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AI SDK

AI SDK Skill

by Vercel vercel/ai skills/use-ai-sdk

Vercel's official skill for the AI SDK (the ai package): it makes the agent check the version-matched docs bundled in node_modules instead of memory, set up AI Gateway, list current model IDs and build agents with ToolLoopAgent.

GitHub Docs
Development
Released
Apache-2.0

Install

Install with the skills CLI

One command for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf and dozens of other agents. Needs Node.js; the skill is fetched straight from vercel/ai.

$ npx skills add vercel/ai --skill ai-sdk

Run it in a terminal. The CLI finds the agents installed on your machine, asks which ones to add the skill to, and whether to install it into the folder you ran it from or for all your projects.

Other ways to install

  1. Open the skill on GitHub and download the folder that holds its SKILL.md.
  2. Put it at ~/.claude/skills/ai-sdk/, where Claude Code picks it up in every project.

No scripts or references next to it? Saving the SKILL.md alone as ~/.claude/skills/ai-sdk/SKILL.md works too.

Using another agent? Its personal skills folder
Codex
~/.agents/skills/
Cursor
~/.cursor/skills/
GitHub Copilot
~/.copilot/skills/
Gemini CLI
~/.gemini/skills/
Windsurf
~/.codeium/windsurf/skills/
OpenCode
~/.config/opencode/skills/
Open folder on GitHub

About

  • Verifies APIs against version-matched docs bundled in node_modules
  • Falls back to ai-sdk.dev docs as markdown, never to guessing
  • AI Gateway setup and live model list instead of remembered model IDs
  • Built-in agent abstractions such as ToolLoopAgent
  • Version check against npm and type-check after changes

AI SDK is the skill Vercel ships inside the vercel/ai repository for its TypeScript toolkit, the ai package on npm, which gives one API across model providers for text generation, structured output, tool calling, agents, embeddings and UI framework integrations. It loads when developers ask about functions such as generateText, streamText, ToolLoopAgent or embed, or want to build agents, chatbots, RAG systems or other text-generation features.

Its central rule is that the agent should not trust its own memory. The SDK changes quickly and training data is full of renamed or removed APIs, so the skill tells the agent to verify every API, option and pattern against the version actually installed. The ai package bundles its full documentation and source in node_modules/ai/docs/ and node_modules/ai/src/, and provider packages bundle theirs under node_modules/@ai-sdk/<name>/docs/, including in monorepo workspaces. When something is missing there, the agent searches ai-sdk.dev, where any docs page is available as markdown, and says so plainly if it still finds no support rather than guessing.

It recommends Vercel AI Gateway as the quickest start (one AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or OIDC on Vercel, models addressed as provider/model) and tells the agent to fetch the live model list from the gateway rather than use model IDs from memory. For agents it points to the built-in abstractions such as ToolLoopAgent instead of hand-rolled tool loops, with UI message types inferred from the agent definition, and it mentions AI SDK DevTools for inspecting requests, tool calls and token usage.

Finally it checks the installed version against npm view ai version, flags installs a major version behind, and runs the type checker after changes. Apache-2.0, from the vercel/ai repository.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent loads, as published by Vercel.

SKILL.md
name
ai-sdk
description
Answer questions about the AI SDK and help build AI-powered features. Use when developers: (1) Ask about AI SDK functions like generateText, streamText, ToolLoopAgent, embed, or tools, (2) Want to build AI agents, chatbots, RAG systems, or text generation features, (3) Have questions about AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.), streaming, tool calling, structured output, or embeddings, (4) Use React hooks like useChat or useCompletion. Triggers on: "AI SDK", "Vercel AI SDK", "generateText", "streamText", "add AI to my app", "build an agent", "tool calling", "structured output", "useChat".
What the AI SDK Is

The AI SDK by Vercel (the ai package on npm) is a TypeScript toolkit for building AI applications. It provides a unified API across model providers for text generation, structured output, tool calling, agents, embeddings, and framework UI integrations.

  • Repository: https://github.com/vercel/ai
  • Documentation: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs
Critical: Do Not Trust Your Own Memory

Whatever you remember about the AI SDK is likely outdated. The SDK changes frequently across versions - APIs are renamed, removed, and added. Your training data almost certainly contains obsolete APIs, deprecated patterns, and model IDs that no longer exist. UI hooks like useChat are among the most frequently changed APIs, so be especially careful with client code.

Never write AI SDK code from memory. Always verify every API, option, and pattern against the documentation and source code for the version that is actually installed in the project.

Use the Bundled, Version-Matched Docs

The ai package ships its full documentation and source code inside node_modules. These always match the installed version, so trust them over anything you remember.

  1. Ensure ai is installed. Check node_modules/ai/ or locate the workspace package in a monorepo that depends on ai (e.g. apps/<name>/node_modules/ai/). If ai is not installed anywhere in the project, install only the ai package into the target package using the project's package manager (e.g. pnpm add ai --filter <pkg> or npm install ai). Install provider packages (e.g. @ai-sdk/openai) and framework packages (e.g. @ai-sdk/react) later, when the task requires them.
  2. Read and grep the bundled docs at node_modules/ai/docs/ (or <package>/node_modules/ai/docs/) and the source at node_modules/ai/src/.
  3. Provider and framework packages bundle their own docs at node_modules/@ai-sdk/<name>/docs/ (or <package>/node_modules/@ai-sdk/<name>/docs/).
  4. If something isn't in the bundled docs, search https://ai-sdk.dev/docs. You can append .md to any docs page URL to get its markdown, and search via https://ai-sdk.dev/api/search-docs?q=your_query.
  5. If you cannot find support for an answer in the docs or source, say so explicitly — do not guess.
AI Gateway: The Fastest Way to Start

The Vercel AI Gateway is the fastest way to get started with the AI SDK. It provides access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other providers through a single API, without installing provider packages or managing multiple API keys.

To set it up:

  1. Authenticate with OIDC (for Vercel deployments) or get an AI Gateway API key.
  2. Provide it to your app via the AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY environment variable.
  3. Reference models with provider/model strings.

For exact setup, authentication, and usage, read the bundled guide and the AI Gateway docs.

Choosing a Model

Never use model IDs from memory — models are released and retired frequently. Fetch the current list before writing code that references a model. Do not truncate the list (e.g. with head) so you can find the newest models:

# All available models
curl -s https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/models | jq -r '.data[].id'

# Filter by provider (e.g. anthropic, openai, google)
curl -s https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/models | jq -r '[.data[] | select(.id | startswith("anthropic/")) | .id] | reverse | .[]'

When multiple versions of a model exist, prefer the one with the highest version number.

Building and Consuming Agents

Use the SDK's built-in agent abstraction (such as ToolLoopAgent) rather than hand-rolling tool-calling loops. For end-to-end type safety, infer the UI message type from your agent definition when consuming it on the client (e.g. with useChat). Consuming an agent is framework-specific: check package.json to detect the stack, then follow the matching quickstart.

Look up the current agent, tool, and type-safety APIs in the bundled docs (node_modules/ai/docs/, especially the agents section) or at https://ai-sdk.dev/docs.

DevTools

AI SDK DevTools captures your AI SDK calls - requests, responses, tool calls, token usage, and multi-step runs - so you can inspect exactly what your agents do. Use it while developing to debug generations. It is a separate package and is intended for local development only.

For setup instructions, read the bundled DevTools documentation.

Keep the SDK Current

Outdated installs are the most common source of errors. Compare the installed version against the latest:

  • Installed: the version field in node_modules/ai/package.json.
  • Latest: run npm view ai version.

If the installed version is a major version (or more) behind the latest, tell the user they are on an old release, and recommend upgrading before continuing. Migration guides are at https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/migration-guides.

After Making Changes

Run the project's type checker. Be minimal — only set options that differ from the defaults, checking docs or source for the defaults rather than over-specifying. Most type errors come from remembered, now-changed APIs; re-check the current docs and source when they occur.

Install

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