Guide
Sora Videos API Ends September 24 With a Blank Replacement
OpenAI removes the Videos API and Sora 2 models on September 24, 2026. Export assets, stop video-specific reloads, and select a replacement independently.
OpenAI will remove the Videos API and its listed Sora 2 models on September 24, 2026. The official deprecations table leaves every recommended-replacement cell blank. Teams still generating through that API have 27 days from August 28 to export, dual-run another service, and remove Sora dependencies.
The OpenAI API deprecations page was retrieved on August 28. Its “2026-03-24: Sora 2 video generation models and Videos API” section publishes this table:
| Shutdown date | Model or system | Recommended replacement |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-24 | Videos API | — |
| 2026-09-24 | sora-2 |
— |
| 2026-09-24 | sora-2-pro |
— |
| 2026-09-24 | sora-2-2025-10-06 |
— |
| 2026-09-24 | sora-2-2025-12-08 |
— |
| 2026-09-24 | sora-2-pro-2025-10-06 |
— |
OpenAI says developers using those systems were notified on March 24, six months before removal. Its general definition of shutdown says the model or endpoint becomes inaccessible on that date.
The blank replacement column should stay blank in a migration plan. OpenAI has published no same-API successor for these video workloads. Vendor selection therefore requires an independent capability, rights, cost, and reliability review.
Consumer Sora has a separate export path
OpenAI’s Sora discontinuation article, retrieved August 28, says the web and app experiences ended on April 26, 2026 and the Sora API ends September 24. It directs users to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset and says an export produces an email when ready.
The same article says OpenAI will permanently delete Sora-associated data after discontinuation and any final export window it can offer. Export consumer assets now and keep the delivered archive outside Sora.
API teams should separately inventory generated files, OpenAI-hosted URLs, request metadata, prompts, seeds where available, and in-flight work. OpenAI’s video-generation guide says ordinary download URLs remain valid for at most one hour after generation and Batch outputs remain downloadable for up to 24 hours after completion. Copy every completed result into controlled storage immediately, then use the September deadline to audit historical gaps.
Separate the two credit balances
Videos API usage belongs to the OpenAI Platform billing balance. Personal ChatGPT credits are a different product and cannot fund API calls. Our API prepaid-credit guide covers the Platform balance, its expiry rule, and reload controls. Remaining Platform credit can fund other active OpenAI APIs within its applicable term.
OpenAI’s current personal-credit guide, retrieved August 28, says personal credits can currently be used for Codex, ChatGPT Work, and ChatGPT for Excel when available on the plan. It also says:
- included plan usage is consumed first;
- automatic reload can be configured in Settings → Usage or Codex Usage & Billing;
- purchased credits expire 12 months after purchase and do not roll over;
- credits are non-refundable except where law requires;
- personal credits are non-transferable and are not API credits.
The same help page also publishes a ChatGPT for PowerPoint rate card while its overview names only Codex, Work, and Excel. Check Settings → Usage for the supported surfaces on the account before planning how to consume a remaining balance.
The Sora discontinuation article adds that purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex. That redirection supplies a surviving spend surface; it does not extend video generation.
Keep this deadline separate from GPT-5.4 leaving ChatGPT-signed Codex. That event changes model availability for a specific authentication path. The Sora event removes an API endpoint and models across the API.
A 27-day migration schedule
- Stop video-specific replenishment. Disable or reduce any Platform auto-recharge sized for Sora work. Turn off personal-credit auto-reload when the surviving Codex, Work, and Excel usage does not justify it.
- Inventory every dependency. Search code, configuration, job queues, dashboards, and scheduled tasks for the six API and model entries in OpenAI’s table. Record request volume, concurrency, output requirements, and the paying balance.
- Export consumer and API assets. Use the consumer sunset export for Sora web/app data. Download ordinary API output within one hour of generation and Batch output within 24 hours of completion, then store the file and metadata under team control.
- Evaluate successor services. Test text-to-video and image-to-video coverage, duration, resolution, audio, watermarking, commercial rights, training terms, regional processing, failed-job billing, rate limits, queue behavior, and export retention.
- Dual-run representative jobs. Compare the candidate against actual prompts and delivery requirements. Include failure handling, webhook or polling changes, content-policy differences, and unit cost.
- Cut over before September 24. Remove Sora-only product promises, route production to the selected service, and leave time to drain or cancel in-flight jobs.
OpenAI’s page mentions that some customers may be able to provision dedicated capacity after a model shutdown through sales. It presents that as a general possibility, with no Sora-specific commitment. A small team’s schedule should use September 24 as the final accessible date.