Use Sonnet Blueprint

Configure Claude Code to use the Claude 3.5 Sonnet model for balanced performance and capability.

When to Use This Setting

Apply this setting when you need to:

• Balance response quality and speed for general-purpose development across diverse task types
• Pin your Claude Code environment to a specific Sonnet model version for consistent team behavior
• Use a mid-tier model that handles both routine coding and moderately complex reasoning well Consider alternatives when:
• You need maximum reasoning depth for complex architectural decisions, where Opus is more suitable
• Speed is your primary concern and you are willing to accept reduced capability with Haiku

Quick Start

Configuration

Copy
name: use-sonnet-blueprint
type: setting
category: model

Example Application

Copy
claude setting:apply use-sonnet-blueprint

Example Output

Setting applied. Changes:
- model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022

Core Concepts

Sonnet Model Positioning Overview

Aspect	Details
Capability Tier	Mid-range model balancing reasoning depth with response speed
Best For	General development, code review, debugging, documentation, and moderate refactoring
Response Speed	Faster than Opus, slower than Haiku, suitable for interactive development
Cost Profile	Mid-range pricing, appropriate for regular daily development usage

Model Tier Architecture

+---------------------------+
|       Model Spectrum      |
+---------------------------+
|                           |
| Speed  <-----------> Depth|
|                           |
| Haiku    Sonnet     Opus  |
| (fast)   (balanced) (deep)|
|            ^              |
|            |              |
|     This Setting          |
|                           |
| Best for:                 |
| - Daily dev work          |
| - Code review             |
| - Bug fixing              |
| - Documentation           |
| - Moderate refactoring    |
+---------------------------+

Configuration

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
model	string	"claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022"	The Claude Sonnet model identifier with version date
description	string	N/A	Explanation of the Sonnet model selection rationale
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL	string	"https://api.anthropic.com"	API endpoint URL for model requests
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	string	N/A	API key for authentication, set via environment variable
ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL	string	N/A	Optional companion model for fast auxiliary tasks

Best Practices

1. Use Sonnet as your team's default model - Sonnet provides the best balance for most development tasks. Establish it as the baseline and only switch to Haiku or Opus when specific tasks clearly warrant a different tier.
2. Pin the model version for consistency - The dated model identifier ensures all team members use the same model version. This prevents confusion caused by different model behaviors across machines.
3. Pair with Haiku as the fast model - Setting ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL to Haiku alongside Sonnet as the primary model gives you the best of both tiers automatically.
4. Evaluate upgrade paths - When new Sonnet versions are released, test them against your common workflows before updating the pinned version. Create a comparison checklist of tasks to verify quality.
5. Track usage patterns - Monitor which types of tasks you perform most frequently. If your work is predominantly simple edits, Haiku might save costs. If you frequently hit limits, consider Opus.

Common Issues

1. Model version deprecated - Anthropic periodically retires older model versions. Monitor deprecation announcements and update your pinned version before the old one is removed.
2. Performance insufficient for complex tasks - Sonnet may produce suboptimal results for highly complex architectural decisions or large-scale refactoring. Switch to Opus for these specific tasks.
3. Cost higher than expected - If you previously used Haiku, switching to Sonnet will increase per-token costs. Review your usage patterns and consider keeping Haiku for routine tasks.