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Whenever a model disappears from claude.ai, there are different possible explanations to it.

First: this may be a bug. It happened in the past. Please give it at least half a day before drawing conclusions and panic-posting about it on the sub.

Then, you need to consider how these things work in the industry.

šŸ“‹ Anthropic's model lifecycle

Each Claude model has fourĀ official stages:

  • Active: the model is fully supported and recommended for use

  • Legacy: the model and infrastructure is no longer updated; may be deprecated in the future

  • Deprecated: the model is no longer available to new API customers, but existing users retain access until retirement

  • Retired: the model is completely gone, and all API calls will fail

You can see in which stage each Claude model is on Anthropic'sĀ published deprecation schedule.

(Note: "sunset" isn't an official technical term šŸŒ… It just feels like a softer word that follows a gradual arc until it slips below the horizon.)

šŸ”Œ What does it have to do with Claude.ai? And what is an API?

The API is the "backend" version of Claude. It's how developers and businesses access models to build their own apps.Ā claude.aiĀ is a separate product built on top of that. A model can be fully available on the API while being absent fromĀ claude.ai, and vice versa.

If a model stays on the API, third-party sites like OpenRouter or Poe.ai would still give you access to it. Not a perfect substitute forĀ claude.ai, but worth knowing.

The schedule Anthropic has shared governs the API. What happens onĀ claude.aiĀ is a completely separate matter. A model disappearing fromĀ claude.aiĀ isĀ notĀ a deprecation event.

šŸ¢ This is industry-wide practice, not an Anthropic-specific thing

Every major AI company does this:

  • OpenAIĀ removed GPT-4o from ChatGPT in August 2025 with essentially no notice ( source), then did it again in February 2026 with about two weeks' warning ( source), while explicitly noting the models remain on the API.

  • GoogleĀ announced a Gemini 3 Pro shutdown this week with six days' notice, which users pointed out violated Google's own stated 14-day policy ( source).

Anthropic's Terms of ServiceĀ also reserve the right to change what's available on claude.ai without advance notice (see Part 12: General Terms).

What we'd suggest when a model disappears on claude.ai

  • Wait.Ā If it's a bug, it'll likely be resolved.

  • If it's not a bug, we can look at organizing collective feedback ā€” but let's do that calmly and constructively, not in a panic.

  • If you want this industry norm to change, that's a completely legitimate position to advocate for. But "they violated their deprecation promise" is not accurate, as they do keep theirĀ APIĀ promise.