mid-conversation-system-messages changedbuild-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages
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1818 This feature is available on Claude Fable 5.1, [Claude Mythos 5.1](https://anthropic.com/glasswing), Claude Fable 5, [Claude Mythos 5](https://anthropic.com/glasswing), Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 4.8, and Claude Opus 5. No beta header is required for mid-conversation system messages. This feature is not available on Claude Sonnet 5. Use the top-level `system` field there instead.
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20 [Mid-conversation tool changes](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#mid-conversation-tool-changes) are in beta on the same models. On the Claude API, send the `inline-tools-2026-09-15` beta header, which also covers [defining a tool inside a `tool_addition` block](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#define-tools-in-a-message-beta). Defining a tool in a message is available on the Claude API only, and [adding an MCP server that way](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#add-an-mcp-server-mid-conversation-beta) needs the `mcp-client-2026-09-15` beta header as well. The older `mid-conversation-tool-changes-2026-07-01` header still works for changes that name a tool by reference, on the Claude API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud.
20 [Mid-conversation tool changes](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#mid-conversation-tool-changes) are in beta on the same models. On the Claude API, send the `inline-tools-2026-09-15` beta header, which also covers [defining a tool inside a `tool_addition` block](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#define-tools-in-a-message-beta). [Adding an MCP server that way](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#add-an-mcp-server-mid-conversation-beta) needs a second beta header, `mcp-client-2026-09-15`, which is available on the Claude API. The `mid-conversation-tool-changes-2026-07-01` header works for changes that name a tool by reference, on the Claude API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud.
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2222 [Turn-scoped system messages](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#turn-scoped-system-messages) (`clear_at`) are in beta and require the `mid-conversation-system-clear-at-2026-08-21` beta header, on the same models and platforms as mid-conversation system messages.
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2525## Mid-conversation tool changes
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27The `tools` array sits even earlier in the hashed request prefix than the top-level `system` field, so editing it invalidates the [prompt cache](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-caching) for the entire conversation. Mid-conversation tool changes are the tools counterpart to mid-conversation system messages. Instead of fixing the tool list for the lifetime of the conversation, you change which tools are offered to the model between turns: declare the full tool set in `tools` up front, then use `tool_addition` and `tool_removal` blocks to offer a tool to the model, or withdraw it, from a specific point in the conversation onward. The `tools` array itself never changes, so the cached prefix stays intact. Mid-conversation tool changes are in beta and use the `inline-tools-2026-09-15` beta header on the Claude API. On Amazon Bedrock and Google Cloud, use the older `mid-conversation-tool-changes-2026-07-01` header, which covers changes that name a tool by reference.
27The `tools` array sits even earlier in the hashed request prefix than the top-level `system` field, so editing it invalidates the [prompt cache](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/prompt-caching) for the entire conversation. Mid-conversation tool changes are the tools counterpart to mid-conversation system messages. Instead of fixing the tool list for the lifetime of the conversation, you change which tools are offered to the model between turns: declare the full tool set in `tools` up front, then use `tool_addition` and `tool_removal` blocks to offer a tool to the model, or withdraw it, from a specific point in the conversation onward. The `tools` array itself never changes, so the cached prefix stays intact. Mid-conversation tool changes are in beta and use the `inline-tools-2026-09-15` beta header on the Claude API.
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29`tool_addition` and `tool_removal` are content blocks in the `content` array of a `role: "system"` message, and they can be mixed with `text` blocks in the same message. The message follows the placement rules for any mid-conversation system message, with one extra restriction after a paused turn (see [Limitations](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#limitations)), and the change applies from that point in the conversation onward. Each block's `tool` field references a tool rather than defining one: `{"type": "tool_reference", "name": "..."}` names a tool declared in the request's `tools` array, and [MCP connector](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/mcp-connector) tools can be referenced individually with `mcp_tool_reference` (`server_name` and `name`) or as a whole toolset with `mcp_toolset_reference` (`server_name`). Referencing a name that is not declared in `tools` returns a 400 error (on the Claude API, with `error.details.error_code` set to `tool_reference_unresolved`). A `tool_addition` block can instead [carry the tool's full definition](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#define-tools-in-a-message-beta), which the older `mid-conversation-tool-changes-2026-07-01` header doesn't support.
29`tool_addition` and `tool_removal` are content blocks in the `content` array of a `role: "system"` message, and they can be mixed with `text` blocks in the same message. The message follows the placement rules for any mid-conversation system message, with one extra restriction after a paused turn (see [Limitations](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#limitations)), and the change applies from that point in the conversation onward. Each block's `tool` field references a tool rather than defining one: `{"type": "tool_reference", "name": "..."}` names a tool declared in the request's `tools` array, and [MCP connector](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/mcp-connector) tools can be referenced individually with `mcp_tool_reference` (`server_name` and `name`) or as a whole toolset with `mcp_toolset_reference` (`server_name`). Referencing a name that is not declared in `tools` returns a 400 error (on the Claude API, with `error.details.error_code` set to `tool_reference_unresolved`). A `tool_addition` block can instead [carry the tool's full definition](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/mid-conversation-system-messages#define-tools-in-a-message-beta), which the `mid-conversation-tool-changes-2026-07-01` header doesn't support.
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3131Every tool declared in `tools` is offered to the model from the start of the conversation unless it is declared with `defer_loading: true`, which keeps it withheld until a `tool_addition` block surfaces it. `tool_addition` also re-offers a tool that an earlier `tool_removal` withdrew.
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