Accessing the API

The API is made available via our web Console. This gives you the opportunity to evaluate Claude's capabilities before starting a technical integration.

First, please see Getting access to Claude for how to apply for access.

Once you have access to Console, you can generate API keys via Account Settings.

See IP Address Allowlisting for information on Anthropic's public IP ranges.

Evaluation & going live with the API

Your initial access to the Claude API will be granted under our evaluation terms; this usage is for evaluation and development purposes only. Data may be retained as detailed in our privacy policy. Please do not send sensitive or confidential information during this period of evaluation.

After evaluating Claude, you can Go Live by engaging in a commercial services agreement with us. This enables you to use Claude in your production environment with your own customers, and grants you access to much higher rate limits to meet the needs of your business.

Prompt formatting

By default, Slack and our web interface will properly handle direct questions like "Why is the sky blue?". However, when using the API you must format the prompts like:

\n\nHuman: Why is the sky blue?\n\nAssistant:

Note the 2 newlines and the space after each : except the last one. For example, to use this in code:

const userQuestion = "Why is the sky blue?";
const prompt = `\n\nHuman: ${userQuestion}\n\nAssistant:`;

// Send prompt to Claude via API