whats-new-sonnet-5-5 changedmodels/sonnet-5-5/whats-new-sonnet-5-5
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4949### Thinking blocks are tied to the model and the conversation
5050
51Every thinking block records which model produced it. Each model reads its own blocks and only some other models’ blocks. Claude Sonnet 5.5 reads thinking blocks from Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Haiku 4.5, and earlier models, and, on the Claude API and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed), from Claude Haiku 5.5, but not from Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 5.5, or any Claude Fable or Claude Mythos model. On the Claude API and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed), Claude Opus 5.5 reads Claude Sonnet 5.5 thinking blocks; no other model does.
51Every thinking block records which model produced it. Each model reads its own blocks and only some other models’ blocks. Claude Sonnet 5.5 reads thinking blocks from Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Haiku 4.5, and earlier models. On the Claude API and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed), it also reads them from Claude Haiku 5.5. It doesn’t read them from Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 5.5, or any Claude Fable or Claude Mythos model. On the Claude API and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed), Claude Opus 5.5 reads Claude Sonnet 5.5 thinking blocks. No other model does.
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53So a conversation that moves from Claude Sonnet 5 onto Claude Sonnet 5.5, or from Claude Sonnet 5.5 up to Claude Opus 5.5 on the Claude API and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed), keeps its reasoning, and any other move away from Claude Sonnet 5.5 runs the turns after the switch without it. When a request carries a block the target model can’t read, the API drops it before the model sees it: the request succeeds, and dropped blocks aren’t billed. With the `thinking-binding-controls-2026-08-01` beta header, the drop is reported in a top-level `input_transformations` array. See [Switching models mid-conversation](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#switching-models).
53So a conversation keeps its reasoning when it moves from Claude Sonnet 5 onto Claude Sonnet 5.5, or from Claude Sonnet 5.5 up to Claude Opus 5.5 on the Claude API and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed). Any other move away from Claude Sonnet 5.5 runs the turns after the switch without it. When a request carries a block the target model can’t read, the API drops it before the model sees it: the request succeeds, and dropped blocks aren’t billed. With the `thinking-binding-controls-2026-08-01` beta header, the drop is reported in a top-level `input_transformations` array. See [Switching models mid-conversation](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/preserved-thinking#switching-models).
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5555The API also checks whether anything before a Claude Sonnet 5.5 thinking block has changed since the block was produced: the `system` prompt, the `tools`, or an earlier message. Keep the conversation append-only: change instructions or tools with [mid-conversation system messages](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages) rather than edits. A request that replays a block after such a change and leaves `thinking.block_binding.prefix_mismatch_behavior` unset gets a 400 error on accounts created on or after August 31, 2026, 00:00 UTC. This applies on the Claude API, Amazon Bedrock, and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed). On accounts created before that date, the request gets the error only when it sets the field to `"error"`. To drop the affected blocks instead, send the `thinking-binding-controls-2026-08-01` beta header and set the field to `"drop_block"`. `block_binding` works only with `thinking: {"type": "adaptive"}`. With any other thinking setting, you can’t send `block_binding`, so strip the block the error names and every later `thinking` and `redacted_thinking` block, then retry once.
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6868
6969### Some advisor tool pairings are not supported
7070
71With the [advisor tool](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/advisor-tool) (beta), a Claude Sonnet 5.5 executor needs Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Fable 5, Claude Opus 5.5, or Claude Opus 5 as its advisor, or Claude Sonnet 5.5 itself. Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Haiku 5.5 advisors work with a Claude Sonnet 5 executor, but with a Claude Sonnet 5.5 executor they return a 400 `invalid_request_error`. Every advisor that Claude Sonnet 5.5 accepts returns its advice encrypted, as an `advisor_redacted_result` block, so your client can’t read the advice text. See the advisor tool’s [Model compatibility](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/advisor-tool#model-compatibility) and [Result variants](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/advisor-tool#result-variants).
71With the [advisor tool](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/advisor-tool), which is in beta, a Claude Sonnet 5.5 executor needs Claude Mythos 5.1, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Fable 5, Claude Opus 5.5, or Claude Opus 5 as its advisor, or Claude Sonnet 5.5 itself. Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Haiku 5.5 advisors work with a Claude Sonnet 5 executor, but with a Claude Sonnet 5.5 executor they return a 400 `invalid_request_error`. Every advisor that Claude Sonnet 5.5 accepts returns its advice encrypted, as an `advisor_redacted_result` block, so your client can’t read the advice text. See the advisor tool’s [Model compatibility](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/advisor-tool#model-compatibility) and [Result variants](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/advisor-tool#result-variants).
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7373## Feature support
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