Claude Managed Agents Just Dropped – Here's What Changes

AI is no longer just answering questions — it's doing the work. Writing and running code, executing steps, choosing tools, blocking sensitive data, and stopping mid-flight when needed. Claude managed agents are Anthropic's hosted alternative to self-hosted OpenClaw. Same core idea, but Anthropic handles all the infrastructure. You focus on what the agent does, not where it runs. **Links:** - Claude Managed Agents docs: https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/managed-agents/quickstart - Custom tools video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv_Ghb5i1jU&list=PLYQsp-tXX9w4TPApr97et876K9bbDBO5Q&index=4 - PraisonAI: github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI - Full code: https://mer.vin/2026/04/claude-managed-agents-beginners-guide-with-code-examples/ https://mer.vin/2026/04/praisonai-managed-agents-simplified-claude-api-with-code-examples/ **What you'll learn:** - How managed agents differ from self-hosted OpenClaw - Create an agent, environment, and session from scratch using Python - Stream responses and run multi-turn conversations - Select, disable, and build custom tools with a JSON schema - Enable web search and pre-install packages into the environment - Interrupt an active session mid-execution - Compress the entire setup to 4 lines using PraisonAI - Do all of this through the Anthropic Console UI — no code needed - Connect a Slack + Notion support agent using credential vaults - Grab your session ID from the UI and plug it into your own application **When to use what:** - UI is fine for one or two agents - Programmatic setup is what you need when building at scale All code from this video is linked below. Try it out and let me know in the comments what you're building. **Timestamps:** - `0:00` — What managed agents are and how they differ from self-hosted OpenClaw - `2:15` — Prerequisites: pip install + API key setup - `3:00` — Creating an agent, environment, and session programmatically - `4:45` — Streaming responses and sending tasks - `6:05` — Multi-turn conversations, usage tracking, session listing - `6:53` — Selecting, disabling, and building custom tools - `7:31` — Web search, pre-installed packages, interrupting sessions - `9:29` — Same workflow in 4 lines with PraisonAI - `10:51` — Doing all of this through the Anthropic Console UI - `12:06` — Slack + Notion integration with credential vaults - `13:32` — Connecting a UI-created agent to your own code via session ID This video provides an overview of Claude Managed Agents, a direct competitor to OpenClaw, highlighting its ability to run 24/7 and integrate with applications. It demonstrates how to configure ai tools for ai agents, such as a weather assistant, and showcases new features in Python 3.13 related to interactive shells and experimental support for free-threaded mode, allowing you to automate tasks with ai and enhance ai automation.