OpenAI Agents API Verified
Key insights
Concrete technical or product signals.
- Use Agents API when you want OpenAI to run the Codex loop. Use Codex when you want the first-party coding product. Use the Agents SDK when the loop stays in your process.
- Official docs say US data residency only and no Zero Data Retention. A self-hosted sandbox does not make the API ZDR-eligible.
Use cases
Where this shines in production.
- Long-running cloud agents with durable sessions
- Hosted-sandbox coding and investigation agents
- MCP-connected workplace or docs agents
Limitations & trade-offs
What to watch for.
- Public beta. The interface is not frozen.
- API keys need api.agents.read, api.agents.write, and api.responses.write for the documented quickstart.
- Function-tool handlers that go offline can stall a turn waiting for a result.
Models referenced
Declared model dependencies or integrations.
GPT-6 Astra, selectable OpenAI API models
Related prompts
Hand-picked or latest prompt templates.
Prompt
Prompt-injection resistant assistant
System prompt that treats retrieved docs, tickets, and web pages as untrusted data. Use in multi-tenant RAG and browsing agents. This is a defensive template, not an attack or bypass playbook.
Prompt
Computer-use agent with approval gates
System prompt for browser/desktop agents (Grok Bot, computer-use tools). Allows research and drafts, but pauses before send, purchase, delete, or production changes. Not a jailbreak or bypass guide.
Prompt
Transcript to summary and action items
Turn a speech transcript into decisions, owners, and follow-ups. Use after Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, Whisper, or MAI-Transcribe. Do not use on raw audio; transcribe first.
Prompt
Product image generation prompt
A reusable image prompt for catalog and hero shots: subject, lighting, lens, negative constraints, and text-in-image rules. Works with Firefly, Midjourney, MAI-Image, Qwen-Image, and SDXL. Not for photorealistic people or brand-logo cloning.
Prompt
LLM output evaluation rubric
Judge a model answer against a task, retrieved evidence, and pass/fail thresholds. Use for golden-set grading and regression evals. Not a substitute for human review on high-risk decisions.
Prompt
Strict JSON extraction prompt
Extract structured fields into JSON that matches a schema. Pair with provider structured-output / JSON-schema modes when available. Do not use when the output is meant to be prose.
Looking for a tighter match? Search the prompt library.
OpenAI Agents API FAQ
What is OpenAI Agents API?
The OpenAI Agents API is the September 10, 2026 public-beta API that exposes the Codex harness as a managed cloud runtime. OpenAI runs sessions, orchestration, context compaction, and recovery. Your application supplies tools and chooses the environment: an OpenAI-hosted sandbox or a self-hosted executor. Agents can r...
When should teams use OpenAI Agents API?
Long-running cloud agents with durable sessions
What should teams watch out for with OpenAI Agents API?
Public beta. The interface is not frozen.
Related
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