Was Claude 4 deprecated?

Yes. Anthropic retired Claude 4 Opus and Claude Sonnet 4 on June 15, 2026. API calls using these model IDs now return errors. Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 are the direct replacements — same providers, updated model strings.

What is the best replacement for Claude 4 Opus?

Claude Opus 4.8 is the direct replacement at $5/$25 per million tokens (vs $15/$75 for Claude 4 Opus — a 67% cost reduction). For even cheaper alternatives, DeepSeek V4 Pro ($0.435/$0.87) and Gemini 2.5 Pro ($1.25/$10) offer strong performance at 80-95% less cost.

Will my code break after Claude 4 is deprecated?

Yes — any API calls using 'claude-4-opus' or 'claude-sonnet-4' as the model name return errors. You need to update the model string in your code. The rest of your integration (API key, SDK, endpoint) stays the same. The migration is a one-line change per model reference.

How much does it cost to migrate from Claude 4?

Migration is free — it's a code change, not a paid upgrade. You simply update the model string from 'claude-4-opus' to 'claude-opus-4-8' (or your chosen replacement). The real cost savings come from switching to a cheaper model: Claude Opus 4.8 saves 67% vs Claude 4 Opus, and alternatives like DeepSeek V4 Pro save 95%.

What happened to my existing Claude 4 API key?

Your Anthropic API key continues to work — you don't need a new key. The key works with all Anthropic models including the newer Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Sonnet 4.6. Just update the model string in your code and you're done.

Claude 4 Deprecated: Complete Migration Guide (June 2026)

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