OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 + Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0: the vendor agent SDK pair — handoffs vs Skills, guardrails vs computer use

3 sources

OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 (handoffs between specialized agents, guardrails as input/output validation hooks, built-in tracing dashboard + OpenAI Traces UI) and Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0 (first-class Skills integration, computer use API GA with mouse / keyboard control of virtualized desktop, workbench CLI for local debugging) define the dual vendor agent SDKs that ship with the underlying model as the default integration surface. The two SDKs take different bets on what an agent is: OpenAI bets on handoff-style delegation with guardrails as the safety primitive; Anthropic bets on procedural knowledge bundles (Skills) + physical interaction (computer use) as the agent surface.

Why now

Both SDKs hit 1.0 in the same week — the vendor agent SDK pair is now stable, and creators building on either OpenAI or Anthropic models get a stable SDK to start from.

Why it is worth publishing

Demo potential: a side-by-side of the same agent workflow (a code-review agent) built on OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 vs Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0, measuring handoff-vs-Skills surface and tracing-vs-workbench surface.

Evidence basis

Two independent vendor primary sources + The Decoder weekly roundup

“OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 and Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0 both shipped this week — and the vendor agent SDK pair just stabilized, with two different bets on what an agent is: handoffs + guardrails vs Skills + computer use.”

Angle

Frame the two SDKs as a 'vendor pair with different bets' — OpenAI bets on handoffs + guardrails, Anthropic bets on Skills + computer use — and use the bet comparison as the lens for which SDK to start from.

Format

Long-form explainer

Demo idea

Record a 10-minute explainer: 3 min intro on 'two bets on what an agent is' framing, 3 min on OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 (handoffs + guardrails + tracing), 3 min on Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0 (Skills + computer use + workbench), 1 min on the bet comparison.

Platform notes

Specific handoff protocol, guardrail composition rules, Skills SDK integration, and computer-use virtualization backend beyond the captured summary were not extracted; confirm specific API signatures against the underlying SDK docs before stating them on the record.

Usable claims

OpenAI shipped Agents SDK 1.0 — handoffs between specialized agents, guardrails (input/output validation hooks), built-in tracing dashboard, OpenAI Traces UI.
Anthropic shipped Agent SDK 1.0 — first-class Skills integration, computer use API GA (mouse / keyboard control of virtualized desktop), workbench CLI for local debugging.

Evidence pipeline

From the news

Breakdown

OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 and Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0 take different bets on what an agent is — OpenAI on handoff-style delegation + guardrails, Anthropic on Skills + computer use. This explainer uses the bet comparison as the lens for which SDK to start from, rather than collapsing them into 'both are 1.0, pick one'.

Sources

Risks

Docs confirm the framework features exist but specific primitive signatures and protocol details beyond the captured summary are not in this pass. Verify specific capability claim against the underlying vendor docs and the actual license / pricing matrix before stating it on the record; do not paraphrase per-platform pricing or license terms into specific dollar figures or commercial-use clauses.
Anthropic Agent SDK docs confirm computer use API GA but specific backend and pricing details are not in this pass. Verify specific capability claim against the underlying vendor docs and the actual license / pricing matrix before stating it on the record; do not paraphrase per-platform pricing or license terms into specific dollar figures or commercial-use clauses.
Use The Decoder and IT之家 as media-type corroboration, but read the underlying framework docs for any specific primitive or API surface before stating it on the record. Verify specific capability claim against the underlying vendor docs and the actual license / pricing matrix before stating it on the record; do not paraphrase per-platform pricing or license terms into specific dollar figures or commercial-use clauses.

Demo ideas

Side-by-side code-review agent: same workflow on OpenAI Agents SDK 1.0 vs Anthropic Agent SDK 1.0, measure handoff-vs-Skills surface and tracing-vs-workbench surface.
Bet matrix: plot OpenAI vs Anthropic on 'what an agent is' dimensions (delegation vs procedural knowledge, validation vs physical interaction, hosted tracing vs local debugging).
Migration story: 'migrate an agent from OpenAI Agents SDK 0.x to 1.0', measure porting work and surface delta.