Fixed-version conversational model for code reasoning and image-text analysis
The Claude Sonnet 4 date-fixed version is Anthropic's general-purpose conversational model, balancing text reasoning and visual understanding. It is suitable for code analysis, material organization, and screenshot interpretation. claude-sonnet-4-20250514 explicitly specifies this version, making it easier to maintain existing applications and testing baselines. Applications can be integrated using the public request format in this page's API section.
Choose an available protocol for this model. OpenAI SDK uses a Base URL ending in /v1; Anthropic SDK uses the root URL. See each guide for protocol-specific parameters, tools and response formats.
Specifications and interface features
Clarify capacity, input/output, and invocation methods before choosing a model.
Version positioning
Claude Sonnet 4, date-fixed ID: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
Native standard context
200k tokens
Input methods
Text, images, and mixed image-text messages
Main outputs
Text responses, code content, and analytical explanations
Message-based invocation
/v1/chat/completions;model + messages
Response methods
Refer to the corresponding API documentation for standard responses and streaming interactions
200K is Sonnet 4's publicly available native standard context. Applications organize relevant history in messages, and handle images and streaming returns according to the selected protocol; actual requests must still meet platform limitations.
Core capabilities
Learn what claude-sonnet-4-20250514 can bring to your work.
Break complex problems into reviewable conclusions
For text tasks involving multiple conditions, Sonnet 4 can organize responses by “conditions, assessment, and conclusions.” It is well suited to organizing requirements, explaining solutions, and analyzing code logic. Clearly requesting assumptions and items requiring confirmation helps turn recommendations into reviewable work materials rather than merely receiving a general response.
Understand issues using screenshots and text
Submit interface screenshots, charts, or document images together with questions to interpret their visible content. For example, identify anomalies in a form, explain chart trends, or turn a screenshot into a text checklist. Images provide the subject of observation, while text defines the task and evaluation criteria; the final output remains primarily text-based analysis.
Organize continuous conversations according to application needs
Existing Sonnet 4 applications can continue to maintain configurations and testing baselines by precise version. Chat Completions can retain OpenAI-style messages; Messages uses native system prompts and content blocks. When migrating protocols, check system prompts, tool returns, and response parsing rather than only changing the URL.
Applicable Scenarios
Start with specific tasks to find where the model can be effective.
Code Review and Repair Plans
Provide relevant code, error messages, and expected behavior, and have the model first explain the failure path before offering modification suggestions and a testing checklist. Deliverables can include code snippets, issue descriptions, and regression check items. Suitable for assisting developers with reviews; whether a repair succeeds should still be confirmed by actual execution and test results.
Organizing Chart and Interface Issues
Provide business charts or product screenshots, specify the metrics, controls, or anomalous areas that need attention, and have the model produce an observation checklist and explanations. Suitable for turning visual materials into discussion drafts, ticket descriptions, or initial report drafts. For small text, crop key areas first to reduce interference from irrelevant parts of the image.
Ongoing Q&A Around Materials
Use product specifications, research notes, or report excerpts as discussion materials, answer specified questions first, then compare different explanations based on feedback. Attach supporting evidence to each conclusion, and list items requiring confirmation when facts are missing; this type of continuous Q&A is suitable for knowledge assistants and also helps maintain an application's original answer baseline.
How to Choose This Model
Choose based on task complexity, input materials, and expected results.
Choose the Fixed Version When Continuing an Existing Project
If an application has already established prompt templates, test samples, and output review processes around Sonnet 4, this date ID can be used to clearly identify the original version and is not equivalent to Sonnet 4.5 or 4.6. Anthropic retired this version from the Claude API on June 15, 2026; this platform's two entry points still explicitly list this ID, but being listed in the catalog does not constitute a commitment to continued availability. Existing projects should retain regression tests and prepare a migration plan; a fixed version also does not mean that the same question will generate exactly identical wording every time.
For New Projects and Very Long Materials, Compare Newer Versions First
Sonnet 4 has a public standard context of 200k tokens, so tasks should not be designed around million-scale context. Sonnet 4.6 natively supports 1M context, making it a candidate for tasks involving very long materials. New projects should compare results using their own code, images, and document samples rather than directly applying newer-version specifications to this date version.
Start with a specific task
Based on the characteristics of claude-sonnet-4-20250514, first validate small tasks whose results can be checked.
01
Maintain a fixed-version programming workflow
You can ask directly: Compare this interface implementation against the specification item by item, and list behavioral inconsistencies, error-handling gaps, and testing recommendations. Review only the given version, without introducing assumptions about newer API versions.
02
Prepare inputs that support judgment
Specify the code version and protocol version; when maintaining compatibility, check current platform access and actual returned results.
03
Then integrate it into your workflow
Use the full model ID claude-sonnet-4-20250514, first confirm the public request format and available parameters on the API page, then connect the application. Preserve result parsing, exception handling, and relevant evidence, and evaluate whether it is suitable for continued use with the same set of real samples.
Usage boundaries
Before formal use, understand the range of output quality and capabilities.
Visual understanding depends on recognizable information in the input image. Blurry text, dense tables, or obscured interfaces may cause omissions; clear screenshots or textual supplements should be provided for key values and fields, and a single image analysis should not be treated as an exact data-entry result.
Reasoning capability does not mean that all entry points provide the same level of thinking control. Do not directly treat reasoning_effort as a native thinking budget, and do not rely on every response returning thinking content; product workflows should be based on final answers and actual events.
Code suggestions, function-call requests, and actual execution are separate steps. Code provided by the model does not mean tests have already been run, and output tool parameters do not mean a write operation has already been completed; when connecting external tools, authorization boundaries should be set and execution results verified.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions when using claude-sonnet-4-20250514.
Will this date ID automatically upgrade to Sonnet 4.6?
No. claude-sonnet-4-20250514 specifies the Claude Sonnet 4 dated version and is used separately from Sonnet 4.5 and 4.6. When changing versions, retest prompt templates, image-and-text tasks, and output formats; do not assume behavior is exactly the same just by changing the model name.
Can I put screenshots and questions in the same message?
Yes. Chat Completions content can combine text and image_url blocks, and messages in the conversation endpoint can also combine text and images. Clearly specify the area of focus and the desired deliverable in the text, for example, ask for a list of anomalous fields rather than simply asking, “How is this image?”
Is it suitable for analyzing PDFs?
Prepare document text, table data, or clear page screenshots relevant to the question, and specify whether you need a summary, comparison, or extraction of particular information. Submit content in formats supported by the selected public API; a PDF URL cannot be used as image_url. Require results to retain original locations, field evidence, and unconfirmed items, and verify critical numbers against the source material.
How can I make Sonnet 4 remember earlier discussions?
Include user and assistant messages relevant to the current task in Messages or Chat Completions messages, using the format required by the selected public API. Retain the latest code, interim conclusions, and important constraints; when necessary, summarize long histories again to avoid relying on outdated information.
Can it process a million tokens of material at once?
You should not plan Sonnet 4 tasks around that capacity. Its public standard context is 200k tokens, and the historical million-token Beta should not be used as a basis for application design. For large-scale material, extract it in segments first and then consolidate the answers; if truly long context is needed, compare related versions such as Sonnet 4.6.