These docs track the main branch and may describe unreleased features. The stable documentation lives at docs.docker.com.

OpenAI

Use GPT-5.6, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, 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-4.1 Previous-generation flagship
gpt-4.1-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.

Service Tier (Fast Mode)

Set provider_opts.service_tier to request OpenAI's Fast mode:

models:
  fast-gpt:
    provider: openai
    model: gpt-5.6
    provider_opts:
      service_tier: fast

OpenAI also accepts priority for Fast mode. It provides faster processing at premium pricing on supported models, without reducing reasoning effort. This is independent of thinking_budget and applies to all requests using the configured model, including internal calls such as title generation and compaction.

The value is forwarded unchanged to Chat Completions (including reranking) and Responses requests, over either SSE or WebSocket. OpenAI-compatible providers using these APIs also receive the option when set; the endpoint must support it. Other tiers, such as auto, default, and flex, can also be requested; availability and valid values depend on the API and model. When omitted or empty, no service_tier is sent, leaving the API's default behavior unchanged. Non-string values are ignored.

Warning

Docker Agent's cost estimates do not automatically adjust for service_tier. By default, they use catalogue pricing, which can underestimate premium-tier charges. Set the model's cost override to the applicable input, output, and cache token rates for your tier.

See examples/openai-service-tier.yaml for a complete example.

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+.

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.

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-5.6-terra
    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

Requirements

Example

See examples/websocket_transport.yaml for a complete example.

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