gpt-image-1 Is Off. Edit From the Photo, Not a New Prompt.

OpenAI’s deprecations table, in the 22 April 2026 snapshot, lists gpt-image-1 as shutting down on 23 October 2026. That date is today. The listed API substitutes are gpt-image-2.5-sunburst or gpt-image-2.5-flare. After this date, requests that still name gpt-image-1 should be expected to fail. If you already have a locked catalog still, do not re-describe the mug, bottle, or jacket from memory. Upload the photo. Name what stays. Change one noun. Inspect. FreeGPTImg is a GPT Image 2 workspace: 20 daily free credits, no credit card required. It is not ChatGPT Images 2.5, and it does not run gpt-image-1. Overlay exact copy last.

Keep the loop in FreeGPTImg. Stay on GPT Image 2 when that is the label on the screen, edit from a locked hero in image to image, invent a first frame only when you have no photo in text to image or the free AI image generator, use the ChatGPT image generator free alternative for a dedicated generate path, lock materials in AI product photography, and recrop a feed frame in AI social media ads.

What ended today, and what did not

Three names still get mixed in one folder. Mixing them is how a shutdown day turns into a week of cousin SKUs.

1. gpt-image-1 (API). OpenAI shuts this route down on 23 October 2026. After that date, calls that name it should fail. The deprecations table names GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst or Flare as the substitute. A creator prompt does not need those IDs written into the pixels.
2. Older GPT Image API aliases. On 1 December 2026, gpt-image-1-mini, gpt-image-1.5, and chatgpt-image-latest also leave the API, with the same 2.5 substitutes. If a script still stores those strings, change the script. Do not put the deadline on a poster.
3. ChatGPT Images 2.5 (consumer). OpenAI launched this on 8 September 2026. It is the chat surface for generating and editing. It is not the dead gpt-image-1 string, and it is not FreeGPTImg.

GPT Image 2 is still in OpenAI’s image-generation guide as an earlier model. For new API integrations, that guide points at GPT Image 2.5. Quality on GPT Image 2 is low, medium, or high. GPT Image 2.5 adds xhigh and max. Do not write those 2.5 quality names into a GPT Image 2 prompt and expect a different engine.

OpenAI’s image-prompting guide is the same on shutdown day as it was last week: start from the image you need, name what stays, change one thing, inspect. Flare is documented as the small, faster 2.5 model with quality comparable to GPT Image 2. Sunburst is the base 2.5 model, with higher image quality than GPT Image 2. Both are described as stronger at precise editing and subject preservation. FreeGPTImg currently exposes GPT Image 2 on this loop. Write the name on the screen into the filename.

The cheap failure today is not “I forgot to migrate an API key.” It is “I no longer trust yesterday’s JPEG, so I typed the product again and got a second spout.”

Name the job: generate, or edit

Weak sets fail because they ask one prompt to be a shutdown announcement, a new white MAIN, a three-quarter view, and a “Sunburst approved” badge. Name the job first.

Job	Start from	Generate in	Keep	Wrong move
Locked catalog still already honest	That JPEG	Image-to-image	Silhouette, label, pack count	Text-to-image from a new paragraph
One new view of the same SKU	Locked hero	Image-to-image	Lighting family, materials	“Make it better and more 2.5”
White field from a lifestyle shot	Locked hero	Image-to-image, field only	SKU, printed marks	Inventing a second colorway
Social recrop	Locked hero	Recrop after the still is honest	Empty headline	Stretching a cousin SKU
New SKU, no photo yet	A real product photo if you have one	Text-to-image, then lock	Empty type	Baking “gpt-image-1 is gone” into pixels
API migration note	Don’t generate it	Editor, overlay last	Empty model names	“Sunburst approved” badge

A text-to-image pass invents. An image-to-image pass should borrow. If you already paid for a still that matches the unit you ship, that file is truth. The new engine — 2.5, GPT Image 2, or anything else on the screen — does not get to redesign the handle.

Image-to-image checklist after gpt-image-1

Use the same sequence in an image-to-image tab, a GPT Image 2 loop, or a ChatGPT thread. Do not paste an API migration note into a creator prompt and expect the model to keep the SKU.

1. Find the locked hero. One JPEG or PNG that already matches the unit you ship. Even light, product filling most of the frame, quiet field. If you do not have that file, stop and shoot or scan one. Do not invent it from a paragraph because an API string died.
2. Write keep / change / do-not in five lines. Keep silhouette, materials, pack count, printed logo if it exists on the object, and the exact SKU. Change only one noun: crop, view, field, or light. Do not add a second logo, a wax seal, a QR code, or a cousin SKU.
3. Name the engine on the screen. If the tab says GPT Image 2, write gpt-image-2 into the filename. If you are in ChatGPT Images 2.5, write that. Do not relabel a GPT Image 2 edit as Sunburst.
4. Upload the photo first. Image-to-image starts from pixels, not from a caption. A prompt without the file is text-to-image wearing a costume.
5. Ask for empty type. Prices, percents, “gpt-image-1,” “2.5,” “NEW,” and marketplace badges never belong in the generator if they must be exact.
6. Generate one still. One pass. File names like mug-three-quarter-gpt-image-2.jpg.
7. Optional second view. Same lighting family, same SKU, one new change. Do not stack “white background and a lifestyle porch and a 9:16 story” in one request.
8. Inspect the subject before the story. A sixth finger, a new spout, a badge reading “2.5,” or a tag that says “30% OFF” are stop conditions. Hold the still next to the real sample. If a stranger would think this unit has a colorway you do not ship, discard it.
9. Overlay copy last. In an editor, set the real headline and only the claims a manager signed. Recrop to 1:1, 4:5, or 9:16 after the subject is honest.
10. Keep dead API names out of the folder. A gpt-image-1 filename on a file made today is a lie. Rename. Do not generate a poster that says the model shut down.

Prompt formula

Image-to-image on GPT Image 2, not a gpt-image-1 shutdown poster and not a GPT Image 2.5 demo.
Start from the uploaded photo of one [SKU].
Keep: exact silhouette, materials, pack count, printed marks, lighting family.
Change only: [view / field / crop / light].
Text in image: none. No “gpt-image-1”, “2.5”, “Sunburst”, “NEW”, prices, watermarks, or marketplace badges.
Do not add: extra SKUs, extra colorways, extra accessories, celebrity hands, children.

Prompt examples

Three-quarter view, same mug. “Image-to-image: keep this exact ceramic mug silhouette, glaze, handle curve, and studio lighting. Change only to a three-quarter view. Quiet field. No extra objects, no text, no second mug.”

White field from a locked hero. “Image-to-image: keep this exact bottle silhouette, label, and cap. Change only the field to pure white, even catalog light. No extra bottles, no ‘gpt-image-1’ type, no droplets that were not on the sample.”

Lifestyle field, SKU locked. “Image-to-image: keep this exact kettle silhouette, steel finish, and handle. Change only the field to a quiet oak counter, warm side light, empty lower band. No extra kettles, no recipe card text.”

Social recrop after the still is honest. “4:5 recrop of the locked hero, product in the middle third, empty lower band for later overlay. No ‘30% off’ type, no percentages, no ChatGPT chrome.”

Do not generate this. “Infographic that says ‘gpt-image-1 shut down 23 Oct 2026, migrated to Sunburst, 40% sharper, guaranteed listing approval,’ with a fake ranking badge and a cousin SKU.”

Review the pixels before you ship the edit

Zoom to 100%. A phone grid hides a rewritten logo and a leftover model name.

• Subject honesty. Same silhouette, materials, finish, pack count, and SKU. If a stranger would think this unit has a feature it does not ship, discard the still.
• Edit honesty. Only the noun you named should move. If the handle, spout, stitch line, or label type also moved, the pass failed.
• Model honesty. Write the model you used into the file name. A ChatGPT Images 2.5 export is that export. A GPT Image 2 still is GPT Image 2. Do not label either as gpt-image-1.
• Empty type. Prices, percents, model IDs, and “NEW” stay empty of anything you need people to read.
• People and file. No recognizable generated faces you cannot clear. No children. JPEG or PNG, RGB, enough pixels for zoom, no watermark, no QR. Preview on a phone and as a square.
• Provenance. An API shutdown is not a license. If a platform requires AI disclosure, follow that policy. Recheck OpenAI’s deprecations table before you tell a teammate “we still call gpt-image-1.”

Limitations you should not skip

A generated still is not marketplace approval, not a commercial-rights grant, and not proof that a 2.5 substitute ran. FreeGPTImg does not call gpt-image-1, does not call gpt-image-2.5-sunburst or gpt-image-2.5-flare for you, and does not migrate your API keys. The default loop is GPT Image 2. Do not generate medical seals, “#1 2026,” or sale badges unless those claims are already on the real label and a manager signed them.

OpenAI still lists limits that matter on shutdown day: complex prompts can take up to two minutes; text in the frame can still land in the wrong place; recurring brand marks can drift across a set; structured layouts can ignore a grid. Empty type bands are the cheap way to stay inside those lines. Models invent letters when you mention a shutdown, a percent, or a model ID as scene dressing. Shorten the brief. One SKU. One noun. Empty type.

A new prompt is not a backup of the photo you already had. If the locked hero is honest, edit it. If it is not honest, reshoot. Do not ask the generator to remember a product the API no longer serves.

FAQ

Did OpenAI remove gpt-image-1 on 23 October 2026?

Yes. OpenAI’s deprecations table, in the 22 April 2026 snapshot, lists gpt-image-1 with a shutdown date of 23 October 2026. The recommended API replacements are gpt-image-2.5-sunburst or gpt-image-2.5-flare. After that date, plan on any request that names gpt-image-1 failing.

Should I regenerate every catalog still from a new text prompt?

No. If you already have a locked photo that matches the unit you ship, upload it and change one noun. Text-to-image is for a first frame when no photo exists. Image-to-image is for a second view, a quieter field, or a recrop.

Is GPT Image 2 the same as gpt-image-2.5-sunburst?

No. OpenAI’s image-generation guide points new API work at GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst or Flare. GPT Image 2 is documented as an earlier model. FreeGPTImg’s default loop is GPT Image 2. Do not relabel files.

What else shuts down on 1 December 2026?

The same deprecations page lists gpt-image-1-mini, gpt-image-1.5, and chatgpt-image-latest for 1 December 2026, with the same 2.5 substitutes. Change those strings in scripts. Do not bake the date into a still.

Why did the model add a second handle or the words “2.5”?

The prompt mentioned a shutdown, a substitute model, or “make it better” as scene dressing. Shorten it. Upload the locked photo. Change one noun. Empty type. Generate again.

Does FreeGPTImg still work after gpt-image-1 is gone?

FreeGPTImg is a GPT Image 2 workspace: 20 daily free credits, no credit card required. It is not an API migration tool and it does not run gpt-image-1. Use image-to-image when you already have an honest still.

Sources

• OpenAI Developers: Deprecations
• OpenAI Developers: Image generation
• OpenAI Developers: Image prompting
• OpenAI: Introducing ChatGPT Images 2.5
• OpenAI: Usage policies

Edit one locked still on FreeGPTImg

Pick the JPEG that already matches the unit you ship. Write five lines: keep, one change, empty type. Open FreeGPTImg, stay on GPT Image 2 when that is the label on the screen, run the pass in image to image, invent a first frame only if you have no photo in text to image or the free AI image generator, keep materials honest in AI product photography, recrop a feed frame in AI social media ads, and overlay real words only after the still matches the product you ship.