex
Python 3.10 or later for Python, or Node.js 20 or later for JavaScript

Export the direct Anthropic API keys before the application starts:

export PROMPTLAYER_API_KEY="pl_..."
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

PromptLayer captures supported message content by default. Review the content-capture behavior and opt-out values before sending provider requests.

Python

1. Install the SDKs

pip install "promptlayer[otel-genai-instrumentation]" anthropic

Install Anthropic’s Vertex dependencies if your application uses AnthropicVertex.

2. Configure Anthropic instrumentation

from anthropic import Anthropic
from promptlayer import configure_tracing

tracer_provider = configure_tracing(providers=("anthropic",))
client = Anthropic()

try:
    message = client.messages.create(
        model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
        max_tokens=256,
        messages=[
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Explain distributed tracing in one sentence.",
            }
        ],
    )
    print(message.content[0].text)
finally:
    client.close()
    tracer_provider.force_flush()

The same anthropic selector instruments AnthropicVertex. Sync and async clients are supported.

Use an existing PromptLayer client

If your application already creates a PromptLayer client, select Anthropic when enabling tracing:

from anthropic import Anthropic
from promptlayer import PromptLayer

pl = PromptLayer(
    enable_tracing=True,
    tracing_providers=("anthropic",),
)
client = Anthropic()

Omit tracing_providers to instrument every supported provider SDK that is installed.

JavaScript

1. Install the SDKs

npm install promptlayer @anthropic-ai/sdk

For Anthropic Vertex, also install @anthropic-ai/vertex-sdk.

2. Preload PromptLayer instrumentation

The preload must run before the application imports the Anthropic SDK:

node --import promptlayer/register app.mjs

3. Use the Anthropic SDK normally

import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import { shutdownTracing } from "promptlayer";

const client = new Anthropic();

try {
  const message = await client.messages.create({
    model: "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    max_tokens: 256,
    messages: [
      {
        role: "user",
        content: "Explain distributed tracing in one sentence.",
      },
    ],
  });
  console.log(message.content);
} finally {
  await shutdownTracing();
}

The preload instruments every supported provider. To instrument only Anthropic, call configureTracing({ providers: ["anthropic"] }) in a bootstrap module and dynamically import the application afterward. See Select Providers.

Verify the Integration

Run one supported Anthropic request, flush or shut down tracing, and open Traces in PromptLayer. The Anthropic span should have an associated request log. If no span appears:

Confirm instrumentation is configured before the first Anthropic request.
In JavaScript, confirm the preload or bootstrap runs before the Anthropic SDK module loads.
Confirm the call uses an API surface listed in Supported APIs.
Confirm PROMPTLAYER_API_KEY belongs to the workspace you are checking.
Flush or shut down tracing before a short-lived process exits.

Get Started

Core Concepts

Providers

Guides

AI Tools

Reference

Deprecated

Supported APIs

Prerequisites

Python

1. Install the SDKs

2. Configure Anthropic instrumentation

JavaScript

1. Install the SDKs

2. Preload PromptLayer instrumentation

3. Use the Anthropic SDK normally

Verify the Integration

​Supported APIs

​Prerequisites

​Python

​1. Install the SDKs

​2. Configure Anthropic instrumentation

​JavaScript

​1. Install the SDKs

​2. Preload PromptLayer instrumentation

​3. Use the Anthropic SDK normally

​Verify the Integration

Supported APIs

Prerequisites

Python

1. Install the SDKs

2. Configure Anthropic instrumentation

JavaScript

1. Install the SDKs

2. Preload PromptLayer instrumentation

3. Use the Anthropic SDK normally

Verify the Integration