API changes and deprecations

1. Sora 2 and the Videos API are removed on 24 September, with no replacement named

   24 Sep

   OpenAI notified developers on 24 March 2026 that the Videos API and the sora-2 and sora-2-pro models would be removed on 24 September 2026. The deprecation entry names no successor.

   So what

   Every other item on that page offers a migration target. This one does not, which makes it a vendor selection problem rather than a version bump. If video generation is in your product, you have seventeen days to pick a different provider and re-test output quality, not seventeen days to change a model string.

   Source: OpenAI, deprecationsIssue 2 · Week of 7 September 2026

2. Whisper is deprecated, and it is probably in code you have not opened in a year

   26 Aug

   whisper-1, gpt-4o-transcribe, gpt-4o-mini-transcribe and gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize were deprecated on 26 August 2026 and shut down on 26 February 2027. OpenAI names gpt-transcribe and gpt-live-transcribe as replacements.

   So what

   Five months is a generous window. The risk is not the deadline, it is that Whisper is typically wired into a background job written once, and background jobs fail into a queue rather than into a user's face. Grep now, migrate on your own schedule, rather than in February.

   Source: OpenAI, deprecationsIssue 2 · Week of 7 September 2026

3. Agent Builder, the Evals platform and reusable prompts all close on 30 November

   30 Nov

   OpenAI announced on 3 June 2026 that three platform surfaces would shut down on 30 November 2026: the v1/prompts reusable prompts API, the Evals dashboard and API, and Agent Builder.

   So what

   These are the pieces teams build process around rather than product: your evaluation history and your prompt library live here. Export before the date, because a shut-down dashboard takes your baseline measurements with it and you cannot re-run last quarter's evals afterwards.

   Source: OpenAI, deprecationsIssue 2 · Week of 7 September 2026

4. The OpenAI Assistants API is gone

   26 Aug

   The Assistants API shut down on 26 August 2026. OpenAI directs existing users to the Responses API and Conversations API.

   So what

   This date has passed. If anything you run still calls it, it is already broken, and the failure may be sitting in a background job rather than anywhere a user would report it. Check your logs before you read the rest of this list.

   Source: OpenAI API changelogIssue 1 · Week of 31 August 2026

5. GPT-5.4 and 5.4 mini retire in Codex today

   31 Aug

   For users signed in with ChatGPT, GPT-5.4 and GPT-5.4 mini retire in Codex on 31 August 2026. OpenAI recommends GPT-5.6 Terra and GPT-5.6 Luna respectively.

   So what

   If a model name is hardcoded anywhere in your tooling, today is the day it stops resolving. Pin deliberately or read from config, but do not leave it as a literal in a script nobody owns.

   Source: OpenAI API changelogIssue 1 · Week of 31 August 2026

6. GPT-5.6 Sol dropped over 20% for three months

   21 Aug

   OpenAI cut API and credit pricing for GPT-5.6 Sol by more than 20%, described as running for the next three months.

   So what

   A time-boxed cut is a trial balloon, not a new floor. Take the saving, but do not rebuild your unit economics on a price with an expiry date attached.

   Source: OpenAIIssue 1 · Week of 31 August 2026

7. GitHub Copilot moved to usage-based billing

   GitHub announced Copilot is shifting to usage-based billing.

   So what

   Per-seat costs are predictable and usage-based costs are not. If you have agents running unattended, the same change that saves money on light users can produce a genuinely surprising invoice on heavy ones. Set a budget alert now rather than after the first bill.

   Source: GitHub BlogIssue 1 · Week of 31 August 2026

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