GPT-6 Astra
Overview
GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI's first 6-series model, announced on September 3, 2026, for complex end-to-end work across software, browsers, research, and professional applications. Its model ID is gpt-6-astra. It combines configurable reasoning, computer-use capabilities, and a 1.05M-token context window for long-running, tool-intensive workflows.
Key Features
- Agentic Computer Work: Combines visual understanding, computer use, browsing, and tool execution for multistep workflows.
- Software Engineering: Supports hosted shell, code interpreter, Apply Patch, and other Responses API tools for complex engineering tasks.
- Long-Context Reasoning: Provides a 1.05M-token context window and up to 128K output tokens.
- Asynchronous Agent Workflows: Supports async tool calls and mid-turn steering, allowing applications to supply new instructions or tool results while a response is in progress.
- Configurable Reasoning: Supports
low,medium,high,xhigh, andmaxreasoning effort.
Best Use Cases
- Long-Horizon Software Engineering: Repository-level implementation, debugging, migration, and verification tasks that require sustained context and repeated tool use.
- Browser and Desktop Automation: Workflows that navigate websites or professional software, interpret visual state, and complete multistep operations with human oversight.
- Research and Scientific Analysis: Evidence-heavy research and technical workflows that combine long-context reasoning, browsing, code execution, and document analysis.
- Business Artifact Creation: Creating and revising structured documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and analyses while following existing templates and user feedback.
Capabilities and Limitations
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Reasoning | Supports low, medium, high, xhigh, and max reasoning effort; none is not supported. |
| Computer Use | Supports visual understanding and computer-use workflows; production behavior depends on the application harness, tools, safeguards, and task environment. |
| Multimodal | Accepts text and image input and generates text output. |
| Context Window | 1,050,000 tokens. |
| Max Output | 128,000 tokens. |
| Tool Use | Supports function calling, Structured Outputs, web search, file search, image generation, code interpreter, hosted shell, Apply Patch, computer use, MCP, skills, and tool search through the Responses API. |
| Knowledge Cutoff | April 30, 2026. |
Known Limitations
- GPT-6 Astra does not support
nonereasoning effort. - Requests above 272K input tokens use higher rates for the entire request.
- Production safeguards and monitoring may refuse, pause, or stop some sensitive requests, including legitimate defensive-security work.
Credits Usage
| Context | Input (Credits/Token) | Cache Write (Credits/Token) | Cache Read (Credits/Token) | Output (Credits/Token) | Web Search (Credits/Use) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 272K input tokens | 10.00 | 12.50 | 1.00 | 50.00 | 10,000 |
| More than 272K input tokens | 20.00 | 25.00 | 2.00 | 75.00 | 10,000 |
- For requests with more than 272K input tokens, the long-context input, cache, and output rates apply to the full request.
- Web search is billed per use and is not affected by the input-token context tier.
Pricing note
Prices shown in the documentation are B.AI standard reference prices for base billing purposes. B.AI may provide lower actual usage costs through top-up bonuses and account benefits. Specific prices, bonus Credits, and account benefits are subject to the platform display and final billing records.