[DOCS] Outdated model references in documentation code examples

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

Multiple pages across both platform.claude.com and code.claude.com documentation.

Section/Topic

Code examples throughout tutorials and guides that reference older model versions instead of the latest Claude 4.5 family.

Current Documentation

Code Examples Using Outdated Models

Claude Code Documentation (code.claude.com)

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/github-actions
Line 591: claude-sonnet-4@20250514
Context: YAML configuration example

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/google-vertex-ai
Line 79: VERTEX_REGION_CLAUDE_4_0_OPUS
Context: Bash environment variable example

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks
Line 776: "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
Context: JSON example showing session input

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings
Line 836: VERTEX_REGION_CLAUDE_4_0_OPUS
Context: Environment variables documentation table

Platform Documentation (platform.claude.com)

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/use-case-guides/content-moderation
Lines 149, 232, 344, 430: claude-3-haiku-20240307
Context: Python code examples (4 occurrences)

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/extended-thinking
Lines 145, 317, 564, 708, 739, 1452, 1466, 1482+: Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_0
Context: Java SDK examples (12+ occurrences)

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/text-editor-tool
Lines 133, 527, 734, 899: Model.CLAUDE_SONNET_4_0
Context: Java SDK examples

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/overview
Lines 152, 423, 626, 851, 1031: Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_0
Context: Java SDK examples

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/batch-processing
Lines 207, 215, 848, 865: Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_0
Context: Java SDK examples

Prose References (Lower Priority)

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/use-case-guides/content-moderation
Lines 87, 100: "Claude Haiku 3"
Context: Model recommendation text

https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/use-case-guides/legal-summarization
Line 97: "Claude Haiku 3 estimated cost"
Context: Cost estimation section

What's Wrong or Missing?

The documentation code examples reference outdated model versions:

• claude-sonnet-4-20250514 / claude-sonnet-4@20250514 should be claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 or claude-sonnet-4-5
• claude-3-haiku-20240307 should be claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 or claude-haiku-4-5
• Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_0 should be Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_5 or Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_5_20251101
• Model.CLAUDE_SONNET_4_0 should be Model.CLAUDE_SONNET_4_5 or Model.CLAUDE_SONNET_4_5_LATEST
• VERTEX_REGION_CLAUDE_4_0_OPUS may need updating for 4.5 models

Developers copying these code examples will be using older models instead of the latest versions.

Latest Model Names (for reference)

claude-opus-4-5-20251101 / claude-opus-4-5
claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 / claude-sonnet-4-5
claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 / claude-haiku-4-5

Suggested Improvement

Update all code examples to use the latest model versions:

Python examples:

# Before
model="claude-3-haiku-20240307"

# After
model="claude-haiku-4-5"

Java SDK examples:

// Before
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_0)
.model(Model.CLAUDE_SONNET_4_0)

// After
.model(Model.CLAUDE_OPUS_4_5)
.model(Model.CLAUDE_SONNET_4_5)

YAML/Config examples:

# Before
claude_args: '--model claude-sonnet-4@20250514'

# After
claude_args: '--model claude-sonnet-4-5@20250929'

Prose updates:

• Replace "Claude Haiku 3" with "Claude Haiku 4.5" in model recommendations

Impact

High - Prevents users from using a feature

Additional Context

Impact

High - Code examples are directly copied by developers. Using outdated models means:

1. Developers won't benefit from latest model improvements
2. Code may reference deprecated models
3. Inconsistency between "latest" documentation and actual code samples

Files with SDK enum definitions (NOT issues)

API reference files like /api/java/beta.md and /api/ruby/beta.md correctly list all valid model enum values including older versions. These are SDK type documentation, not code examples to copy.