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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, and max reasoning 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​

CapabilityDescription
ReasoningSupports low, medium, high, xhigh, and max reasoning effort; none is not supported.
Computer UseSupports visual understanding and computer-use workflows; production behavior depends on the application harness, tools, safeguards, and task environment.
MultimodalAccepts text and image input and generates text output.
Context Window1,050,000 tokens.
Max Output128,000 tokens.
Tool UseSupports 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 CutoffApril 30, 2026.

Known Limitations​

  • GPT-6 Astra does not support none reasoning 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.

Standard Pricing​

The token prices below are shown in USD per 1 million tokens; web search is billed in USD per use.

ContextInput
(USD / 1M Tokens)		30m Cache Write
(USD / 1M Tokens)		12h Cache Write
(USD / 1M Tokens)		Cache Read
(USD / 1M Tokens)		Output
(USD / 1M Tokens)		Web Search
(USD / use)
Up to 272K input tokens$10.00$12.50$25.00$1.00$50.00$0.01
More than 272K input tokens$20.00$25.00$50.00$2.00$75.00$0.01

Credits settlement: B.AI converts charges at 1 USD = 1,000,000 Credits and deducts Credits from the account balance.

  • For requests with more than 272K input tokens, the long-context input, cache, and output rates apply to the full request.
  • Cache-write rates replace the ordinary input charge for those tokens, rather than adding to it. A 30-minute cache write costs 1.25x the applicable input rate; a 12-hour write costs 2.5x. The default minimum lifetime is 30 minutes. Both lifetimes have the same cache-read rate, 0.1x the applicable input rate.
  • 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 account benefits. Specific prices and account benefits are subject to the platform display and final billing records.