Source · release
OpenAI Images 2.6: GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst and Flare in the API
Summary
On 2026-11-04 OpenAI released Images 2.6 across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API. The API
gets two new image models, gpt-image-2.6-sunburst and gpt-image-2.6-flare, on
v1/images/generations and v1/images/edits. The announcement post (the URL above)
returned 403, so this note relies on the 2026-11-04 entry in the
API changelog and the RSS summary of
the announcement.
Key points
- New in 2.6: adjustable complexity, SVG output, and animated GIF generation.
- Markup-guided editing (draw on the image to show what to change) works with supported GPT Image 2.5 and 2.6 models.
- OpenAI's summary also claims faster generation and more precise editing; no figures were available.
- Not checked: prices and how Sunburst and Flare differ (likely a quality versus speed split, but the changelog does not say).
Why it matters
SVG and GIF output make the image API usable for icons, diagrams, and small animations in code projects, and the models are also available inside Codex.