Evidence record / claude-code
A dated record of one change, kept so the writing that cites it can be checked. Compiled from the sources listed below by the research run, not written for reading. The judgment lives in the signals and issues that cite it, below.
2026-07-01-claude-code-v2-1-197-claude-sonnet-5-becomes-the-default-model-in-cl
v2.1.197: Claude Sonnet 5 becomes the default model in Claude Code, with native 1M-token context and promotional pricing of $2/$10 per Mtok through 2026-08-31 (then $3/$15). (channel: tagged-release, 2026-06-30). Operator consequence: Default model silently changes on upgrade. Operators must re-audit: cost accounting (new $2/$10 promo rate, reverting to $3/$15 on 2026-08-31), context-window assumptions (1M native, 128k max output), and any evals/capability profiles pinned to Sonnet 4.6. If you pin models via org config or ANTHROPIC_MODEL, confirm whether Sonnet 5 is allowed/desired before rollout. Full receipted detail lives in harvest/watchlist.md.
Receipt
Finding metadata
Run: 2026-07-01-weekly-digest-2026-06-24_2026-07-01-frontier-v0
Finding ID: 2026-07-01-claude-code-v2-1-197-claude-sonnet-5-becomes-the-default-model-in-cl
Accepted signals
Source links
Primary links, including exact changelog lines when available.
Versioned source: run artifact