Claude Code update: Sonnet 5 becomes the default, dynamic workflows roll out

Anthropic has shipped a wave of updates to Claude Code, its command-line and IDE-integrated coding agent. Here’s what changed:

• Claude Sonnet 5 is now the default model in Claude Code, bringing a native 1M-token context window. Introductory pricing of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens runs through August 31, 2026 (shipped in v2.1.197).
• Dynamic workflows are now on by default for Max and Team plan users, as well as API users. You can ask Claude to build a multi-agent workflow directly, or enable the Claude Code-specific ultracode setting to opt in.
• Claude in Chrome has reached general availability, letting Claude Code interact with the browser directly as part of agent workflows.
• Agent sessions now support background notifications: sessions that need input or that finish will fire agent_needs_input / agent_completed hooks, useful for long-running unattended tasks.
• A new /dataviz skill was added, giving Claude Code built-in design guidance for building charts and dashboards.
• Reliability got a boost: a streaming idle watchdog is now on by default across all providers, automatically aborting and retrying a request if the response stream stalls for 5+ minutes.
• Draft PR handoff and improved failover round out the update, making longer agent-driven coding sessions more resilient.
• On the enterprise side, a new Claude Apps Gateway for Amazon Bedrock and Google Cloud gives organizations a self-hosted control plane for Claude Code, with SSO, centrally enforced policy, role-based access, and per-user cost tracking.
• Org-level model restrictions can now be enforced across the model picker, --model, /model, and the ANTHROPIC_MODEL environment variable, showing a clear “restricted by your organization’s settings” message when applicable.

Why it matters: the combination of a stronger default model, workflow automation, and enterprise controls signals that Anthropic is positioning Claude Code as a serious platform for both individual developers and larger engineering organizations, not just a coding assistant.

Sources

• Claude Code changelog
• GitHub Releases · anthropics/claude-code
• Anthropic release notes