Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4-7 with token budgets and user profiles in Python SDK v0.96.0

Anthropic released version 0.96.0 of its Python SDK on April 16, 2026, adding support for Claude Opus 4-7 and introducing two new API features: token budgets and user profiles.

New model: Claude Opus 4-7

The update adds Claude Opus 4-7 to the available models in the SDK. Anthropic has not yet disclosed pricing, context window size, or benchmark performance for this model. The naming follows Anthropic's established pattern, suggesting this is the seventh iteration of the Claude Opus 4 series.

Token budgets for cost control

The SDK now supports token budgets, allowing developers to set limits on token consumption per request or conversation. This feature addresses a common pain point for production deployments where cost control is critical. Implementation details and exact API parameters are documented in the full changelog.

User profiles for personalization

User profiles enable applications to provide context about individual users to Claude, potentially improving response relevance and personalization. The feature likely allows storing user preferences, interaction history, or other metadata that Claude can reference during conversations.

Technical details

The release is available through pip install with pip install anthropic==0.96.0. The update maintains backward compatibility with existing implementations using earlier SDK versions. Developers can view the complete changelog comparing v0.95.0 to v0.96.0 on GitHub.

The SDK is Anthropic's official Python library for accessing Claude models through their API, used by developers building applications with Claude integration.

What this means

This release signals Anthropic's continued expansion of the Claude 4 Opus line with a new model variant, though the lack of disclosed specifications makes it difficult to assess performance improvements. The addition of token budgets and user profiles indicates Anthropic is addressing enterprise needs around cost management and personalization—two factors critical for production AI deployments. The token budget feature in particular suggests Anthropic is responding to customer requests for more granular cost controls, a feature that competing providers like OpenAI have offered through usage limits and rate limiting configurations.