OpenAI Codex & GPT-5 Snapshot Shutdown (2026-07-23)
Last verified: 2026-07-16 — checked against the OpenAI API Deprecations page. This page covers the 2026-07-23 retirement batch. 7 days remain as of the verification date.
Direct answer
On 2026-07-23, OpenAI retires the Codex snapshots (gpt-5-codex, gpt-5.1-codex, gpt-5.1-codex-max, gpt-5.1-codex-mini, gpt-5.2-codex), the chat-latest aliases (gpt-5-chat-latest, gpt-5.1-chat-latest), two gpt-4o search previews, one gpt-4o-mini-tts snapshot, and the March 2025 computer-use-preview. What to do: find every place these exact model IDs are pinned and repoint them to the official replacements in the table below (mostly gpt-5.5 and gpt-5.4-mini), then re-run your evaluations — the replacements are newer models, not byte-for-byte drop-ins.
Who this affects
Any API team or Codex user who has pinned one of these model IDs in production — in application code, environment variables, CI config, SDK defaults, or an internal routing layer. Requests that continue to reference a retired ID after 2026-07-23 will fail rather than silently fall back.
Retirement table (2026-07-23)
Every date and replacement below is taken from the OpenAI API Deprecations page for the 2026-07-23 batch.
| Retiring model (shut down 2026-07-23) | Official replacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
gpt-5-codex | gpt-5.5 | General model; re-test coding prompts |
gpt-5.1-codex | gpt-5.5 | General model; re-test coding prompts |
gpt-5.1-codex-max | gpt-5.5 | General model; re-test coding prompts |
gpt-5.1-codex-mini | gpt-5.4-mini | Mini tier |
gpt-5.2-codex | gpt-5.5 | General model; re-test coding prompts |
gpt-5-chat-latest | gpt-5.5 | Rolling chat-latest alias retired |
gpt-5.1-chat-latest | gpt-5.5 | Rolling chat-latest alias retired |
gpt-4o-search-preview-2025-03-11 | gpt-5.4-mini | Not a drop-in — see caveats |
gpt-4o-mini-search-preview-2025-03-11 | gpt-5.4-mini | Not a drop-in — see caveats |
gpt-4o-mini-tts-2025-03-20 | gpt-4o-mini-tts-2025-12-15 | Dated snapshot bump within the same TTS family |
computer-use-preview-2025-03-11 | computer-use-preview (or gpt-5.4-mini) | Move to the undated alias, or the general model |
Replacements that are not drop-in
Three rows need more than a string swap:
- Search previews →
gpt-5.4-mini. The*-search-previewmodels exposed built-in web search as a dedicated model. The replacement is a general model, so web search moves to the web search tool on the Responses API rather than being implied by the model name. Rework the request shape, not just the ID. computer-use-preview-2025-03-11→computer-use-preview. The undated alias continues; pinning the dated March 2025 snapshot is what breaks. If you no longer need computer-use,gpt-5.4-miniis offered as the general alternative.gpt-4o-mini-ttssnapshot bump. Same TTS family, newer dated snapshot (2025-12-15). Confirm voice/format parameters are unchanged for your usage.
Migration steps
- Inventory every pinned ID. Grep your code, env files, and config for each string in the table (for example
gpt-5-codex,gpt-5.1-codex-max,gpt-5-chat-latest,search-preview,computer-use-preview-2025-03-11). Include SDK defaults and infrastructure-as-code. - Map each ID to its replacement using the table above. Flag the three non-drop-in rows for extra work.
- Re-run your evaluations against the replacement.
gpt-5.5andgpt-5.4-miniare different models — output style, tool-calling behavior, context limits, and pricing may differ from the retiring snapshot. Verify prompts, structured-output schemas, and token budgets before cutover. - Roll out behind a canary. Send a slice of traffic to the replacement, compare against your quality and latency baselines, then ramp to full traffic.
- Centralize the model ID so the next forced migration is one edit, not N. If your model IDs live in application code in many places, a mandatory retirement like this one means touching every call site. Routing through an OpenAI-compatible gateway turns it into a single config change. As an engineering illustration, byesu is an OpenAI-compatible API gateway where one key reaches
gpt-5.5,gpt-5.6, and models from other providers behind the standard OpenAI request shape; the replacement IDs (gpt-5.5,gpt-5.4-mini, …) are reachable through any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so the mapping is maintained in the routing layer instead of scattered across services. Third-party gateways bill at their own published rates — check the provider's own price list rather than assuming parity with OpenAI.
Verify before you cut over
Do not assume behavioral parity. Treat each replacement as a new model, run your own evals, and keep the retiring ID in a canary until the replacement clears your quality bar.
Heads-up: later retirement batches
The 2026-07-23 batch is not the last one. OpenAI's API Deprecations page also lists later retirement batches covering additional older GPT-5 and o-series snapshots. The exact model IDs, replacement models, and effective dates for those batches can still change, so this page does not pin them. If you rely on older GPT-5 or o-series snapshots, check the official page for the next batch that affects you and plan that migration while you have the 2026-07-23 work open.
Source
- OpenAI API Deprecations — https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations
Always confirm dates and replacement IDs against the official page above before you migrate; deprecation schedules can change.
FAQ
Which OpenAI models are being shut down on 2026-07-23?
gpt-5-codex, gpt-5.1-codex, gpt-5.1-codex-max, gpt-5.1-codex-mini, gpt-5.2-codex, gpt-5-chat-latest, gpt-5.1-chat-latest, gpt-4o-search-preview-2025-03-11, gpt-4o-mini-search-preview-2025-03-11, gpt-4o-mini-tts-2025-03-20, and computer-use-preview-2025-03-11. After that date, requests to these exact model IDs are no longer served.
What replaces gpt-5-codex and the other Codex snapshots?
OpenAI points gpt-5-codex, gpt-5.1-codex, gpt-5.1-codex-max, and gpt-5.2-codex to gpt-5.5, and gpt-5.1-codex-mini to gpt-5.4-mini. These are newer general and mini models, not identical drop-ins, so re-run your evaluations before switching production traffic.
What happens if I do not migrate before 2026-07-23?
After the shutdown date, API calls that pin the retired model IDs stop being served and return an error instead of a completion. Any integration that still references these IDs will break until it is updated to a supported model.
Are there more OpenAI model retirements planned after 2026-07-23?
Yes. OpenAI's API Deprecations page lists one or more additional retirement batches after the 2026-07-23 wave, covering older GPT-5 and o-series snapshots. The specific model IDs, replacement models, and effective dates for those later batches can still change, so confirm them on the official OpenAI API Deprecations page closer to the time rather than relying on a fixed list here.