<Section title="How the term is used here">## The messages API in this materialIn the captured material, the messages API appears as the baseline way of working with Claude programmatically: an endpoint-style interface where a program sends a request and gets a completion back. The conversation with Angela Jiang and Katelyn Lesse frames the platform's evolution as moving from a completion endpoint into Claude Managed Agents — Claude in a cloud computer with memory, tools, and infrastructure. The messages API is that earlier, request-in/response-out form of access that the agent platform grew beyond. [^4872db36-e98a-5f6b-bc5c-b11e48c9411b@113]The speakers position the two as different levels of abstraction: with a messages API, you orchestrate every step — assembling context, calling tools, storing state — while the managed agent platform bundles memory, tools, and infrastructure for you. [^4872db36-e98a-5f6b-bc5c-b11e48c9411b@1181] [^4872db36-e98a-5f6b-bc5c-b11e48c9411b@692]</Section>