# 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. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

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 SDK: grade BB, 72.1/100, rank #91 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/claude-agent-sdk.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/claude-agent-sdk.json
- Docker Agent: grade BB, 76.5/100, rank #30 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/docker-agent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-agent.json

## 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

| Category | Weight | Claude Agent SDK | Docker Agent | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 88 | Docker Agent +18 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 89 | 90 | Docker Agent +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 94 | 81 | Claude Agent SDK +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 83 | 70 | Claude Agent SDK +13 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | Docker Agent +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 96 | Docker Agent +9 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 80 | Claude Agent SDK +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **72.1 · BB** | **76.5 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Claude Agent SDK | Docker Agent |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | Anthropic | Docker |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | API key | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (Python wrapper), proprietary (TypeScript package and the bundled Claude Code binary) | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-08-26 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-08-26 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 8.2k stars, 10.1M npm/wk, 6.1M PyPI/wk | 4k 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).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "claude-agent-sdk", "b": "docker-agent"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare claude-agent-sdk docker-agent`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/claude-agent-sdk.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-agent.json

## Other comparisons with Claude Agent SDK or Docker Agent

- [AgentOS vs Claude Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-claude-agent-sdk.md)
- [AgentOS vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [Agno vs Claude Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-claude-agent-sdk.md)
- [Agno vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs CrewAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-crewai.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs LangGraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-langgraph.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)
- [CrewAI vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [Docker Agent vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-google-adk.md)
- [Docker Agent vs LangGraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-langgraph.md)
- [Docker Agent vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)
- [Docker Agent vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)
- [Docker Agent vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-pydantic-ai.md)

## 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.