Follow Discord
Sweep 22 Oct 2026 · 04:32Z Build v2.1.308 527 read Stable v2.1.308 Latest v2.1.308 Next v2.1.308 Feeds RSS JSON llms.txt llms-full.txt Unofficial
HomeDocsClaude Developer Platform 7 Oct 2026
One change · api

working-with-messages changedbuild-with-claude/working-with-messages

Nearest release: v2.1.293, published an hour before this site recorded the change. Shown because the two are within 24 hours of each other. Nothing here says the release caused the edit.

Recorded here
Lines+1added
Lines−1removed
From line 323 where the diff opens
First seen 14 Aug 2026 this site's first read of the page
Recorded edits18to this page, all time

The whole hunk

from line 323, old and new numbered
/
lines
from line 323
323323 
324324### System role in messages
325325 
326On Claude Fable 5.1, [Claude Mythos 5.1](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/models/mythos-5-1/overview), Claude Fable 5, [Claude Mythos 5](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/models/mythos-5/overview), Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, and Claude Sonnet 5.5, you can include messages with `"role": "system"` after a user turn (subject to [placement rules](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#limitations)) to add a new system instruction partway through a conversation. A `system` message cannot be the first entry in `messages`. Use the top-level `system` field for instructions that apply from the start.
326On Claude Fable 5.1, [Claude Mythos 5.1](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/models/mythos-5-1/overview), Claude Fable 5, [Claude Mythos 5](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/models/mythos-5/overview), Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, and Claude Haiku 5.5, you can include messages with `"role": "system"` after a user turn (subject to [placement rules](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#limitations)) to add a new system instruction partway through a conversation. A `system` message cannot be the first entry in `messages`. Use the top-level `system` field for instructions that apply from the start.
327327 
328328A mid-conversation system message has the same authority as the top-level `system` field, but because it is appended to the end of the message history, it does not invalidate any cached prefix that came before it. Use the top-level `system` field for instructions that should apply from the very first turn, and a mid-conversation system message for instructions that only become relevant later.
329329 
Feedback