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Claude Sonnet 4.6
Anthropic · Sonnet
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 4.6 on February 17, 2026.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the Anthropic model launched on February 17, 2026 as its balanced model, combining speed and intelligence for everyday tasks. Anthropic said it improves agentic search performance while consuming fewer tokens. It supports extended thinking and a 1M token context window in beta. When Anthropic retired Claude Sonnet 4 in June 2026 it recommended Sonnet 4.6 as the upgrade, and Claude Sonnet 5 later launched with the same set of tools and platform features as Sonnet 4.6, apart from Priority Tier.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 at a glance
- Released
- API model id
claude-sonnet-4-6- Available on
- Claude API
- Announcement
- anthropic.com
What changed
Sonnet 4.6 focused on doing more with fewer tokens: Anthropic highlighted better agentic search at lower token use, plus extended thinking and a 1M token context window in beta.
New to model names and version numbers? Read how AI labs version their models.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 release timeline
The launch and every later Anthropic release that mentions Claude Sonnet 4.6, oldest first.
- Introducing Claude Sonnet 4.6
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the most capable Sonnet model yet, featuring a 1M token context window in beta, improved coding skills, and enhanced computer use capabilities. It's now the default model for Free and Pro plans with the same pricing as Sonnet 4.5.
Source: Anthropic - 1M Token Context Window Launch
1M token context window launched for Claude Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 at standard pricing. Requests over 200k tokens work automatically without beta headers. Media limit increased to 600 images/PDFs per request with 1M context window.
Source: Claude Platform Release Notes - Message Batches API Max Tokens Increase
Raised max_tokens cap to 300k on Message Batches API for Opus 4.6/Sonnet 4.6
Source: Claude Platform Release Notes
Claude Sonnet 4.6 FAQ
When was Claude Sonnet 4.6 released?
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 4.6 on February 17, 2026. The launch entry below links to the official announcement.
Where is Claude Sonnet 4.6 available?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is available on Claude API. Later availability changes are listed under follow-up releases on this page.
What is the Claude Sonnet 4.6 API model id?
Use claude-sonnet-4-6 in Anthropic's API.
Other Anthropic models
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