claude-prompting-best-practices changedbuild-with-claude/prompt-engineering/claude-prompting-best-practices
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777If you are not using extended thinking, no changes are required. On Claude Opus 4.6 through Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Sonnet 4.6, thinking is off when you omit the `thinking` parameter. On Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Haiku 5.5, thinking is on by default when you omit the `thinking` parameter. On Claude Opus 5 and Claude Haiku 5.5, you can disable it only at effort `high` or lower. On Claude Sonnet 5.5, the lowest thinking setting is `between_tools`, accepted at effort `high` or lower. On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, and Claude Opus 5.5, thinking is always on, regardless of whether you set the `thinking` parameter.
777If you are not using extended thinking, you don't need to add a `thinking` parameter. On Claude Opus 4.6 through Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Sonnet 4.6, thinking is off when you omit the `thinking` parameter. On Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Haiku 5.5, thinking is on by default when you omit the `thinking` parameter, so a response can begin with `thinking` blocks. Select content blocks by `type` rather than by position, and leave room in `max_tokens` for thinking. On Claude Opus 5 and Claude Haiku 5.5, you can disable it only at effort `high` or lower. On Claude Sonnet 5.5, the lowest thinking setting is `between_tools`, accepted at effort `high` or lower. On Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, and Claude Opus 5.5, thinking is always on, regardless of whether you set the `thinking` parameter.
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779779* **Prefer general instructions over prescriptive steps.** A prompt like "think thoroughly" often produces better reasoning than a hand-written step-by-step plan. Claude's reasoning frequently exceeds what a human would prescribe.
780780* **Multishot examples work with thinking.** Worked examples in your prompt shape how Claude approaches similar problems in its own thinking blocks. Present each example as a problem, the method to apply, and the expected answer.
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107810783. **Request specific features explicitly:** Animations and interactive elements should be requested explicitly when desired.
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10804. **Update thinking configuration:** Claude 4.6 models use [adaptive thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking) (`thinking: {type: "adaptive"}`) instead of manual thinking with `budget_tokens`. Use the [effort parameter](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) to control thinking depth.
10804. **Update thinking configuration:** Claude 4.6 and later models use [adaptive thinking](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking) (`thinking: {type: "adaptive"}`) instead of manual thinking with `budget_tokens`. On Claude 4.7 and later models, setting `budget_tokens` returns a 400 error. Use the [effort parameter](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort) to control thinking depth.
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108210825. **Migrate away from prefilled responses:** Prefilled responses on the last assistant turn are no longer supported starting with Claude 4.6 models and Claude Mythos Preview. See [Migrating away from prefilled responses](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-engineering/claude-prompting-best-practices#migrating-away-from-prefilled-responses) for detailed guidance on alternatives.
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