Deprecations
Open official pageOpenAI deprecations
Source of record for the March 26, 2026 shutdown date, the affected snapshot IDs and preview aliases, and the official replacement recommendation.
OpenAI deprecation detail
Legacy GPT snapshots on a March 26, 2026 shutdown path
This page is a decision brief for teams still pinned to older GPT snapshot IDs or preview aliases. It keeps the shutdown date, affected names, replacement path, and cutover checks in one source-linked view.
Why this matters now
Snapshot drift becomes a shutdown problem once the date is fixed.
Use these points to decide whether the team still has pinned legacy GPT names in production, whether preview aliases hide that risk, and what has to be replaced before the cutoff.
Official sources
Check the OpenAI pages behind this migration brief.
This page uses a fixed source set so the migration brief stays auditable instead of drifting into secondhand advice.
Snapshot mapping
The move is from pinned snapshot names to current model families.
These are the legacy names the OpenAI deprecations page places on the March 26, 2026 shutdown clock. The migration work is mostly about finding where those names still exist and replacing them with an actively supported family.
| Before | Now | What changes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| gpt-4-0314 | gpt-5 or gpt-4.1 family | This dated GPT-4 snapshot is on the shutdown list, so any direct model pin to gpt-4-0314 has to be replaced with a current family choice before the cutoff. | |
| gpt-4-1106-preview | gpt-5 or gpt-4.1 family | This preview snapshot is also on the March 26, 2026 shutdown path, so preview-era configs should be treated as current migration debt rather than as harmless legacy defaults. | |
| gpt-4-0125-preview | gpt-5 or gpt-4.1 family | This later preview snapshot is in the same deprecation group, so applications pinned here still need a direct model-family replacement plan. | |
| gpt-4-turbo-preview and gpt-4-turbo-preview-completions | gpt-5 or gpt-4.1 family | OpenAI ties these preview aliases to the same shutdown path, so alias use in SDK wrappers, config files, or older service defaults still has to be removed explicitly. |
Migration checklist
Use the shutdown list to drive a direct replacement sequence.
The order here is meant to surface hidden legacy names first, then force a current-family choice and clear the old IDs from production config before the cutoff date.
Step 1
Inventory every pinned snapshot ID and preview alias.
Search application code, SDK wrappers, infrastructure config, and any model-selection admin tools for the exact legacy names listed on the deprecations page.
Sources
Step 2
Choose the replacement family explicitly.
OpenAI points this shutdown group toward the gpt-5 or gpt-4.1 family, so the migration plan should make that choice explicit instead of letting a stale alias keep deciding it implicitly.
Sources
Step 3
Remove preview aliases from runtime configuration.
If the application still relies on gpt-4-turbo-preview or other preview-era names, replace those references directly so the shutdown clock is no longer hidden behind aliases.
Sources
Step 4
Schedule cutover before March 26, 2026.
Treat the shutdown date as the operational deadline and move production traffic early enough that any fallback, rollback, or benchmark work still happens before the listed removal date.
Sources
Verify before cutover
Do not assume a current-family replacement is risk-free just because the API name changes cleanly.
These checks are the minimum confidence gates before any production path should leave the legacy snapshot group behind.
No remaining legacy names in config
Confirm the exact snapshot IDs and preview aliases listed on the deprecations page no longer appear in runtime configuration, environment settings, or admin controls.
Sources
Replacement choice is explicit and documented
Verify the team has deliberately selected the gpt-5 or gpt-4.1 family for each affected workload rather than inheriting the replacement through stale defaults or wrapper code.
Sources
Tests cover every endpoint that referenced the old snapshot
Re-run the production paths that depended on the legacy names so any pinned-model behavior still hidden in older request paths is found before the shutdown date forces it.
Sources
Production traffic moves before the listed date
The shutdown date is the hard line from OpenAI. Treat successful traffic movement before March 26, 2026 as the final completion condition, not just local config edits.
Sources
Continue the site
Keep moving through the decision from here.
Use the groups below to move laterally through the decision, not back out into another doc hunt.
Related pages
Stay in the same decision neighborhood instead of backing out to search.
OpenAI deprecations tracker
Provider-specific hub for OpenAI shutdown dates, migration briefs, and replacement paths.
Open pageAssistants API shutdown date
Shutdown-date brief for Assistants API with migration mapping and replacement path.
Open pageGPT-4o preview audio and realtime models
Migration brief for dated preview audio and realtime model names moving to current families.
Open pageCompare pages
Open the pages that turn this topic into a side-by-side decision.
Replacement pages
Use the likely substitutes, migration targets, or fallback choices as the next click.
Source category pages
Trace the source families behind this page instead of opening random docs in isolation.
Deprecation and migration sources
Official shutdown, migration, and replacement references behind lifecycle pages.
Open page