Recommended Reading & Resources

Curated links to official docs, specs, and guides that map directly to exam topics.

Official Documentation

Core Anthropic docs covering tools, prompts, and the Agent SDK

Resource	Description
Tool Use	Designing and using tools with Claude — parameter schemas, descriptions, and error handling
System Prompts	Best practices for writing effective system prompts
Prompt Engineering	Clarity, examples, structure, and formatting techniques
Long Context Tips	Working with long context and conversation management
Claude Agent SDK	Building developer productivity tools and agents with the SDK

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Spec, reference implementations, and integration guides

Resource	Description
MCP Specification	Official spec — transport mechanisms, tool discovery, error handling tiers, and trust model
MCP GitHub	Reference implementations, example servers, and community resources
MCP Overview	Anthropic's guide to integrating MCP servers with Claude

Agentic Patterns & Architecture

Design patterns, cookbooks, and hands-on tutorials

Resource	Description
Building Effective Agents	Agentic design patterns — prompt chaining, routing, and orchestrator-workers
Cookbook: Tool Use	Practical examples of tool design, error handling, and multi-step workflows
Prompt Engineering Tutorial	Hands-on tutorial covering prompt structure and system prompt design

Foundational Concepts

Messages API, caching, and extended thinking

Resource	Description
Messages API	Stateless API model, message structure, and conversation history
Prompt Caching	How prompt caching reduces costs for repeated context
Extended Thinking	Model reasoning capabilities, relevant to agentic decision-making

Claude Code

CLI reference, session management, and best practices

Resource	Description
Claude Code Docs	Complete reference — CLI, session management, sub-agents, built-in tools, and CLAUDE.md files
Claude Code Best Practices	Practical guidance for getting the most from Claude Code