# AI SDK (slim)

> Open-source TypeScript toolkit from Vercel for building AI applications and agents, with a provider-agnostic API, a ToolLoopAgent, an MCP client and UI hooks for React, Vue, Svelte and Angular.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk.md (~7,250 tokens) · this version ~1,330 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07 · pricing https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk#pricing · reviews https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk#reviews
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

**AA · 89.8/100 · rank #1 of 1486 · #1 in Agent frameworks & SDKs · agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: A TypeScript agent toolkit with ToolLoopAgent, a built-in MCP client, per-tool approvals that can be HMAC-signed, opt-in OpenTelemetry and durable runs through WorkflowAgent. It ships three major versions in 14 months (5.0, 6.0, 7.0), each with a migration guide, and plain string model IDs route through Vercel's AI Gateway unless another provider is set.

## Facts

- Kind: Agent framework · vendor: Vercel Inc. · category: Agent frameworks & SDKs · legal entity: Vercel Inc. · provenance 91/100
- Packages: npm `ai`, npm `@ai-sdk/mcp`, npm `@ai-sdk/workflow`
- Auth: API key · pricing: Free · x402: no · licence: Apache-2.0
- Vendor status page: no problems reported, All Systems Operational (2026-11-07 18:22 UTC)
- Languages: TypeScript and JavaScript, Node 22 or newer for `ai` 7.x
- Models: Provider packages for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Amazon Bedrock and others, or any model through the AI Gateway
- MCP client: @ai-sdk/mcp 2.0.91, HTTP (recommended), SSE and stdio (experimental) transports, OAuth, opt-in retries for tools/call, stateless MCP 2026-07-28
- Multi-agent: Subagents run as tools of a parent agent
- Durable state: WorkflowAgent in @ai-sdk/workflow, each tool call a durable workflow step
- Human approval: toolApproval per tool or per request, HMAC-signed approvals, Open Policy Agent rules in @ai-sdk/policy-opa
- Guardrails: None built in. Middleware and prepareStep can filter
- Tracing: OpenTelemetry through @ai-sdk/otel
- Telemetry: None until an integration is registered
- Releases in 90 days: 226 stable releases of `ai` on npm to 6 November 2026

- Scores: Reliability 93, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 100, Agent ergonomics 95, Security & auth 90, Payments & pricing 60, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 97, Transparency & trust 89 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Official npm packages, with `ai` 7.x requiring Node 22 or newer (20). · Schema & documentation, Typed TypeScript API with a reference section for every function (25). · Agent ergonomics, An MCP client in a few lines with createMCPClient and client.tools(), and tool search with deferLoading keeps unused tool definitions out of… · Security & auth, No telemetry until an OpenTelemetry integration is registered. · Payments & pricing, No payment protocol (0). · Maintenance & community, 7.0.163 on 2026-11-05 (30). · Transparency & trust, Apache 2.0 (30).
- Sources: 16, open questions: 3, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: agent.framework, agent.mcp-client, agent.multi-agent, agent.durable
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vercel-ai-sdk.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/vercel-ai-sdk.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vercel-ai-sdk from a page on ai-sdk.dev or vercel.com or one of their subdomains, or the README at the root of github.com/vercel/ai, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.
- Support: billing@vercel.com; https://vercel.com/help; https://community.vercel.com/; more in the full twin

## Before you call it

1. Pass a provider instance such as openai('model') if traffic shouldn't go through Vercel's AI Gateway
2. Set toolApproval on tools that write, and experimental_toolApprovalSecret when approvals come back from a browser
3. Raise or replace the default stop condition of 20 steps with stopWhen
4. Close the MCP client after the run, and use HTTP transport outside local development
5. Set recordInputs and recordOutputs to false when spans would carry secrets

## Connect

```bash
npm i ai   # MCP: npm i @ai-sdk/mcp
```

## Similar tools

| Tool | Grade | Score | Shared capabilities | Slim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OpenAI Agents SDK | AA | 86.2 | agent.framework, agent.multi-agent, agent.durable, agent.mcp-client | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-sdk.min.md |
| Pydantic AI | A | 81.9 | agent.framework, agent.multi-agent, agent.durable, agent.mcp-client | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pydantic-ai.min.md |
| Strands Agents | A | 80 | agent.framework, agent.mcp-client, agent.multi-agent, agent.durable | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/strands-agents.min.md |
| Microsoft Agent Framework | A | 79.4 | agent.framework, agent.multi-agent, agent.durable, agent.mcp-client | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/microsoft-agent-framework.min.md |
| Mastra | BB | 74.2 | agent.framework, agent.durable, agent.mcp-client, agent.multi-agent | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mastra.min.md |


## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)