Streaming Messages
When creating a Message, you can set "stream": true to incrementally stream the response using server-sent events (SSE).
Streaming with SDKs
Our Python and TypeScript SDKs offer multiple ways of streaming. The Python SDK allows both sync and async streams. See the documentation in each SDK for details.
import anthropic
client = anthropic.Anthropic()
with client.messages.stream(
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
model="claude-sonnet-4-5",
) as stream:
for text in stream.text_stream:
print(text, end="", flush=True)import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';
const client = new Anthropic();
await client.messages.stream({
messages: [{role: 'user', content: "Hello"}],
model: 'claude-sonnet-4-5',
max_tokens: 1024,
}).on('text', (text) => {
console.log(text);
});Event types
Each server-sent event includes a named event type and associated JSON data. Each event will use an SSE event name (e.g. event: message_stop), and include the matching event type in its data.
Each stream uses the following event flow:
message_start: contains aMessageobject with emptycontent.- A series of content blocks, each of which have a
content_block_start, one or morecontent_block_deltaevents, and acontent_block_stopevent. Each content block will have anindexthat corresponds to its index in the final Messagecontentarray. - One or more
message_deltaevents, indicating top-level changes to the finalMessageobject. - A final
message_stopevent.
The token counts shown in the usage field of the message_delta event are cumulative.
Ping events
Event streams may also include any number of ping events.
Error events
We may occasionally send errors in the event stream. For example, during periods of high usage, you may receive an overloaded_error, which would normally correspond to an HTTP 529 in a non-streaming context:
event: error
data: {"type": "error", "error": {"type": "overloaded_error", "message": "Overloaded"}}Other events
In accordance with our versioning policy, we may add new event types, and your code should handle unknown event types gracefully.
Content block delta types
Each content_block_delta event contains a delta of a type that updates the content block at a given index.
Text delta
A text content block delta looks like:
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta","index": 0,"delta": {"type": "text_delta", "text": "ello frien"}}Input JSON delta
The deltas for tool_use content blocks correspond to updates for the input field of the block. To support maximum granularity, the deltas are partial JSON strings, whereas the final tool_use.input is always an object.
You can accumulate the string deltas and parse the JSON once you receive a content_block_stop event, by using a library like Pydantic to do partial JSON parsing, or by using our SDKs, which provide helpers to access parsed incremental values.
A tool_use content block delta looks like:
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta","index": 1,"delta": {"type": "input_json_delta","partial_json": "{\"location\": \"San Fra"}}}Note: Our current models only support emitting one complete key and value property from input at a time. As such, when using tools, there may be delays between streaming events while the model is working. Once an input key and value are accumulated, we emit them as multiple content_block_delta events with chunked partial json so that the format can automatically support finer granularity in future models.
Thinking delta
When using extended thinking with streaming enabled, you'll receive thinking content via thinking_delta events. These deltas correspond to the thinking field of the thinking content blocks.
For thinking content, a special signature_delta event is sent just before the content_block_stop event. This signature is used to verify the integrity of the thinking block.
A typical thinking delta looks like:
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "Let me solve this step by step:\n\n1. First break down 27 * 453"}}The signature delta looks like:
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "signature_delta", "signature": "EqQBCgIYAhIM1gbcDa9GJwZA2b3hGgxBdjrkzLoky3dl1pkiMOYds..."}}Full HTTP Stream response
We strongly recommend that you use our client SDKs when using streaming mode. However, if you are building a direct API integration, you will need to handle these events yourself.
A stream response is comprised of:
- A
message_startevent - Potentially multiple content blocks, each of which contains:
- A
content_block_startevent - Potentially multiple
content_block_deltaevents - A
content_block_stopevent
- A
- A
message_deltaevent - A
message_stopevent
There may be ping events dispersed throughout the response as well. See Event types for more details on the format.
Basic streaming request
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
--header "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
--header "content-type: application/json" \
--header "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
--data \
'{
"model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
"max_tokens": 256,
"stream": true
}'event: message_start
data: {"type": "message_start", "message": {"id": "msg_1nZdL29xx5MUA1yADyHTEsnR8uuvGzszyY", "type": "message", "role": "assistant", "content": [], "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929", "stop_reason": null, "stop_sequence": null, "usage": {"input_tokens": 25, "output_tokens": 1}}}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type": "content_block_start", "index": 0, "content_block": {"type": "text", "text": ""}}
event: ping
data: {"type": "ping"}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "text_delta", "text": "Hello"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "text_delta", "text": "!"}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type": "content_block_stop", "index": 0}
event: message_delta
data: {"type": "message_delta", "delta": {"stop_reason": "end_turn", "stop_sequence":null}, "usage": {"output_tokens": 15}}
event: message_stop
data: {"type": "message_stop"}
Streaming request with tool use
Tool use now supports fine-grained streaming for parameter values as a beta feature. For more details, see Fine-grained tool streaming.
In this request, we ask Claude to use a tool to tell us the weather.
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-d '{
"model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
"max_tokens": 1024,
"tools": [
{
"name": "get_weather",
"description": "Get the current weather in a given location",
"input_schema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"location": {
"type": "string",
"description": "The city and state, e.g. San Francisco, CA"
}
},
"required": ["location"]
}
}
],
"tool_choice": {"type": "any"},
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "What is the weather like in San Francisco?"
}
],
"stream": true
}'event: message_start
data: {"type":"message_start","message":{"id":"msg_014p7gG3wDgGV9EUtLvnow3U","type":"message","role":"assistant","model":"claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929","stop_sequence":null,"usage":{"input_tokens":472,"output_tokens":2},"content":[],"stop_reason":null}}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":0,"content_block":{"type":"text","text":""}}
event: ping
data: {"type": "ping"}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"Okay"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":","}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" let"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"'s"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" check"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" the"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" weather"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" for"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" San"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" Francisco"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":","}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" CA"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":":"}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":0}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":1,"content_block":{"type":"tool_use","id":"toolu_01T1x1fJ34qAmk2tNTrN7Up6","name":"get_weather","input":{}}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"{\"location\":"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":" \"San"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":" Francisc"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"o,"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":" CA\""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":", "}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"\"unit\": \"fah"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"renheit\"}"}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":1}
event: message_delta
data: {"type":"message_delta","delta":{"stop_reason":"tool_use","stop_sequence":null},"usage":{"output_tokens":89}}
event: message_stop
data: {"type":"message_stop"}Streaming request with extended thinking
In this request, we enable extended thinking with streaming to see Claude's step-by-step reasoning.
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
--header "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
--header "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
--header "content-type: application/json" \
--data \
'{
"model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
"max_tokens": 20000,
"stream": true,
"thinking": {
"type": "enabled",
"budget_tokens": 16000
},
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "What is 27 * 453?"
}
]
}'event: message_start
data: {"type": "message_start", "message": {"id": "msg_01...", "type": "message", "role": "assistant", "content": [], "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929", "stop_reason": null, "stop_sequence": null}}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type": "content_block_start", "index": 0, "content_block": {"type": "thinking", "thinking": ""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "Let me solve this step by step:\n\n1. First break down 27 * 453"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "\n2. 453 = 400 + 50 + 3"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "\n3. 27 * 400 = 10,800"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "\n4. 27 * 50 = 1,350"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "\n5. 27 * 3 = 81"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "thinking_delta", "thinking": "\n6. 10,800 + 1,350 + 81 = 12,231"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "signature_delta", "signature": "EqQBCgIYAhIM1gbcDa9GJwZA2b3hGgxBdjrkzLoky3dl1pkiMOYds..."}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type": "content_block_stop", "index": 0}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type": "content_block_start", "index": 1, "content_block": {"type": "text", "text": ""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 1, "delta": {"type": "text_delta", "text": "27 * 453 = 12,231"}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type": "content_block_stop", "index": 1}
event: message_delta
data: {"type": "message_delta", "delta": {"stop_reason": "end_turn", "stop_sequence": null}}
event: message_stop
data: {"type": "message_stop"}Streaming request with web search tool use
In this request, we ask Claude to search the web for current weather information.
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
--header "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
--header "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
--header "content-type: application/json" \
--data \
'{
"model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
"max_tokens": 1024,
"stream": true,
"tools": [
{
"type": "web_search_20250305",
"name": "web_search",
"max_uses": 5
}
],
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "What is the weather like in New York City today?"
}
]
}'event: message_start
data: {"type":"message_start","message":{"id":"msg_01G...","type":"message","role":"assistant","model":"claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929","content":[],"stop_reason":null,"stop_sequence":null,"usage":{"input_tokens":2679,"cache_creation_input_tokens":0,"cache_read_input_tokens":0,"output_tokens":3}}}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":0,"content_block":{"type":"text","text":""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"I'll check"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" the current weather in New York City for you"}}
event: ping
data: {"type": "ping"}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":0,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"."}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":0}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":1,"content_block":{"type":"server_tool_use","id":"srvtoolu_014hJH82Qum7Td6UV8gDXThB","name":"web_search","input":{}}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"{\"query"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"\":"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":" \"weather"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":" NY"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"C to"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":1,"delta":{"type":"input_json_delta","partial_json":"day\"}"}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":1 }
event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":2,"content_block":{"type":"web_search_tool_result","tool_use_id":"srvtoolu_014hJH82Qum7Td6UV8gDXThB","content":[{"type":"web_search_result","title":"Weather in New York City in May 2025 (New York) - detailed Weather Forecast for a month","url":"https://world-weather.info/forecast/usa/new_york/may-2025/","encrypted_content":"Ev0DCioIAxgCIiQ3NmU4ZmI4OC1k...","page_age":null},...]}}
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":2}
event: content_block_start
data: {"type":"content_block_start","index":3,"content_block":{"type":"text","text":""}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":3,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"Here's the current weather information for New York"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":3,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" City:\n\n# Weather"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":3,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":" in New York City"}}
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type":"content_block_delta","index":3,"delta":{"type":"text_delta","text":"\n\n"}}
...
event: content_block_stop
data: {"type":"content_block_stop","index":17}
event: message_delta
data: {"type":"message_delta","delta":{"stop_reason":"end_turn","stop_sequence":null},"usage":{"input_tokens":10682,"cache_creation_input_tokens":0,"cache_read_input_tokens":0,"output_tokens":510,"server_tool_use":{"web_search_requests":1}}}
event: message_stop
data: {"type":"message_stop"}Error recovery
When a streaming request is interrupted due to network issues, timeouts, or other errors, you can recover by resuming from where the stream was interrupted. This approach saves you from re-processing the entire response.
The basic recovery strategy involves:
- Capture the partial response: Save all content that was successfully received before the error occurred
- Construct a continuation request: Create a new API request that includes the partial assistant response as the beginning of a new assistant message
- Resume streaming: Continue receiving the rest of the response from where it was interrupted
Error recovery best practices
- Use SDK features: Leverage the SDK's built-in message accumulation and error handling capabilities
- Handle content types: Be aware that messages can contain multiple content blocks (
text,tool_use,thinking). Tool use and extended thinking blocks cannot be partially recovered. You can resume streaming from the most recent text block.