# Anthropic Claude 2 — deprecation status

> Yes — Claude 2 is retired. Anthropic deprecated it on January 21, 2025 and shut it down on July 21, 2025; API requests to it now fail. The recommended replacement is Claude Opus 4.8.

The first Claude available without a sales conversation, and the model that introduced most developers to Anthropic. It used the Human/Assistant text format rather than structured messages — a shape that has not existed in the API since. Retired July 2025.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | Anthropic |
| Model id | `claude-2.0` |
| Status | Retired |
| Released | July 11, 2023 |
| Deprecated | January 21, 2025 |
| Shutdown | July 21, 2025 (374 days ago) |
| Last verified | July 30, 2026 |

## Replacement

- **Claude Opus 4.8** (`claude-opus-4-8`) · recommended — https://modeldeprecations.dev/anthropic/claude-opus-4-8
  - This is an API migration, not a model swap: prompts move from a single Human/Assistant string to a messages array with a separate system field.
  - Parameters it accepts: https://modelparams.dev/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4-8

```diff
- "model": "claude-2.0"
+ "model": "claude-opus-4-8"
```

## FAQ

### When did Anthropic Claude 2 shut down?

Anthropic Claude 2 shut down on July 21, 2025. API requests to it fail from that date onward.

### What replaces Anthropic Claude 2?

Anthropic recommends Claude Opus 4.8 (`claude-opus-4-8`) as the replacement for Anthropic Claude 2. This is an API migration, not a model swap: prompts move from a single Human/Assistant string to a messages array with a separate system field.

### Is Anthropic Claude 2 still available?

No. Anthropic Claude 2 is retired and no longer served — it was shut down on July 21, 2025. Calls to it return an error.

### How do I migrate from Anthropic Claude 2 to claude-opus-4-8?

Swap the model id in your API call: replace "claude-2.0" with "claude-opus-4-8". This is an API migration, not a model swap: prompts move from a single Human/Assistant string to a messages array with a separate system field.

## Sources

- [Anthropic model deprecations](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/model-deprecations) — accessed 2026-07-30

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Canonical page: https://modeldeprecations.dev/anthropic/claude-2.0
JSON: https://modeldeprecations.dev/api/v1/models/anthropic/claude-2.0.json