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.

Python

TypeScript

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 a Message object with empty content.

A series of content blocks, each of which have a content_block_start, one or more content_block_delta events, and a content_block_stop event. Each content block will have an index that corresponds to its index in the final Message content array.

One or more message_delta events, indicating top-level changes to the final Message object.

A final message_stop event.

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:

Example error

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.

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:

Text delta

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:

Input JSON delta

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:

Thinking delta

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:

Signature delta

event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 0, "delta": {"type": "signature_delta", "signature": "EqQBCgIYAhIM1gbcDa9GJwZA2b3hGgxBdjrkzLoky3dl1pkiMOYds..."}}

Raw HTTP Stream response

We strongly recommend that 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_start event

Potentially multiple content blocks, each of which contains: a. A content_block_start event b. Potentially multiple content_block_delta events c. A content_block_stop event

A message_delta event

A message_stop event

There may be ping events dispersed throughout the response as well. See Event types for more details on the format.

Basic streaming request

Request

Response

event: message_start
data: {"type": "message_start", "message": {"id": "msg_1nZdL29xx5MUA1yADyHTEsnR8uuvGzszyY", "type": "message", "role": "assistant", "content": [], "model": "claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219", "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

In this request, we ask Claude to use a tool to tell us the weather.

Request

Response

event: message_start
data: {"type":"message_start","message":{"id":"msg_014p7gG3wDgGV9EUtLvnow3U","type":"message","role":"assistant","model":"claude-3-haiku-20240307","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.

Request

Response

event: message_start
data: {"type": "message_start", "message": {"id": "msg_01...", "type": "message", "role": "assistant", "content": [], "model": "claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219", "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 with SDKs#

Event types#

Ping events#

Error events#

Other events#

Delta types#

Text delta#

Input JSON delta#

Thinking delta#

Raw HTTP Stream response#

Basic streaming request#

Streaming request with tool use#

Streaming request with extended thinking#

Streaming with SDKs

Event types

Ping events

Error events

Other events

Delta types

Text delta

Input JSON delta

Thinking delta

Raw HTTP Stream response

Basic streaming request

Streaming request with tool use

Streaming request with extended thinking