Claude Code Adds Claude Fable 5.2 as the Default Fable Model at $8/$40
Claude CodeClaude Code 2.1.321 adds Claude Fable 5.2 (claude-fable-5-2) and makes it the default Fable model, with a 1M-token context window and a price of $8 per million input tokens and $40 per million output tokens. Anthropic says outputs are up to 30% faster than Fable 5.1 and that Fable 5.2 blocks about 55% fewer requests with its cyber and biology safeguards. Saved Fable 5.1 model picks move to the fable alias, and fast mode is available on Fable 5.2 in Claude Code.
Key Takeaways
- Fable 5.2 is now the default Fable model in Claude Code, with the model ID
claude-fable-5-2and a 1M-token context window. - Pricing drops to $8/$40 per million tokens, down from $10/$50 on Fable 5.1, with cache reads at $0.20 per million.
- Saved Fable 5.1 picks migrate to the
fablealias, immediately on Pro and Max and after an organization opt-in on Team and Enterprise. - Output is up to 30% faster, and fast mode adds up to 2.5x token speed at $16/$80 per million tokens.
- Cyber and biology safeguards block about 55% fewer requests than on Fable 5.1, with fallbacks to Opus 4.8 and Opus 5.
- Anthropic recommends Opus 5.5 as the starting point, escalating to Fable or Mythos only for the hardest tasks.
Sources & Mentions
5 external resources covering this update
Anthropic Launches Claude Fable 5.2 and Mythos 5.2
MacRumors
Anthropic launches Fable 5.2 with a price cut and stronger coding scores
The New Stack
Claude Fable 5.2 offers big coding and robotics gains at lower costs
Android Authority
Anthropic launches Claude Fable 5.2 and Mythos 5.2, and cuts Fable's price
The Next Web
Anthropic debuts Claude Fable 5.2 and Mythos 5.2 models as IPO nears
Yahoo Finance
A new default Fable model
Claude Code 2.1.321 adds Claude Fable 5.2, with the API model ID claude-fable-5-2, and makes it the default Fable model. Anthropic announced Fable 5.2 and Claude Mythos 5.2 on November 9, 2026, and describes them as the same underlying model with different access. Fable is available to all users with stronger cyber and biology safeguards, while Mythos is limited to vetted organizations in dual-use fields through Anthropic's Cyber Verification Program and Life Sciences Verification Program.
The Claude Code release notes list a 1M-token context window, a price of $8 per million input tokens and $40 per million output tokens, and cache reads at $0.20 per million tokens. That is lower than the $10 and $50 that Fable 5.1 cost. Anthropic also says output is up to 30% faster than Fable 5.1 and Mythos 5.1.
What changes inside Claude Code
Saved Fable 5.1 model picks now move to the fable alias. On Pro and Max plans this happens at once. On Team and Enterprise plans it happens once the organization allows it. Developers who want to stay on the older model can switch back with /model claude-fable-5-1.
The fast mode labels in /fast, /config and /model now name the current model when it supports fast mode, and the "(Opus only)" wording is gone from the VS Code row. Anthropic prices Fable 5.2 fast mode at $16 per million input tokens and $80 per million output tokens, and says it speeds token generation by up to 2.5 times. Fast mode is available in Claude Code.
The release also fixes a note that said "Draws from usage credits" after a switch to Fable on Enterprise seats whose plan already includes Fable. When a cyber safeguard blocks a request, the explanatory sentence now uses the same words as claude.ai.
Effort and safeguards
Medium effort is the default in Claude apps and Claude Code, and Anthropic says Fable 5.2 uses fewer tokens there than Fable 5.1. Blocked requests fall back to Opus 4.8 for cyber topics and Opus 5 for biology. Anthropic reports about 55% fewer blocks than Fable 5.1.
Benchmarks and guidance
Anthropic's own figures put Fable 5.2 at 49.1% on FrontierCode 2.0 at Xhigh effort, against 45.5% for Opus 5.5, and at 69.9% on FrontierSWE v2, against 62.3% for Opus 5.5. These are vendor-reported numbers, and some were run internally. Anthropic recommends starting with Opus 5.5 as the daily driver and moving up to Fable or Mythos, or down to Sonnet or Haiku 5.5, as the scope of the task requires. Fable 5.2 can also act as an advisor that smaller models consult on hard problems, or as an orchestrator that hands simpler work to smaller models.