A lightweight choice for everyday text-and-image processing and standardized tasks
GPT-5 nano is the nano variant of the OpenAI GPT-5 series, supporting text and image understanding and well suited for starting with tasks that have clear rules and verifiable outputs. It has a long native context specification and can be used for material summarization, information organization, and text-and-image question answering. Applications can be integrated using the public request format in this page's API section.
import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key=os.environ["ACEDATACLOUD_API_KEY"],
base_url="https://api.acedata.cloud/v1",
)
response = client.responses.create(
model="gpt-5-nano",
input="Hello!",
)
print(response.output_text)
Choose an available protocol for this model. OpenAI SDK uses a Base URL ending in /v1; Anthropic SDK uses the root URL. See each guide for protocol-specific parameters, tools and response formats.
Specifications and API features
Clarify capacity, input and output, and invocation methods before choosing a model.
Native context
Official native specification: 400,000 tokens
Native maximum output
Official native specification: 128,000 tokens
Input and delivery
Text and image understanding; text responses as the primary deliverable
Standard API endpoints
Responses; Chat Completions
Text-and-image message format
Chat Completions uses text and image_url content items
Interaction and control
Standard endpoints provide stream, output length, and reasoning configuration fields
Native maximum input
272,000 tokens; must be planned together with output
Capacity figures are public native specifications. Platform calls use the message format, parameter compatibility, and actual request limits of the selected endpoint.
Core capabilities
Learn what gpt-5-nano can bring to your work.
Turn long materials into readable results
Text-processing tasks can be organized around summarization, categorization, and field extraction. When providing input materials, clearly specify the summary scope, names that must be retained, and the delivery format to make results easier to verify. Long context leaves room to provide background in one place, but key rules should still be stated separately rather than buried in a large volume of material.
Bring images into text analysis
GPT-5 nano's visual capabilities are suitable for analyzing screenshots, product photos, or charts together with text questions. You can ask it to describe visible content, organize text in images, or explain the relationships between information in an image. The main deliverable is a text explanation, rather than treating image understanding as image generation or automatic editing.
Choose interactions based on your application form
Existing message-based applications can use Chat Completions, passing the current question and necessary history in messages; when using Responses, organize tasks through input and process its return structure. GPT-5 nano is suitable for summarization and classification with clearly defined responsibilities, without needing to adopt another conversation format for simple question answering.
Applicable scenarios
Start with specific tasks to find where the model can be effective.
Ticket summaries and tag drafts
Input customer messages, existing handling records, and tag definitions, and request a problem summary, missing information, and tag suggestions. Provide examples for easily confused categories, and allow it to return unable to determine. The result can serve as a ticket organization draft, with business programs validating tags and linking records before subsequent processing.
Screenshot descriptions and image-text Q&A
Input interface screenshots and specific questions, such as locating visible error messages, explaining page information, or organizing text in product images. Use image_url together with text instructions, and require it to distinguish between what is seen and what is inferred. Deliverables can be used for customer service explanations or content entry; unclear details should be supplemented with clear close-up images.
Document summaries and follow-up questions
GPT-5 nano is suitable for first compressing clear materials into short summaries or tags, then providing additional explanations for a specific field. Clearly specifying key information, allowed categories, and output length helps reduce excessive elaboration; when multiple conflicts or complex reasoning are involved, evaluate a more powerful model.
How to choose this model
Choose based on task complexity, input materials, and expected results.
How to choose among GPT-5, mini, and nano
GPT-5 nano, GPT-5 mini, and GPT-5 have the same published context and maximum output figures, so task performance cannot be judged by capacity alone. For routine processing with clear rules and easily verifiable results, evaluate nano first; for complex reasoning, full programming, or long-chain tool tasks, compare it with mini and GPT-5 using the same set of samples before deciding.
Choose the task first, then the endpoint
Use Chat Completions or Responses and provide the complete model ID. Chat Completions uses messages and choices, while Responses uses input and the corresponding response structure; handle history management, streaming events, and tool parameters separately according to the selected interface, and do not mix the two formats.
Start with a specific task
Based on the characteristics of gpt-5-nano, first validate small tasks whose results can be checked.
01
High-frequency summarization and classification
You can ask directly: Generate a one-line summary and a fixed category for each notice, retaining amounts, dates, and entities; when content is incomplete, mark it as pending confirmation and do not fill in background information.
02
Prepare inputs that support judgment
The clearer the summarization and classification criteria, the more suitable they are; check retention of key information, output length, and handling of missing information.
03
Then integrate it into your workflow
Use the full model ID gpt-5-nano, first confirm the public request format and available parameters on the API page, then connect your application. Preserve result parsing, error handling, and relevant evidence, and evaluate with the same set of real samples whether it is suitable for continued use.
Usage boundaries
Before formal use, understand the output quality and capability scope.
400K context and 128K maximum output are native capacity specifications; this does not mean every request should be filled to capacity. Long materials should highlight relevant sections, reserve budget for responses, and check completion status; if output is truncated, reduce the task scope or generate in segments rather than using incomplete results directly.
Visual understanding does not equal precise measurement or error-free word-for-word text recognition. For small text, dense tables, and blurry areas in screenshots, provide a clear version; when amounts, IDs, or chart values are involved, verify each item individually, and do not write directly to critical business records based on a single image-and-text response.
GPT-5 nano's image-and-text question answering does not equal the full product functionality of ChatGPT. Ordinary requests do not automatically access the internet, execute code, or operate interfaces; tool calls require the application to handle execution and return results. For document processing, text can be extracted first; do not treat directly submitting PDFs, speech output, or image generation as default capabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about using gpt-5-nano.
Do GPT-5 nano and GPT-5 mini have different capacities?
The official release page lists the same capacity for both: 400K context and 128K maximum output. The same capacity does not mean the same reasoning performance. When choosing a model, compare accuracy on actual tasks, formatting consistency, and rework required, rather than relying only on the nano or mini name.
Can GPT-5 nano understand images and generate images?
It supports image understanding and can generate text responses about image content. In Chat Completions, text and image_url can be included in the same message. This visual capability should be understood as image analysis, not as an image generation or image editing model.
How can I maintain a multi-turn conversation with GPT-5 nano?
When using Chat Completions, include relevant history in messages; when using Responses, organize input and related conversation content according to the documentation. For each turn, provide the latest material, revision goals, and key constraints; for longer tasks, retain interim summaries and a final version that can be checked independently.
How should I configure reasoning parameters for GPT-5 nano?
Responses uses reasoning configuration, while Chat Completions provides the reasoning_effort field. It is recommended to first test the task using the default configuration, then adjust compatible levels and compare quality and usage; do not directly apply all reasoning enum values from other GPT versions.
Is GPT-5 nano suitable for returning JSON or calling functions?
Standard endpoints provide JSON formatting and tool-related configuration, which can be used to design structured processing and function collaboration workflows. First verify compatibility for the required configuration, and validate fields and parameters in the application. Function call results still need to be executed and returned by the program; they do not mean the model has already completed the business operation.