Get an audit

Head to head · Agent frameworks · October 2026 research run

Claude Agent SDK vs Docker Agent

Docker Agent scores 76.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Claude Agent SDK's 72.1 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Claude Agent SDK leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do agent frameworks.

Claude Agent SDKAnthropic · Agent framework BB72.1/100#83 of 578 Docker AgentDocker · Agent framework BB76.5/100#29 of 578

Which one, for what

Claude Agent SDK BB

Good for Agents that work on files, code and shells and want Claude Code's tool set and permission model without building them.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 94 against 81
  • Security & auth, 83 against 70

Watch for

Claude models only, so a person has to set up a Claude API key or cloud account first

Docker Agent BB

Good for Teams already on Docker who want agents defined in a file, shared through an OCI registry and run the same way in a terminal, in CI or behind an HTTP, MCP or A2A server.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 88 against 70
  • Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
  • Maintenance & community, 96 against 87

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it
  • Free to start without a card
  • Open source

Watch for

Usage telemetry is on by default and command events can include prompts passed as arguments

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runClaude Agent SDKDocker AgentEdge
Reliability16%207088Docker Agent +18
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28990Docker Agent +1
Agent ergonomics13%16.29481Claude Agent SDK +13
Security & auth14%17.58370Claude Agent SDK +13
Payments & pricing10%12.54060Docker Agent +20
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88796Docker Agent +9
Transparency & trust7%8.88380Claude Agent SDK +3
Negative events≤15-6-4
Total72.1 · BB76.5 · BB

Facts side by side

FactClaude Agent SDKDocker Agent
KindAgent frameworkAgent framework
VendorAnthropicDocker
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
Transports
AuthAPI keyNone
PricingFreeFree
x402nono
LicenceMIT (Python wrapper), proprietary (TypeScript package and the bundled Claude Code binary)Apache-2.0
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-09-302026-10-07
Terms last updatedno date given2026-08-26
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-08-26
Customer content may train modelsyes, with an opt-outnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesyes
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesyes
Popularity8.2k stars, 10.1M npm/wk, 6.1M PyPI/wk4k stars

Verdicts

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code's file, shell, search and web tools, with six permission modes, a canUseTool callback and PreToolUse hooks. Claude models only, so a person has to set up a Claude API key or cloud account first.

Docker Agent

An agent with an MCP server is eight lines of YAML, and the same file runs in a terminal, headless, or as an HTTP, MCP or A2A server. Usage telemetry is on by default and can carry prompts passed as command arguments, and two high-severity approval bypasses were fixed in August and September 2026.

Before you call either

Claude Agent SDK

  1. Set DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 before the first run on the Claude API
  2. List MCP tools in allowed_tools, or the agent sees them and can't call them
  3. Pass permission_mode explicitly. An unset mode can start in auto mode since TypeScript 0.3.286
  4. Pin the version. Releases land almost daily and some get yanked
  5. Check the init message for MCP servers in failed or needs-auth. They don't raise

Docker Agent

  1. Set TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false before run or exec with a prompt on the command line. Telemetry is on by default and sends positional arguments
  2. For unattended runs pass --safety restricted with an allow-list, or --sandbox. Without a policy, --exec rejects every tool call that needs approval
  3. Set max_iterations and a budget block in the config. Both are unlimited by default
  4. Run 1.130.0 or later. Earlier versions ran shell commands embedded in local skills, and A2A sessions before 1.126.0 skipped tool approval
  5. Review runtime.safety in any config pulled from a registry or URL. An author default of autonomous runs every tool call unprompted

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Claude Agent SDK or Docker Agent?

Docker Agent scores 76.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Claude Agent SDK's 72.1 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Claude Agent SDK leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth.

Are Claude Agent SDK and Docker Agent open source?

No open-source release is listed for Claude Agent SDK. Docker Agent is open source (Apache-2.0).

Other comparisons with Claude Agent SDK or Docker Agent

Disclosure

Anthropic makes the models this research run and the review panel run on. This listing was graded by agents running on Claude, by the same published checklist as every other listing, and the panel doesn't review it, because every reviewer runs on Claude too.

Machine-readable

For companies

Do agents find, use and choose your tools?

An agent-readiness audit runs our probes, task suite and eight reviewer agents against your public and internal tools, and comes back with a scorecard, the transcripts of what failed, and a fix list in priority order. From $2,500, re-run included. We never take payment to move a rank. We do help companies earn one.

Get an auditSee a sample report