prompt_caching_multi_block.py
"""
Multi-block prompt caching with per-block TTL and tool caching.
Demonstrates two Anthropic caching features:
1. Per-block TTL: Split system prompts into static (cached) and dynamic (uncached)
blocks with independent TTLs. The static block uses a 1h extended TTL so it
survives across longer conversations, while the dynamic block is never cached.
2. Tool caching: Opt in to caching tool definitions by setting cache_tools=True.
Anthropic caches all tools as a prefix when cache_control is on the last tool.
Blocks live on the Claude model (not on Agent.system_message) because this is a
Claude-specific feature. They are appended after the agent-built system prompt,
which itself becomes the first cached block when cache_system_prompt=True. This
preserves your agent's description, instructions, and tool hints while letting
you add per-request static or dynamic blocks with their own cache settings.
Note on mixed TTLs: Anthropic requires any 1h cached block to appear before any
5m cached block in the request. Because the agent-built block comes first and
inherits the model-level TTL, you must set extended_cache_time=True whenever
any SystemPromptBlock uses ttl="1h". Otherwise the request would be
5m (agent) -> 1h (block), which the API rejects. Agno validates this at
assembly time with a clear error.
Docs: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-caching
"""
from datetime import datetime
from agno.agent import Agent
from agno.models.anthropic import Claude, SystemPromptBlock
from agno.tools.duckduckgo import DuckDuckGoTools
blocks = [
# Static instructions, cached for 1 hour (2x cost but survives much longer)
SystemPromptBlock(
text=(
"You are a senior software architect. You give concise, opinionated "
"advice grounded in real-world experience. Prefer battle-tested "
"patterns over trendy abstractions. When recommending tools or "
"libraries, explain the trade-offs honestly."
),
cache=True,
ttl="1h",
),
# Dynamic per-user context, never cached (changes every request)
SystemPromptBlock(
text=f"The user is on the Enterprise plan and prefers Python examples. Current time: {datetime.now().isoformat()}",
cache=False,
),
]
agent = Agent(
model=Claude(
id="claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
cache_system_prompt=True,
# Required when any SystemPromptBlock uses ttl="1h": the agent-built
# block would otherwise be cached at 5m and precede a 1h block, which
# violates Anthropic's mixed-TTL ordering rule.
extended_cache_time=True,
cache_tools=True,
system_prompt_blocks=blocks,
),
tools=[DuckDuckGoTools()],
markdown=True,
)
# First run creates the cache
response = agent.run("What's the best way to structure a large FastAPI project?")
if response and response.metrics:
print(
f"Run 1 - cache write: {response.metrics.cache_write_tokens}, cache read: {response.metrics.cache_read_tokens}"
)
# Second run reads from cache
response = agent.run("How should I handle database migrations in that setup?")
if response and response.metrics:
print(
f"Run 2 - cache write: {response.metrics.cache_write_tokens}, cache read: {response.metrics.cache_read_tokens}"
)
Run the Example
Set up your virtual environment
uv venv --python 3.12
source .venv/bin/activate
uv venv --python 3.12
.venv\Scripts\activate
Export your Anthropic API key
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your_anthropic_api_key_here"
$Env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your_anthropic_api_key_here"