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4646
4747On most models, thinking is on by default or one parameter away. The following table shows what each model does with each `thinking` value a request can send. A 400 error means the API rejects the request, and [Troubleshooting thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-troubleshooting) has each error and its fix.
4848
49| Model | No `thinking` field | `"adaptive"` | `"enabled"` with `budget_tokens` | `"disabled"` |
50| --------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
51| Claude Opus 5.5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error |
52| Claude Fable 5.1 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error |
53| Claude Mythos 5.1 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error |
54| Claude Fable 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error |
55| Claude Mythos 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error |
56| Claude Opus 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | Thinking off at `high` effort or below |
57| Claude Sonnet 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | Thinking off |
58| Claude Opus 4.8 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | Thinking off |
59| Claude Opus 4.7 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | Thinking off |
60| Claude Mythos Preview | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | Extended thinking | 400 error |
61| Claude Opus 4.6 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | Extended thinking (deprecated) | Thinking off |
62| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | Extended thinking (deprecated) | Thinking off |
63| Claude Opus 4.5 | Thinking off | 400 error | Extended thinking | Thinking off |
64| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Thinking off | 400 error | Extended thinking | Thinking off |
65| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Thinking off | 400 error | Extended thinking | Thinking off |
49| Model | No `thinking` field | `"adaptive"` | `"enabled"` with `budget_tokens` | `"between_tools"` | `"disabled"` |
50| --------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
51| Claude Opus 5.5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | 400 error |
52| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | Up-front thinking off at `high` effort or below | 400 error |
53| Claude Fable 5.1 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | 400 error |
54| Claude Mythos 5.1 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | 400 error |
55| Claude Fable 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | 400 error |
56| Claude Mythos 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | 400 error |
57| Claude Opus 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | Thinking off at `high` effort or below |
58| Claude Sonnet 5 | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | Thinking off |
59| Claude Opus 4.8 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | Thinking off |
60| Claude Opus 4.7 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | 400 error | 400 error | Thinking off |
61| Claude Mythos Preview | Adaptive thinking | Adaptive thinking | Extended thinking | 400 error | 400 error |
62| Claude Opus 4.6 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | Extended thinking (deprecated) | 400 error | Thinking off |
63| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Thinking off | Adaptive thinking | Extended thinking (deprecated) | 400 error | Thinking off |
64| Claude Opus 4.5 | Thinking off | 400 error | Extended thinking | 400 error | Thinking off |
65| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Thinking off | 400 error | Extended thinking | 400 error | Thinking off |
66| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Thinking off | 400 error | Extended thinking | 400 error | Thinking off |
6667
6768In the table, "at `high` effort or below" means the request works at `low`, `medium`, and `high` effort and returns a 400 error at `xhigh` or `max`.
6869
69On Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, and Claude Mythos Preview, thinking is already on and needs no configuration. `display` defaults to `"omitted"` on these models, so the thinking text is hidden until you opt in. Opt in with `thinking: {"type": "adaptive", "display": "summarized"}`, which is exactly the following request with the [model string](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/models/overview) swapped.
70On Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, and Claude Mythos Preview, thinking is already on and needs no configuration. `display` defaults to `"omitted"` on these models, so the thinking text is hidden until you opt in. Opt in with `thinking: {"type": "adaptive", "display": "summarized"}`, which is exactly the following request with the [model string](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/models/overview) swapped.
7071
7172On Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Opus 4.6, and Claude Sonnet 4.6, thinking is off until you set `thinking: {type: "adaptive"}`, which lets Claude decide when and how deeply to think based on the request. The following examples do that, set `display: "summarized"` so the thinking text is visible, and use a roomy `max_tokens`:
7273
from line 461
460461
461462Claude Opus 5 also has thinking on by default and accepts `thinking: {type: "disabled"}` at [effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) `high` or below. At `xhigh` or `max` effort, thinking cannot be turned off: requests that combine `thinking: {type: "disabled"}` with those effort levels return a 400 error. This restriction is enforced on each request. With thinking disabled, Claude Opus 5 can occasionally emit tool calls as plain text or include internal XML tags in its visible output. See [Running with thinking disabled](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-opus-5#running-with-thinking-disabled) for prompting mitigations.
462463
464Claude Sonnet 5.5 also has thinking on by default, and it rejects `thinking: {type: "disabled"}` with a 400 error. To turn off up-front thinking, send `thinking: {type: "between_tools"}` instead. It's the lowest thinking setting on Claude Sonnet 5.5, and it's accepted at [effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) `high` or below. The model still returns its [progress updates between tool calls](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#progress-updates). Without tools, the response contains only text, as with `disabled` on Claude Sonnet 5. See [Running without up-front thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-sonnet-5-5#running-without-up-front-thinking) for prompting guidance.
465
463466Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Opus 5.5, and Claude Mythos Preview reject `thinking: {type: "disabled"}`. Thinking can't be turned off on these models.
464467
465468If your model supports only extended thinking (see the [per-model configuration table](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-troubleshooting#supported-models)), configure it with `type: "enabled"` and a `budget_tokens` value instead. The [Extended thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/extended-thinking) page covers that configuration. And if any thinking configuration comes back with a 400 error, [Troubleshooting thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-troubleshooting) matches each error message to its fix.
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471474The `display` field on the thinking configuration controls how thinking content is returned in API responses. `display` works in both modes: set it alongside `type: "adaptive"` or `type: "enabled"`. It accepts these values:
472475
473476* `"summarized"`: thinking blocks contain [summarized thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#summarized-thinking) text, a readable summary of Claude's reasoning. This is the default on Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and earlier models.
474* `"omitted"`: thinking blocks are returned with an empty `thinking` field. The `signature` field still carries the encrypted full thinking for multi-turn continuity (see [Thinking encryption](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#thinking-encryption)). This is the default on Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, and [Claude Mythos Preview](https://anthropic.com/glasswing).
477* `"omitted"`: thinking blocks are returned with an empty `thinking` field. The `signature` field still carries the encrypted full thinking for multi-turn continuity (see [Thinking encryption](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#thinking-encryption)). This is the default on Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, and [Claude Mythos Preview](https://anthropic.com/glasswing).
475478* `"updates"` (beta): reasoning blocks are returned with an empty `thinking` field, as with `"omitted"`, and the short [progress updates](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#progress-updates) some models write between tool calls come back as readable text. Requires the beta header `thinking-display-updates-2026-08-18`.
476479
477480Set `display: "omitted"` when your application doesn't surface thinking content to users. The primary benefit is faster time-to-first-text-token when streaming: the server skips streaming thinking tokens entirely and delivers only the signature, so the final text response begins streaming sooner.
from line 527
524527 In rare cases where you need access to full thinking output, [contact Anthropic sales](mailto:[email protected]).
525528</Note>
526529
527To see the model's reasoning, read the `thinking` blocks rather than prompting for reasoning in the response text. On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, and Claude Fable 5, a request that attempts to elicit the model's internal reasoning as part of the response text can be refused with `stop_details.category: "reasoning_extraction"`. See [Refusal categories](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/refusals-and-fallback#refusal-response) for the field reference and handling guidance.
530To see the model's reasoning, read the `thinking` blocks rather than prompting for reasoning in the response text. On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, and Claude Fable 5, a request that attempts to elicit the model's internal reasoning as part of the response text can be refused with `stop_details.category: "reasoning_extraction"`. See [Refusal categories](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/refusals-and-fallback#refusal-response) for the field reference and handling guidance.
528531
529532### Streaming thinking
530533
from line 893
890893
891894* **Lower cost or latency on a thinking-enabled workload:** lower `effort` first. It scales the whole response down, thinking included.
892895* **Claude is thinking too rarely or too shallowly:** raise `effort`, or see [Steering how often Claude thinks](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-steering-and-cost#tuning-thinking-behavior) on the steering page.
893* **You need thinking fully off:** use `thinking: {type: "disabled"}` on models that allow it (see the [per-model configuration table](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-troubleshooting#supported-models)).
896* **You need thinking fully off:** use `thinking: {type: "disabled"}` on models that allow it (see the [per-model configuration table](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-troubleshooting#supported-models)). Claude Sonnet 5.5 rejects `"disabled"`. Its lowest setting is `thinking: {type: "between_tools"}`, which turns off up-front thinking.
894897* **You need a hard ceiling on spend:** use `max_tokens`. Effort is soft guidance. `max_tokens` is a strict limit.
895898
896899## Thinking with tool use
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897900
898901Thinking works alongside [tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/overview), letting Claude reason through tool selection and process tool results. Two constraints apply:
899902
9001. **Tool choice limitation (manual mode):** tool use with manual extended thinking (`thinking: {type: "enabled"}`) only supports `tool_choice: {"type": "auto"}` (the default) or `tool_choice: {"type": "none"}`. Using `tool_choice: {"type": "any"}` or `tool_choice: {"type": "tool", "name": "..."}` results in an error because these options force tool use, which is incompatible with manual extended thinking. Adaptive thinking, including on models where thinking is on by default, supports forced tool use, except on Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Fable 5.1, and Claude Mythos 5.1 (see [Response prefill and forced tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#limits-and-feature-compatibility)).
9031. **Tool choice limitation (manual mode):** tool use with manual extended thinking (`thinking: {type: "enabled"}`) only supports `tool_choice: {"type": "auto"}` (the default) or `tool_choice: {"type": "none"}`. Using `tool_choice: {"type": "any"}` or `tool_choice: {"type": "tool", "name": "..."}` results in an error because these options force tool use, which is incompatible with manual extended thinking. Adaptive thinking, including on models where thinking is on by default, supports forced tool use, except on Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Fable 5.1, and Claude Mythos 5.1 (see [Response prefill and forced tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#limits-and-feature-compatibility)).
9019042. **Preserving thinking blocks:** when you return tool results, you must pass the thinking blocks from the assistant message back to the API, complete and unmodified. See [Preserving thinking blocks](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#preserving-thinking-blocks).
902905
903906**A tool-use loop is one assistant turn.** From the model's perspective, an assistant turn doesn't complete until Claude finishes its full response, which may include multiple tool calls and results. This whole sequence is a single assistant turn:
from line 964
961964 Consecutive tool calls do not require interleaved thinking. Claude can chain tool calls with or without interleaved thinking. Interleaving changes where thinking blocks appear between tool calls, not whether tool calls can chain.
962965</Note>
963966
964With adaptive thinking, interleaved thinking is automatic on every model that supports adaptive thinking. No beta header is needed. On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Mythos Preview, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8, and Claude Opus 4.7, reasoning between tool calls always appears in thinking blocks. Claude Haiku 4.5 does not support interleaved thinking. On models using manual extended thinking, interleaving requires a beta header and changes how the thinking budget is counted. [Interleaved thinking in manual mode](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/extended-thinking#interleaved-thinking) covers the per-model rules and platform-specific header behavior.
967With adaptive thinking, interleaved thinking is automatic on every model that supports adaptive thinking. No beta header is needed. On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Mythos Preview, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Opus 4.8, and Claude Opus 4.7, reasoning between tool calls always appears in thinking blocks. Claude Haiku 4.5 does not support interleaved thinking. On models using manual extended thinking, interleaving requires a beta header and changes how the thinking budget is counted. [Interleaved thinking in manual mode](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/extended-thinking#interleaved-thinking) covers the per-model rules and platform-specific header behavior.
965968
966969With interleaved thinking, the thinking allocation can span the entire assistant turn rather than a single response. Interleaved thinking is only supported for [tools used through the Messages API](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/overview).
967970
from line 972
969972
970973### Progress updates between tool calls
971974
972On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, and Claude Fable 5, the model can write a progress update between tool calls. A progress update is a sentence or two on what the model just found and what it's about to do next, written for the person watching the agent rather than as reasoning. Each one comes back as its own `thinking` block with its own `signature`, separate from any reasoning block at the same point. It sits immediately before the `tool_use` or `server_tool_use` block it introduces. At most one progress update precedes each tool call, and the model can skip any of them. Progress updates aren't [interleaved thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#interleaved-thinking): they appear whether or not reasoning blocks appear between tool calls, and a response can contain both.
975On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, and Claude Fable 5, the model can write a progress update between tool calls. A progress update is a note on what the model just found and what it's about to do next, written for the person watching the agent rather than as reasoning. Each one comes back as its own `thinking` block with its own `signature`, separate from any reasoning block at the same point. It sits immediately before the `tool_use` or `server_tool_use` block it introduces. At most one progress update precedes each tool call, and the model can skip any of them. Progress updates aren't [interleaved thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#interleaved-thinking): they appear whether or not reasoning blocks appear between tool calls, and a response can contain both.
973976
974977What a progress-update block contains depends on [`display`](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#controlling-thinking-display):
975978
from line 982
979982| `"updates"` (beta) | Empty `thinking` field | Summary text |
980983| `"summarized"` | Summary text | Summary text, not distinguishable from a reasoning block |
981984
985On Claude Sonnet 5.5, the lowest thinking setting is `thinking: {type: "between_tools"}`. It turns off up-front thinking, and each progress update comes back with its summary text, as it would under `display: "updates"`. `between_tools` is accepted only at [effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) `high` or below. At `xhigh` or `max`, a request with it returns a 400 error. `between_tools` takes no other field: `display`, `budget_tokens`, or `block_binding` sent with it returns a 400 error. The setting needs no beta header and works on every platform that offers Claude Sonnet 5.5. Pass the blocks back unchanged: a progress-update block you send back gives the model the full note it wrote, not the summary.
986
982987Use `display: "updates"` for an agent interface that keeps reasoning hidden and shows the user a status line at each step. Under it, any `thinking` block with non-empty text is a progress update, so render those and nothing else. It's in beta and requires the beta header `thinking-display-updates-2026-08-18` (on Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Foundry, pass the beta value as described in [Beta headers](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/api/beta-headers)). Without it, the value is rejected with the same 400 `invalid_request_error` as an unknown `display` value.
983988
984989```json
from line 1046
10411046* A progress-update block can come back with an empty `thinking` field under any `display` value. Render nothing for an empty block. Under `"updates"` it looks the same as an empty reasoning block and needs no separate handling.
10421047* When a response stops on `max_tokens`, `model_context_window_exceeded`, or `stop_sequence` soon after a tool call or tool result, its last block can be a progress-update block standing in for the work the model hadn't finished. Under `"updates"` and `"summarized"` its text is exactly `This part of the response was interrupted before it finished.` and you can show it like any other update. Under `"omitted"` it's empty. To continue, pass the assistant turn back unchanged and append a new `user` message (with a `tool_result` for each `tool_use` block in that turn).
10431048* When [streaming](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#streaming-thinking), expect a pause of several seconds before a progress-update block opens. See the `"updates"` trace in [Streaming thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#streaming-thinking).
1044* These models write fewer progress updates at higher [effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) and in long tool chains. If your interface depends on them, see [Ask for user-facing progress updates](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-fable-5-1#ask-for-user-facing-progress-updates) or, for Claude Opus 5.5, [User-facing progress updates](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-opus-5-5#user-facing-progress-updates).
1049* These models write fewer progress updates at higher [effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) and in long tool chains. If your interface depends on them, see [Ask for user-facing progress updates](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-fable-5-1#ask-for-user-facing-progress-updates) or, for Claude Opus 5.5, [User-facing progress updates](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-opus-5-5#user-facing-progress-updates). For Claude Sonnet 5.5, see [User-facing progress updates](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/prompting-claude-sonnet-5-5#user-facing-progress-updates).
10451050
10461051### Thinking block preservation by model
10471052
from line 1062
10571062
10581063The tradeoff is context usage: long conversations consume more context space on keep-all models, because retained thinking blocks count as input like any other conversation history (see [Thinking and the context window](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#thinking-and-the-context-window)). The behavior is automatic in both regimes. No code changes or beta headers are required, and you should keep passing complete, unmodified thinking blocks back as described in [Preserving thinking blocks](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#preserving-thinking-blocks). To override the default in either direction, use [thinking block clearing](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/context-editing#thinking-block-clearing).
10591064
1060**Switching models mid-conversation.** Keep passing thinking blocks back unchanged when you switch models, for example after a [classifier refusal fallback](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/refusals-and-fallback). A thinking block is readable only by the model that produced it and certain other models, and the API ignores or drops the blocks the target model can't read. On Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1 the direction matters: they read every earlier model's thinking blocks and no earlier model reads theirs, so switching up to them keeps the conversation's reasoning and switching down drops it (see [how dropped blocks are billed and reported](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#switching-models)). Claude Opus 5.5 reads Claude Opus 5's thinking blocks and those of earlier Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku models, but not those of the Claude Fable and Claude Mythos models; on the Claude API, Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1 read Claude Opus 5.5's blocks. A switch from Claude Opus 5.5 up to Claude Fable 5.1 on the Claude API keeps the earlier turns' reasoning; a switch from Claude Fable 5.1 to Claude Opus 5.5 drops it. Strip prior `thinking` and `redacted_thinking` blocks yourself only to save input tokens on models that ignore rather than drop them, and never when redeeming a [fallback credit](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/fallback-credit), which requires the body unchanged.
1065**Switching models mid-conversation.** Keep passing thinking blocks back unchanged when you switch models, for example after a [classifier refusal fallback](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/refusals-and-fallback). A thinking block is readable only by the model that produced it and certain other models, and the API ignores or drops the blocks the target model can't read. On Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1 the direction matters: they read every earlier model's thinking blocks and no earlier model reads theirs, so switching up to them keeps the conversation's reasoning and switching down drops it (see [how dropped blocks are billed and reported](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#switching-models)). Claude Opus 5.5 reads Claude Opus 5's thinking blocks and those of earlier Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku models, but not those of the Claude Fable and Claude Mythos models; on the Claude API, Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1 read Claude Opus 5.5's blocks. A switch from Claude Opus 5.5 up to Claude Fable 5.1 on the Claude API keeps the earlier turns' reasoning; a switch from Claude Fable 5.1 to Claude Opus 5.5 drops it. Claude Sonnet 5.5 reads thinking blocks from Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Haiku 4.5, and earlier models, but not from Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 5.5, or any Claude Fable or Claude Mythos model. No other model reads its blocks, so a switch from Claude Sonnet 5.5 to any other model drops its reasoning. Strip prior `thinking` and `redacted_thinking` blocks yourself only to save input tokens on models that ignore rather than drop them, and never when redeeming a [fallback credit](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/fallback-credit), which requires the body unchanged.
10611066
10621067## Preserved thinking
10631068
from line 1071
10661071* **The model that produced it.** Each model reads its own thinking blocks and those of a fixed set of other models. Claude Fable 5.1 reads blocks from Claude Opus 5 and, on the Claude API, from Claude Opus 5.5; neither Claude Opus 5 nor Claude Opus 5.5 reads blocks from Claude Fable 5.1. The API drops a block the current model can't read, without an error and without billing it. See [Switching models mid-conversation](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#switching-models).
10671072* **Everything sent before it.** A block stays valid only while the top-level `system` prompt, the `tools`, and the messages before it are unchanged. If any of them changes, that block and every later thinking block are invalid, and the API rejects the request with a 400 error or drops the invalid blocks, whichever you choose. See [Keeping the prefix unchanged](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#prefix-check).
10681073
1074Claude Sonnet 5.5's thinking blocks are also tied to the account that produced them. See [Thinking blocks stay with the account that produced them](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#account-bound-thinking) for where the API enforces this.
1075
10691076The model check applies to every account. The API enforces the prefix check by default for accounts created on or after August 31, 2026, 00:00 UTC. On older accounts it enforces the check only on requests that set `thinking.block_binding.prefix_mismatch_behavior`. Make your integration append-only regardless of your account's age, so the same code works on every account, including newer accounts enforced by default.
10701077
10711078To keep thinking valid, send every assistant turn back exactly as you received it and add new messages only at the end of `messages`. If your code builds the `messages` array itself, the Preserved thinking page covers:
from line 1086
10791086
10801087[Prompt caching](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-caching) interacts with thinking in a few specific ways. The following rules apply in both thinking modes.
10811088
1082**Configuration changes invalidate caching.** The thinking configuration and the resolved [`effort`](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) level are rendered into the prompt itself, so changing any of them starts a new cache prefix. Switching between `adaptive`, `enabled`, and `disabled`, changing `budget_tokens`, and changing the effort value all invalidate cache breakpoints: message-level breakpoints always miss, and tool and system-prompt breakpoints can miss too, depending on where the model renders the configuration. Treat any thinking or top-level effort change as starting the cache over. On models that support [per-message effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort#change-effort-mid-conversation-beta), an effort change carried in a `role: "system"` message inside `messages` leaves the cached prefix intact. Consecutive requests that keep the same configuration preserve the cache, and setting a parameter explicitly to its default value is equivalent to omitting it. A thinking block the API drops under either [preserved-thinking condition](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#preserved-thinking) changes the cached prefix from that block's position onward. Blocks passed back unchanged keep the cache intact. A worked demonstration with usage output is on the [Steering thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-steering-and-cost#prompt-caching) page.
1089**Configuration changes invalidate caching.** The thinking configuration and the resolved [`effort`](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) level are rendered into the prompt itself, so changing any of them starts a new cache prefix. Switching between `adaptive`, `enabled`, and `disabled`, changing `budget_tokens`, and changing the effort value all invalidate cache breakpoints: message-level breakpoints always miss, and tool and system-prompt breakpoints can miss too, depending on where the model renders the configuration. Treat any thinking or top-level effort change as starting the cache over. On models that support [per-message effort](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort#change-effort-mid-conversation-beta), an effort change carried in a `role: "system"` message inside `messages` leaves the cached prefix intact. Consecutive requests that keep the same configuration preserve the cache, and setting a parameter explicitly to its default value is equivalent to omitting it. A thinking block the API drops under any [preserved-thinking condition](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#preserved-thinking) changes the cached prefix from that block's position onward. Blocks passed back unchanged keep the cache intact. A worked demonstration with usage output is on the [Steering thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-steering-and-cost#prompt-caching) page.
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10841091**Thinking blocks are cached with tool results.** During a tool-use loop, caching occurs when you make a follow-up request that includes tool results. At that point the previous conversation history, including its thinking blocks, can be cached, and those cached thinking blocks count as input tokens in your usage metrics when read from the cache. This occurs automatically, even without explicit `cache_control` markers, and behaves the same for regular and interleaved thinking. The tradeoff: thinking blocks you never see again in responses still contribute to input token usage when read from cache.
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11741181### Sampling parameters
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1176On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Mythos Preview, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, and Claude Sonnet 5, non-default `temperature`, `top_p`, or `top_k` values return a 400 error on every request, regardless of whether thinking is used. On older models, the restriction applies only while thinking is on: `temperature` and `top_k` are incompatible with thinking, and `top_p` is allowed at values between 0.95 and 1.
1183On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Mythos Preview, Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Sonnet 5.5, and Claude Sonnet 5, non-default `temperature`, `top_p`, or `top_k` values return a 400 error on every request, regardless of whether thinking is used. On older models, the restriction applies only while thinking is on: `temperature` and `top_k` are incompatible with thinking, and `top_p` is allowed at values between 0.95 and 1.
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11781185### Response prefill and forced tool use
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1180You can't prefill the assistant response while thinking is on. Forced tool use (`tool_choice: {"type": "any"}` or `{"type": "tool", ...}`) is incompatible with manual extended thinking but works with adaptive thinking. The exceptions are Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Fable 5.1, and Claude Mythos 5.1, which reject forced tool use on every request with a 400 error. On those models, use `tool_choice: {"type": "auto"}` with [strict tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/strict-tool-use) or [structured outputs](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/structured-outputs) instead. See [Thinking with tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#thinking-with-tool-use).
1187You can't prefill the assistant response while thinking is on. Forced tool use (`tool_choice: {"type": "any"}` or `{"type": "tool", ...}`) is incompatible with manual extended thinking but works with adaptive thinking. The exceptions are Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Fable 5.1, and Claude Mythos 5.1, which reject forced tool use on every request with a 400 error. On those models, use `tool_choice: {"type": "auto"}` with [strict tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/strict-tool-use) or [structured outputs](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/structured-outputs) instead. See [Thinking with tool use](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking#thinking-with-tool-use).
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11821189### Output limits
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11961203| Claude Opus 4.7 | 128K | 300K |
11971204| Claude Opus 4.6 | 128K | 300K |
11981205| Claude Opus 4.5 | 64K | Not available |
1206| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | 128K | 300K |
11991207| Claude Sonnet 5 | 128K | 300K |
12001208| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 128K | 300K |
12011209| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | 64K | Not available |