OpenAI

Table of contents

Use GPT-5.6, GPT-4o, GPT-5, GPT-5-mini, and other OpenAI models with docker-agent.

Setup

# Set your API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

Tip
No API key? A ChatGPT Plus/Pro/Business subscription can be used instead through the chatgpt provider: sign in once with docker agent setup (pick chatgpt).

Configuration

Inline

agents:
  root:
    model: openai/gpt-5.6

Named Model

models:
  gpt:
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5.6
    max_tokens: 4000

Available Models

Model	Best For
`gpt-5.6`	Alias for `gpt-5.6-sol`; tracks the flagship model
`gpt-5.6-sol`	Frontier model, most capable, complex reasoning
`gpt-5.6-terra`	Everyday workhorse; successor to the `-mini` tier
`gpt-5.6-luna`	High-volume, cost-efficient; successor to `-nano` tier
`gpt-5`	Previous-generation flagship
`gpt-5-mini`	Previous-generation fast, cost-effective model
`gpt-4o`	Multimodal, balanced performance
`gpt-4o-mini`	Cheapest, fast for simple tasks

Starting with GPT-5.6, OpenAI renamed the -mini/-nano size tiers to -terra/-luna (with -sol denoting the frontier tier previously left unsuffixed).

Find more model names at modelnames.ai or in the official OpenAI docs.

Thinking Budget

OpenAI reasoning models (o-series, gpt-5, gpt-5-mini, gpt-5.6 family) support extended thinking through the reasoning_effort API parameter. Set thinking_budget to control the effort level:

models:
  gpt-thinker:
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5.6
    thinking_budget: high   # none | minimal | low | medium | high | xhigh | max

Effort levels:

Level	Description
`none`	No reasoning. On `gpt-5.6`+ this is a real API value that is sent as-is; on older models it just disables the local `thinking_budget` (the API's own default still applies).
`minimal`	Fastest; lightest reasoning pass. Not accepted on `gpt-5.6`+ (dropped from the API).
`low`	Quick reasoning for straightforward tasks.
`medium`	Balanced default.
`high`	More thorough; recommended for complex tasks.
`xhigh`	Near-maximum effort; slower but most accurate. Requires `gpt-5.2`+.
`max`	Maximum effort. Requires `gpt-5.6`+ (Sol/Terra/Luna).

Token counts, adaptive, and adaptive/<effort> are rejected with a configuration error at request time. Older models (o1, o3-mini) only accept low/medium/high; xhigh requires gpt-5.2+; none and max require gpt-5.6+; minimal is not accepted on gpt-5.6+.

Warning
Hidden reasoning tokens
OpenAI reasoning models always produce hidden reasoning tokens that count against max_tokens — even with thinking_budget: none on older models. docker-agent automatically raises the output-token floor for its internal low-effort calls so reasoning cannot starve visible text output.

See the Thinking / Reasoning guide for a cross-provider overview.

Tip
Custom endpoints
Use base_url for proxies and OpenAI-compatible services. See Custom Providers for full setup.

Custom Endpoint

Use base_url to connect to OpenAI-compatible APIs:

models:
  custom:
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5-mini
    base_url: https://your-proxy.example.com/v1

WebSocket Transport

For OpenAI Responses API models (gpt-4.1+, o-series, gpt-5), you can use WebSocket streaming instead of the default SSE (Server-Sent Events):

models:
  fast-gpt:
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-4.1
    provider_opts:
      transport: websocket  # Use WebSocket instead of SSE

Benefits

~40% faster for workflows with 20+ tool calls
Persistent connection reduces per-turn overhead
Server-side caching of connection state
Automatic fallback to SSE if WebSocket fails

Requirements

Only works with Responses API models: gpt-4.1+, o1, o3, o4, gpt-5
NOT compatible with the --models-gateway flag (automatically falls back to SSE when a gateway is configured)
Requires OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable

Example

See examples/websocket_transport.yaml for a complete example.

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OpenAI