Skill: ai-sdk-core

Scope

• Applies to: Backend AI features with Vercel AI SDK v5/v6, server-side text generation, structured outputs, AI agents with tools, multi-provider integration

• Does NOT cover: React chat UIs (see ai-sdk-ui), frontend hooks, embeddings, image generation

Assumptions

• AI SDK v5.0.98+ (stable) or v6.0.0-beta.107+ (beta)

• Node.js 18+ or Cloudflare Workers

• Zod v3.23.8+ or v4.x for schema validation

• TypeScript v5+ with strict mode

Principles

• Use generateText for simple text generation

• Use generateObject for structured outputs with Zod schemas

• Use streamText for streaming responses

• Use ToolLoopAgent (v6) for agent workflows with tool calling

• Use tool execution approval for human-in-the-loop patterns

• Use callOptions for dynamic runtime configuration

• Handle errors with specific error types (AI_APICallError , AI_NoObjectGeneratedError , etc.)

• Use provider abstraction (openai , anthropic , google ) for multi-provider support

Constraints

MUST

• Handle response.error for typed error responses

• Use Zod schemas for structured output validation

• Use onError callback in streamText for error handling

• Validate API keys at startup

SHOULD

• Use ToolLoopAgent (v6) for agent workflows instead of manual tool orchestration

• Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for rate limits

• Use mode: 'json' when available for structured outputs

• Prefer GPT-4+ for complex structured output

AVOID

• Top-level imports in Cloudflare Workers (causes startup overhead)

• Skipping error handling for API calls

• Using any types (use proper error types)

• Mixing v5 and v6 APIs without migration

Interactions

• Complements ai-sdk-ui for React chat interfaces

• Works with nextjs Server Components and API routes

• Uses Zod for schema validation (see typescript)

Patterns

Basic Text Generation

import { generateText } from 'ai' import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai'

const result = await generateText({ model: openai('gpt-4'), prompt: 'Hello, world!', })

Structured Output

import { generateObject } from 'ai' import { z } from 'zod'

const result = await generateObject({ model: openai('gpt-4'), schema: z.object({ name: z.string(), age: z.number(), }), prompt: 'Generate a person', })

Agent with Tools (v6)

import { ToolLoopAgent } from 'ai' import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai'

const agent = new ToolLoopAgent({ model: openai('gpt-4'), tools: { /* tool definitions */ }, })

const result = await agent.run({ prompt: 'Task' })

See Production Patterns and Templates for detailed examples.

References

• Production Patterns - Deployment and optimization patterns

• Top Errors - Common error solutions and troubleshooting

Resources

• AI SDK Docs

• AI SDK 6 Beta

• Error Reference