Claude Timeline: Model Release Dates and Version History

Claude is Anthropic’s family of AI assistants and large language models. The first public Claude release arrived on March 14, 2023, with Claude and Claude Instant available through a chat interface and API.

The most recent Claude model launch in this timeline is Claude Opus 5, released on July 24, 2026. Anthropic’s current model lineup also includes Claude Fable 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Haiku 4.5, and the restricted-access Claude Mythos 5.

This page prioritizes Claude versions and model release dates, then records the Claude products and ecosystem milestones that changed how people use Claude. These include Claude Code, Claude Tag, Claude Design, Claude Science, Claude Security, Claude Cowork, Skills, the Model Context Protocol, connectors, desktop apps, and managed agents.

Last Updated: August 1, 2026

Claude Timeline Quick Facts

Question	Answer
When was Claude first released?	March 14, 2023
When was Claude 2 released?	July 11, 2023
When did the Claude 3 family launch?	March 4, 2024
When was Claude Code introduced?	February 24, 2025, as a research preview
What is the latest Claude model release?	Claude Opus 5, released July 24, 2026
Which Claude models are in the current API lineup?	Claude Fable 5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Haiku 4.5
Which current Claude model has restricted access?	Claude Mythos 5

Claude Versions and Release Dates

Model or Product	Release Date	Key Highlight
Claude Opus 5	July 24, 2026	Opus model for complex agentic coding and enterprise work, with a 1M-token context window, 128K maximum output, and adaptive thinking enabled by default.
Claude Sonnet 5	June 30, 2026	Sonnet model for agentic coding, tool use, reasoning, knowledge work, and lower-cost agent workflows.
Claude Fable 5	June 9, 2026	Generally available Mythos-class model for long-running agents, coding, knowledge work, vision, and research workflows.
Claude Mythos 5	June 9, 2026	Restricted-access version of the same underlying model as Fable 5, deployed through approved trusted-access programs.
Claude Opus 4.8	May 28, 2026	Opus upgrade for coding, agentic tasks, professional work, and more reliable long-running collaboration.
Claude Opus 4.7	April 16, 2026	Opus upgrade for advanced software engineering, complex multi-step tasks, high-resolution vision, and professional work.
Claude Sonnet 4.6	February 17, 2026	Sonnet upgrade for coding, computer use, long-context reasoning, agent planning, knowledge work, and design.
Claude Opus 4.6	February 5, 2026	Opus upgrade with stronger planning, code review, debugging, long-running agent reliability, and 1M context in beta.
Claude Opus 4.5	November 24, 2025	High-intelligence Opus model for coding, agents, computer use, spreadsheets, and long-running chats.
Claude Haiku 4.5	October 15, 2025	Fast, lower-cost model in the Claude 4.5 generation.
Claude Sonnet 4.5	September 29, 2025	Sonnet model for agents, coding, and computer use.
Claude Opus 4.1	August 5, 2025	Opus 4 upgrade for coding precision and agentic tasks.
Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4	May 22, 2025	Claude 4 generation for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agent workflows.
Claude Code	February 24, 2025	Agentic coding tool released as a research preview with Claude 3.7 Sonnet.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet	February 24, 2025	Hybrid reasoning model with standard and extended thinking modes.
Claude 3.5 Haiku	November 4, 2024 (announced October 22)	Faster, lower-cost model in the Claude 3.5 family.
Upgraded Claude 3.5 Sonnet	October 22, 2024	Improved Claude 3.5 Sonnet with stronger coding and computer use in public beta.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet	June 21, 2024	First Claude 3.5 model, with stronger reasoning, coding, visual understanding, and Artifacts.
Claude 3 Haiku	March 13, 2024	Fast Claude 3 model for lower-latency enterprise and API workloads.
Claude 3	March 4, 2024	Model family with Claude 3 Haiku, Claude 3 Sonnet, and Claude 3 Opus.
Claude 2.1	November 21, 2023	200K context window, lower hallucination rates, system prompts, and early tool use.
Claude 2	July 11, 2023	Improved performance, longer responses, API access, and a public beta web experience.
Claude 1	March 14, 2023	First public Claude assistant from Anthropic.

Current Claude Model Lineup

Claude Fable 5 is the generally available Mythos-class model for long-running agents, difficult coding, knowledge work, vision, memory, and complex research workflows. It uses a 1M-token context window and adaptive thinking.

Claude Opus 5 is the most recent Claude model release. It targets complex agentic coding and enterprise work with a 1M-token context window, up to 128K output tokens, and adaptive thinking.

Claude Sonnet 5 combines faster responses with strong coding, tool use, reasoning, and knowledge-work performance. It serves as the practical default for many agent and production workflows.

Claude Haiku 4.5 is the fastest and least expensive model in the current comparison lineup. Claude Mythos 5 uses the same underlying model as Fable 5 but remains limited to approved trusted-access programs.

For current API prices and model-by-model costs, see the Claude API pricing comparison.

Claude Model Status and Retirement Dates

Release history and API availability are different questions. Older Claude models can remain important historical milestones after Anthropic deprecates or retires their API model IDs.

Model	Status	Retirement or Replacement Note
Claude Fable 5	Active	Current generally available Mythos-class model
Claude Opus 5	Active	Current Opus release
Claude Sonnet 5	Active	Current Sonnet release
Claude Haiku 4.5	Active	Current Haiku release
Claude Mythos 5	Limited availability	Restricted to approved trusted-access programs
Claude Opus 4.8	Active	Supported API model
Claude Opus 4.7	Active	Supported API model
Claude Opus 4.6	Active	Supported API model
Claude Sonnet 4.6	Active	Supported API model
Claude Opus 4.5	Active	Supported API model; not scheduled to retire before November 24, 2026
Claude Sonnet 4.5	Active	Supported API model; not scheduled to retire before September 29, 2026
Claude Opus 4.1	Deprecated	Scheduled to retire from the Claude API on August 5, 2026; recommended replacement: Opus 4.8
Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on June 15, 2026
Claude 3.7 Sonnet	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on February 19, 2026
Claude 3.5 Sonnet	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on October 28, 2025
Claude 3.5 Haiku	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on February 19, 2026
Claude 3 Opus	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on January 5, 2026
Claude 3 Sonnet	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on July 21, 2025
Claude 3 Haiku	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on April 20, 2026
Claude 2 and Claude 2.1	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on July 21, 2025
Claude 1 and Claude Instant	Retired	Retired from the Claude API on November 6, 2024

Claude Product and Ecosystem Timeline

The timeline below preserves the popular Claude product history behind the model releases. It includes major Anthropic/Claude products, platform features, developer tools, Claude Code milestones, Claude Cowork, integrations, and access changes.

Date	Milestone/Key Moment
July 2026	Anthropic released Claude Opus 5. The model is available on the Claude API and major cloud platforms at the same $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens as Opus 4.8. It adds a 1M-token context window, 128K output tokens, adaptive thinking by default, and a five-level effort setting.
July 2026	Voice mode now runs on Claude’s more capable models and reaches the tools you’ve connected mid-conversation.
July 2026	The Claude Security plugin for Claude Code is now available in beta. Scan your changes for vulnerabilities before you commit, or run a full scan across your codebase, all from your terminal on the Claude inference you already run.
July 2026	New in Claude Cowork: teach Claude a skill. Record your screen while you do a task, talk through it as you go, and Claude turns it into a skill it can run again. Find it under Record a skill in the + menu of the Claude desktop app. Available on Pro, Max, and Team plans.
July 2026	Anthropic announced Claude for K-12 teachers, a free, premium-tier AI platform tailored specifically for verified U.S. K-12 educators.
July 2026	Your monthly recap shows when you use Claude most and what you spent that time working on, with options to set quiet hours and nudges to take breaks. Find your dashboard in Settings under Reflect.
July 2026	Claude Cowork is coming to mobile and web.
June 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Sonnet 5, a Sonnet model for agentic coding, tool use, reasoning, knowledge work, and lower-cost agent workflows.
June 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Science, a beta AI workbench for scientific research on macOS, Linux, remote machines, and HPC environments.
June 2026	Claude in Microsoft Foundry is now generally available, hosted on Azure.
June 2026	Anthropic announced Claude Code, an always-on, persistent AI agent by Anthropic that acts as a shared team member inside Slack.
June 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5. Fable 5 became the newest generally available Claude model, while Mythos 5 launched for restricted trusted-access use.
May 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Opus 4.8, an Opus upgrade for coding, agentic tasks, professional work, and long-running collaboration.
May 2026	Claude Code introduced dynamic workflows in research preview. Claude can plan large tasks, run many parallel subagents, verify outputs, and report results back to the user.
May 2026	Claude added effort control in claude.ai and Cowork, which gives users a way to choose how much effort Claude puts into a response.
May 2026	The Messages API added support for system entries inside the messages array, so developers can update Claude’s instructions mid-task.
May 2026	Anthropic announced Claude for Small Business, a package of connectors and ready-to-run workflows for small business tasks.
May 2026	The Claude Platform on AWS became available. Claude also remained available on Amazon Bedrock, where AWS is the data processor. Claude Platform on AWS
May 2026	Agent View was added to Claude Code.
May 2026	Claude Security launched to scan codebases, validate findings, and suggest patches for review.
April 2026	Anthropic added connectors for creative work, including Blender, Autodesk, Adobe, Ableton, Splice, and more.
April 2026	Claude added connectors for everyday apps, including AllTrails, Instacart, Audible, TripAdvisor, Intuit TurboTax, and more. Claude connectors
April 2026	Claude for Word became available on Pro and Max plans.
April 2026	Anthropic announced Claude Design, an Anthropic Labs product for designs, prototypes, slides, one-pagers, and related visual work.
April 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Opus 4.7, an Opus upgrade for advanced software engineering, complex workflows, high-resolution vision, and professional work.
April 2026	Anthropic announced Routines in Claude Code, which can run on a schedule, from an API call, or in response to an event.
April 2026	Anthropic redesigned Claude Code on desktop with side-by-side sessions and a sidebar for session management.
April 2026	Anthropic announced an Advisor tool on the Claude Platform.
April 2026	Claude Cowork became generally available on paid plans.
April 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Managed Agents, a suite of APIs for building and deploying cloud-hosted agents.
March 2026	Anthropic introduced auto mode in Claude Code, a permissions mode where Claude makes permission decisions with safeguards.
March 2026	Claude gained the ability to use a computer to complete tasks.
March 2026	Claude added support for interactive charts, diagrams, and visualizations.
February 2026	Anthropic introduced Claude Sonnet 4.6, a broad upgrade across coding, computer use, long-context reasoning, agent planning, knowledge work, and design.
February 2026	Anthropic announced Claude Opus 4.6, with stronger planning, code review, debugging, long-running agent reliability, and 1M context in beta.
January 2026	Web connectors became available across Claude, Claude Desktop, and Claude Mobile for paid plans and some free-plan users.
January 2026	Anthropic introduced Cowork, a file-based work surface that gives Claude access to a chosen local folder.
January 2026	Anthropic announced Claude for Healthcare, a set of HIPAA-ready tools and resources for healthcare use cases.
November 2025	Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.5 for coding, agents, computer use, spreadsheets, and long-running chats.
October 2025	Claude for Excel entered beta as a research preview. Claude for Excel
October 2025	Claude Desktop became generally available. Claude Desktop
October 2025	Claude Code became available on the web for Pro and Max users. Claude Code on the web
October 2025	Claude Skills launched as packaged instructions, resources, and workflows for Claude. Claude Skills
October 2025	Anthropic released Claude Haiku 4.5 on October 15, 2025, as a fast, lower-cost model in the Claude 4.5 generation.
September 2025	Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 4.5 for agents, coding, and computer use.
September 2025	Claude added memory for Team and Enterprise users and incognito chats for all users. Claude memory
September 2025	Claude added file creation and editing. File creation and editing
August 2025	Claude Code added new admin controls for business plans. Claude Code on Team and Enterprise
August 2025	Claude Sonnet 4 added support for a 1M token context window. 1M context
August 2025	Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.1 as an upgrade for coding and agentic tasks. Claude Opus 4.1
July 2025	Claude added the ability to draft and send emails, messages, and calendar invites from the Claude app.
July 2025	Claude Code added subagents for specialized assistants inside Claude Code. Claude Code subagents
June 2025	Local MCP servers gained one-click installation on Claude Desktop.
June 2025	Claude gained the ability to build, host, and share interactive AI-powered apps inside Claude. Claude-powered Artifacts
June 2025	Claude Code added support for remote MCP servers.
June 2025	Projects on Claude added support for 10 times more content.
June 2025	Claude Code became available as part of the Pro plan.
May 2025	Web search became available to all Claude users.
May 2025	Anthropic began rolling out voice mode in beta on mobile.
May 2025	Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agent workflows.
May 2025	Research became available on mobile.
May 2025	Anthropic announced the Web Search API for developers. Web Search API
May 2025	Anthropic announced Integrations and expanded Research. Claude Integrations
April 2025	Anthropic introduced Research and a Google Workspace integration for Claude. Claude Research
April 2025	Anthropic introduced the Max plan for heavier Claude usage. Claude Max plan
April 2025	Anthropic released Claude for Education.
March 2025	Claude added web search. Claude web search
February 2025	Anthropic introduced Claude Code in limited research preview. Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code
February 2025	Anthropic announced Claude 3.7 Sonnet, a hybrid reasoning model. Claude 3.7 Sonnet
November 2024	Anthropic introduced Styles for Claude. Claude Styles
November 2024	Anthropic introduced the Model Context Protocol. Model Context Protocol
November 2024	Claude added prompt improvement and example management in the Anthropic Console. Prompt improver
November 2024	Claude 3.5 Haiku became available on the Anthropic API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud Vertex AI.
October 2024	Anthropic released Claude for Desktop. Claude Desktop
October 2024	Anthropic introduced the analysis tool in Claude.ai. Analysis tool
October 2024	Anthropic announced an upgraded Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3.5 Haiku, and computer use in public beta. Claude 3.5 models and computer use
October 2024	Anthropic launched the Message Batches API. Message Batches API
August 2024	Artifacts became generally available. Artifacts
August 2024	Anthropic published system prompts for Claude models. Claude system prompts
August 2024	Anthropic announced prompt caching on the Claude API. Prompt caching
July 2024	Anthropic released the Claude Android app. Claude Android app
June 2024	Claude 3.5 Sonnet launched as the first Claude 3.5 model. Claude 3.5 Sonnet
May 2024	Tool use became generally available across the Claude 3 model family on the Anthropic Messages API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud Vertex AI. Tool use GA
March 2024	Anthropic launched the Claude 3 family with Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus. Claude 3 family
November 2023	Anthropic introduced Claude 2.1 with a 200K token context window, lower hallucination rates, system prompts, and early tool use. Claude 2.1
September 2023	Anthropic introduced Claude Pro for the Claude.ai chat experience. Claude Pro
August 2023	Anthropic introduced Claude Instant 1.2. Claude Instant 1.2
July 2023	Anthropic introduced Claude 2. Claude 2
May 2023	Claude’s context window expanded from 9K tokens to 100K tokens. 100K context windows
March 2023	Anthropic introduced Claude. Introducing Claude

Claude Code Milestones

Date	Claude Code Milestone
February 24, 2025	Claude Code launched in limited research preview with Claude 3.7 Sonnet.
June 2025	Claude Code gained remote MCP server support and became available through the Claude Pro plan.
July 2025	Subagents added specialized assistants inside Claude Code.
August 2025	Team and Enterprise administration controls expanded business deployment.
October 2025	Claude Code became available on the web for Pro and Max users.
March 2026	Auto mode introduced safeguarded permission decisions for longer-running tasks.
April 2026	Routines added scheduled, API-triggered, and event-triggered Claude Code work.
May 2026	Dynamic workflows introduced large task planning, parallel subagents, output verification, and long-running execution.
June 23, 2026	Claude Tag extended the Claude Code model into persistent, team-based Slack collaboration.
July 2026	Claude Security added codebase vulnerability scanning and patch suggestions within Claude Code workflows.

See the complete Claude Code timeline for release-by-release coverage. Developers can also use the Claude Code resource list, Claude Code commands cheat sheet, Agent Skills collection, AI CLI resources, and coding agent resources.

Claude Generations Explained

Claude 1 established Anthropic’s public assistant experience in 2023. It focused on conversation, writing, summarization, Q&A, coding, and text processing.

Claude 2 expanded the model’s practical use with longer responses, stronger reasoning, better coding performance, API access, and a larger context window. Claude 2.1 then moved the product toward enterprise workflows with a 200K context window, system prompts, and early tool use.

Claude 3 introduced a clear model family: Haiku for speed, Sonnet for balanced performance, and Opus for the most demanding tasks. This generation also brought stronger vision capabilities and better accuracy.

Claude 3.5 improved the Sonnet and Haiku lines. Claude 3.5 Sonnet became a major model for coding, reasoning, visual tasks, Artifacts, and computer use. Claude 3.5 Haiku added a faster option for lower-cost workloads.

Claude 3.7 Sonnet introduced hybrid reasoning. It gave Claude a standard response mode and an extended thinking mode for tasks that benefit from deeper reasoning.

Claude 4 moved Claude deeper into coding, agents, advanced reasoning, and tool-based work. Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 became the foundation for later 4.x model upgrades.

Claude 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8 refined Claude for real work across software engineering, long-running agents, computer use, design, spreadsheets, file work, and professional analysis.

Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Fable 5, and Claude Mythos 5 expanded the 2026 Claude lineup. Opus 5 became the newest general-availability model for complex agentic and enterprise work; Sonnet 5 improved agentic performance at lower cost; Fable 5 brought Mythos-class capability to general use with safeguards; and Mythos 5 remained restricted to approved programs and trusted-access use.

Claude Model Names: Haiku, Sonnet, Opus, Fable, and Mythos

Claude Model Line	What It Means	Typical Role
Haiku	Smallest named Claude model line in recent families.	Fast responses, high-volume tasks, lower-cost workflows.
Sonnet	Middle Claude model line.	Balanced coding, reasoning, writing, agents, and knowledge work.
Opus	Top mainstream Claude model line before Fable and Mythos.	Hard coding tasks, agentic work, long-running workflows, and professional analysis.
Fable	Generally available Mythos-class model line.	Complex long-horizon tasks with safeguards for general use.
Mythos	Restricted Mythos-class model line.	Approved cyberdefense, research, and trusted-access programs.

Major Claude Product Milestones

Claude’s product history extends beyond model launches. The major product lines below changed where Claude runs, what it can access, and how much work users can delegate.

Claude Code brought Claude into terminals, repositories, development environments, and long-running software tasks. Its later milestones include MCP support, subagents, web access, routines, dynamic workflows, security scanning, and Claude Tag. The Claude Code timeline provides the full product history.

Claude Desktop, Claude for Excel, Claude for Word, Claude Cowork, and connectors expanded Claude into local files, documents, spreadsheets, business systems, and repeatable work. Claude Cowork added a file-based work surface for delegated tasks.

Claude Design introduced a visual work surface for prototypes, slides, one-pagers, design systems, and handoff to Claude Code. Claude Science introduced a dedicated research workbench. Claude Security added codebase scanning and patch suggestions for security work.

Skills, the Model Context Protocol, Managed Agents, Routines, and dynamic workflows form the core of Claude’s agent ecosystem. The Model Context Protocol directory covers MCP servers, while the Agent Skills collection covers reusable instructions and workflows.

Claude Tag extended Claude into shared Slack channels as a persistent team agent. It connects to selected tools, data, and codebases, builds channel-specific context, and completes delegated tasks for teams.

How Claude Changed Over Time

Claude’s early releases focused on safer chat, longer context, and general assistant tasks. The middle period focused on model families, better accuracy, vision, tool use, and stronger coding. The recent releases focus on agents, computer use, long-context workflows, enterprise integrations, and product-specific assistants.

The clearest trend is that Claude has moved from single-turn chat toward delegated work. Newer Claude releases handle tasks that involve files, tools, codebases, apps, images, documents, connectors, safeguards, and long-running plans.

Claude Timeline Changelog

Update	What Changed
August 1, 2026	Added current model status, retirement dates, Claude Code milestones, and stronger internal links.
July 24, 2026	Added Claude Opus 5.
June 30, 2026	Added Claude Sonnet 5 and the restoration of Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access.
June 23, 2026	Added Claude Tag.
June 9, 2026	Added Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5.
May 28, 2026	Added Claude Opus 4.8 and dynamic workflows.
April 17, 2026	Added Claude Design.

FAQs

Q: When did Claude first come out?

A: Claude first came out on March 14, 2023. Anthropic introduced Claude and Claude Instant through a chat interface and API.

Q: What is the latest Claude model release?

A: Claude Opus 5 is the most recent Claude model release in this timeline. Anthropic released it on July 24, 2026.

Q: What are the current Claude models?

A: The current comparison lineup includes Claude Fable 5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Haiku 4.5. Claude Mythos 5 has restricted availability through approved trusted-access programs.

Q: What are the Claude versions in order?

A: The main generations are Claude 1, Claude 2 and 2.1, Claude 3, Claude 3.5, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Claude 4 and its 4.x updates, followed by Claude Fable 5, Claude Mythos 5, Claude Sonnet 5, and Claude Opus 5.

Q: When did Claude Code come out?

A: Claude Code came out on February 24, 2025, as a limited research preview with Claude 3.7 Sonnet. It later added MCP support, subagents, web access, routines, dynamic workflows, and Claude Tag.

Q: What is Claude Tag?

A: Claude Tag is a persistent team agent that starts in Slack. Teams can connect it to selected channels, tools, data, and codebases, then delegate tasks by tagging @Claude.

Q: What is Claude Design?

A: Claude Design is a visual work surface for designs, prototypes, slides, one-pagers, and related creative work. Anthropic launched it in research preview on April 17, 2026.

Q: What is the difference between Claude Haiku, Sonnet, Opus, Fable, and Mythos?

A: Haiku prioritizes speed and cost. Sonnet balances speed and intelligence. Opus targets complex agentic and professional work. Fable is the generally available Mythos-class line, while Mythos remains restricted to approved trusted-access programs.

Q: Which Claude models are retired?

A: Retired API models include Claude 1 and Instant, Claude 2 and 2.1, Claude 3 Sonnet and Opus, Claude 3 Haiku, Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Haiku, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and the original Claude 4 Opus and Sonnet model IDs. The status table above lists the main retirement dates.

Q: Is there a fixed release date for the next Claude model?

A: Anthropic has not published a fixed schedule for the next Claude model. This page records confirmed releases rather than predictions or rumors.

Q: Does this timeline include Claude product updates?

A: Yes. The page includes major Claude model launches and named product milestones such as Claude Code, Claude Tag, Claude Design, Claude Science, Claude Security, Claude Cowork, Skills, MCP, Desktop, Artifacts, connectors, and Managed Agents.