# OpenAI o4-mini — deprecation status

> Yes — OpenAI deprecated o4-mini on April 22, 2026 and shuts it down on October 23, 2026 (in 85 days). The recommended replacement is GPT-5.6 Terra.

The last of the mini reasoning models, and the named successor when o1-mini was retired in 2025 — which makes it the second stop on a migration path that now needs a third. Deprecated April 2026, shutting down October 2026.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | OpenAI |
| Model id | `o4-mini` |
| Status | Deprecated |
| Aliases | `o4-mini-2025-04-16` |
| Released | April 16, 2025 |
| Deprecated | April 22, 2026 |
| Shutdown | October 23, 2026 (in 85 days) |
| Last verified | July 30, 2026 |

## Replacement

- **GPT-5.6 Terra** (`gpt-5.6-terra`) · recommended — https://modeldeprecations.dev/openai/gpt-5.6-terra
  - Note that OpenAI points o4-mini at Terra, not at Sol: the replacement for a small reasoning model is now a general model, not a smaller reasoner.
  - Parameters it accepts: https://modelparams.dev/models/openai/gpt-5.6-terra

```diff
- "model": "o4-mini"
+ "model": "gpt-5.6-terra"
```

## FAQ

### When will OpenAI o4-mini shut down?

OpenAI o4-mini is scheduled to shut down on October 23, 2026, in 85 days.

### What replaces OpenAI o4-mini?

OpenAI recommends GPT-5.6 Terra (`gpt-5.6-terra`) as the replacement for OpenAI o4-mini. Note that OpenAI points o4-mini at Terra, not at Sol: the replacement for a small reasoning model is now a general model, not a smaller reasoner.

### Is OpenAI o4-mini still available?

Yes, for now. OpenAI o4-mini is deprecated but still answers requests until October 23, 2026. Deprecated models get no further updates and are the first to lose capacity.

### How do I migrate from OpenAI o4-mini to gpt-5.6-terra?

Swap the model id in your API call: replace "o4-mini" with "gpt-5.6-terra". Note that OpenAI points o4-mini at Terra, not at Sol: the replacement for a small reasoning model is now a general model, not a smaller reasoner.

### Does this apply to o4-mini-2025-04-16 too?

Yes. OpenAI o4-mini is also published as `o4-mini-2025-04-16`; that id shares the same lifecycle dates as `o4-mini`.

## Sources

- [OpenAI API deprecations](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations) — accessed 2026-07-30

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Canonical page: https://modeldeprecations.dev/openai/o4-mini
JSON: https://modeldeprecations.dev/api/v1/models/openai/o4-mini.json