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 Next.js Server Components and API routes
• •Uses TypeScript with Zod for schema validation

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