How to Connect to Claude Opus 4.6 Using TypeScript – Full API Guide (2026)

February 6, 2026 | Dargslan Publishing Team

Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.6 on February 5, 2026 — their most capable model to date, with major improvements in agentic coding, long-running tasks, large codebases, adaptive thinking, and a 1 million token context window (beta).

For TypeScript developers building Node.js backends, CLI tools, DevOps automation, or full-stack applications, integrating Claude Opus 4.6 is straightforward using the official @anthropic-ai/sdk.

This guide walks you through authentication, your first call, controlling adaptive thinking with the new effort parameter, streaming responses, and practical 2026 DevOps examples (Podman migrations, Bash hardening, GitOps planning, etc.).

1. Get Your Anthropic API Key

1. Visit: https://console.anthropic.com/
2. Sign in or create an account (free tier available; heavy Opus 4.6 usage requires credits or Pro plan)
3. Go to API Keys → Create new key
4. Copy the key and store securely (never commit to git!)

Recommended: Add to .env file:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...

Pricing (Feb 2026):
$5 per million input tokens
$25 per million output tokens
Higher rates for context >200k tokens (1M beta)

2. Install the Official TypeScript SDK

npm install @anthropic-ai/sdk
# or
yarn add @anthropic-ai/sdk
# or
pnpm add @anthropic-ai/sdk

The package includes full TypeScript types — no extra @types needed.

3. Initialize the Client

// src/claude-client.ts
import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';
import 'dotenv/config'; // loads .env variables

4. Your First Call – Simple Message

Model name: claude-opus-4-6

async function sendFirstMessage() {
  try {
    const response = await client.messages.create({
      model: 'claude-opus-4-6',
      max_tokens: 1024,
      temperature: 0.3,
      messages: [
        {
          role: 'user',
          content: 'Write a short TypeScript example using async/await with error handling.',
        },
      ],
    });
console.log('Claude response:');
console.log(response.content[0].text);

} catch (error) {
console.error('API Error:', error);
}
}

Run: npx ts-node src/claude-client.ts

5. Using Adaptive Thinking & Effort Control (New in 4.6)

Adaptive thinking automatically adjusts reasoning depth. Control explicitly via extra_headers:

• low → fastest, minimal reasoning
• medium → balanced
• high (default for complex) → deep chain-of-thought
• max → maximum depth (ideal for agentic DevOps)

Example: Secure Docker → Podman migration plan

async function planMigration() {
  const response = await client.messages.create({
    model: 'claude-opus-4-6',
    max_tokens: 4096,
    messages: [
      {
        role: 'user',
        content: `Plan a secure, production-ready migration from Docker Compose to rootless Podman quadlets for a 12-service fleet.
                  Include systemd integration, firewalld rules, security hardening, and rollback steps.`,
      },
    ],
    extra_headers: {
      'anthropic-effort': 'high',   // or 'max' for deepest reasoning
    },
  });

6. Streaming Responses (Real-Time Output – Great for CLIs)

async function streamBashTemplate() {
  const stream = await client.messages.create({
    model: 'claude-opus-4-6',
    max_tokens: 2048,
    messages: [
      {
        role: 'user',
        content: 'Generate a modern, production-ready Bash script template with strict mode, error handling, and logging.',
      },
    ],
    stream: true,
  });

7. Practical 2026 DevOps Use Cases

• Bash script hardening: Paste code → request strict mode, defensive patterns
• GitOps repo audit: Feed ArgoCD YAML → ask for App of Apps suggestions
• Large context analysis: Use 1M token beta for monorepo / log review (start small)

Tips & Best Practices

• Never hardcode API keys → use .env or secret manager
• Handle 429 rate limits with exponential backoff
• Test first with claude-sonnet-4-6 (cheaper/faster)
• For huge context, enable context compaction (beta)

Next Steps

1. Get your API key: https://console.anthropic.com/
2. Official TS SDK repo: github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-typescript
3. Download our free 2026 books to test prompts with Claude:
   https://www.dargslan.com/free-books
   Recommended: Docker & Podman in 2026 and Bash Mastery 2026

Upcoming: tool use, agent teams in TypeScript, CI/CD integrations with Opus 4.6.

Happy coding — let Claude Opus 4.6 handle the deep reasoning!

— The Dargslan Publishing Team

February 6, 2026