# History of Claude, 2023 to 2026 Every Claude model release and major product milestone, checked against Anthropic's announcements and release notes. ## 2023 - **2023-03-14 · Claude and Claude Instant** (model). Anthropic's first public models, offered to businesses through the API in a full and a fast version. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/introducing-claude) - **2023-05-11 · 100K context window** (product). Context grew from 9K to 100K tokens, so Claude could read hundreds of pages at once. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/100k-context-windows) - **2023-07-11 · Claude 2 and claude.ai** (model). A better model and the claude.ai chat site, launched as a public beta in the US and UK. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-2) - **2023-11-21 · Claude 2.1** (model). A 200K-token context, fewer false statements, and early tool use and system prompts. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-2-1) ## 2024 - **2024-03-04 · Claude 3 Opus and Sonnet** (model). The first tiered family, so buyers could trade price against capability. Claude could now read images. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-family) - **2024-03-13 · Claude 3 Haiku** (model). A fast, low-cost model for high-volume jobs like classification and support. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-haiku) - **2024-06-20 · Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Artifacts** (model). A mid-priced model that beat Claude 3 Opus, plus Artifacts for documents and code beside the chat. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-5-sonnet) - **2024-06-25 · Projects** (product). Group chats with shared documents and instructions, so a team stops re-explaining itself. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/projects) - **2024-10-22 · Claude 3.5 Sonnet upgrade and computer use** (model). Big coding gains at the same price, and a beta that let Claude operate a computer screen. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/3-5-models-and-computer-use) - **2024-11-25 · Model Context Protocol (MCP)** (product). An open standard for connecting Claude to company tools and data. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocol) ## 2025 - **2025-02-24 · Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code preview** (model). The first hybrid reasoning model, plus a preview of Claude Code for coding in the terminal. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-7-sonnet) - **2025-03-20 · Web search** (product). Claude could search the web and cite its sources. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/web-search) - **2025-05-22 · Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, Claude Code GA** (model). Models built for long agentic work, and Claude Code became generally available. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4) - **2025-08-05 · Claude Opus 4.1** (model). An Opus upgrade focused on coding and agentic tasks. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2025-08-26 · Claude in Chrome** (product). An extension that lets Claude act in your browser, opened to all paid plans that December. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-for-chrome) - **2025-09-11 · Memory** (product). Claude began remembering work context across chats. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2025-09-29 · Claude Sonnet 4.5** (model). A stronger coding and agent model at Sonnet pricing. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2025-10-15 · Claude Haiku 4.5** (model). Near-frontier coding at low cost, for high-volume work. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2025-10-16 · Agent Skills** (product). Package repeatable workflows and company know-how as skills Claude loads when needed. [Source](https://claude.com/blog/skills) - **2025-11-24 · Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude in Excel** (model). The top Opus at a lower price, plus a beta add-in that puts Claude inside Excel. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) ## 2026 - **2026-01-12 · Claude Cowork** (product). A desktop agent for knowledge work on your own files, generally available in April. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2026-02-05 · Claude Opus 4.6** (model). An Opus upgrade that also came to Claude in Excel and PowerPoint. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-6) - **2026-02-17 · Claude Sonnet 4.6** (model). An updated mid-tier model for everyday business and coding work. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2026-04-07 · Claude Mythos Preview** (model). A restricted model shared only with security partners to find and fix software flaws. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/glasswing) - **2026-04-16 · Claude Opus 4.7** (model). An Opus upgrade with a new tokenizer. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2026-04-17 · Claude Design** (product). A tool for making visual designs and prototypes with Claude. [Source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) - **2026-05-28 · Claude Opus 4.8** (model). A modest upgrade over Opus 4.7. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-8) - **2026-06-09 · Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5** (model). Fable 5 brought Mythos-class capability to general use. Mythos 5 stayed restricted to vetted partners. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5) - **2026-06-30 · Claude Sonnet 5** (model). Close to Opus 4.8 performance at Sonnet prices, and the default on Free and Pro. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-5) - **2026-07-24 · Claude Opus 5** (model). Near Fable 5 capability at half the price. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-5) - **2026-09-01 · Claude Fable 5.1 and Mythos 5.1** (model). Fable 5.1 on all platforms. Mythos 5.1 only for verified organizations. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-fable-and-mythos-5-1) - **2026-09-22 · Claude Opus 5.5** (model). Anthropic's recommended default model for most work. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news) - **2026-09-28 · Claude Sonnet 5.5** (model). The best balance of speed and intelligence in the current lineup. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news) - **2026-10-07 · Claude Haiku 5.5** (model). The fastest current model, for classification, extraction and routing. [Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news) ## Questions ### When was Claude first released? Anthropic released Claude and Claude Instant on March 14, 2023, through its API for businesses. The claude.ai chat site followed with Claude 2 on July 11, 2023, as a public beta in the US and UK. ### What is the latest Claude model? As of October 2026, the newest releases are Claude Haiku 5.5 (October 7, 2026), Sonnet 5.5 (September 28, 2026) and Opus 5.5 (September 22, 2026), alongside Fable 5.1 and the restricted Mythos 5.1 from September 1, 2026. ### When did Claude Code come out? Claude Code launched as a limited preview alongside Claude 3.7 Sonnet on February 24, 2025, and became generally available with Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 on May 22, 2025. ### What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)? MCP is an open standard Anthropic introduced on November 25, 2024, for connecting Claude and other AI tools to company systems and data. Claude connectors to services like Google Drive, Slack and HubSpot are built on it. --- Get My Claude Coach is independent and not affiliated with Anthropic, PBC. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC. Updated 2026-10-18. Contact: hello@clustr.cc.