What is GPT‑5.2, and when was it released?

OpenAI announced GPT‑5.2 on 11 December 2025 as an update to the GPT‑5 model family focused on coding, long‑context work, and “knowledge‑work” outputs. It is rolling out across ChatGPT and the OpenAI API in Instant, Thinking, and Pro variants.

Which GPT‑5.2 model name should developers use in the OpenAI API?

OpenAI lists gpt-5.2 as the primary API model name, with gpt-5.2-chat-latest for the chat‑aligned variant and gpt-5.2-pro for the higher‑cost Pro tier. For reproducibility, the docs also list a dated snapshot such as gpt-5.2-2025-12-11.

What does a 400,000‑token context window change in practice?

A larger context window lets you keep more code, specs, and logs in one session, which can reduce time spent re‑pasting or re‑summarizing. It still rewards structure: provide the most relevant files and constraints first, then validate outputs with tests and code review.

Is GPT‑5.2 available in GitHub Copilot?

GitHub announced a public preview on 11 December 2025 for Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise. GitHub also lists Visual Studio Code 1.104.1 (or later) as the minimum version for access in VS Code, and notes that rollout is gradual.

OpenAI rolls out GPT-5.2 with stronger coding and context

Updated on December 15, 2025 4 minutes read

Modern developer workspace with a laptop showing a generic code editor and terminal beside printed specs, representing GPT-5.2’s stronger coding and long-context capabilities.

OpenAI announced GPT-5.2 on December 11, 2025, positioning it as an update to the GPT-5 family, with a focus on professional knowledge work, coding, and long-context tasks. The rollout adds three options in ChatGPT (Instant, Thinking, Pro) and aligns them with named tiers in the OpenAI API. OpenAI says GPT-5.2 improves results on software-engineering benchmarks and long-context evaluations, while introducing deeper reasoning controls for quality-first work. GitHub also began a public preview of GPT-5.2 inside GitHub Copilot.

What happened

OpenAI published its release post, Introducing GPT-5.2, on 11 December 2025 and said GPT-5.2 would begin rolling out in ChatGPT, starting with paid plans and expanding gradually.

OpenAI also standardized naming across products. In ChatGPT, users can choose ChatGPT-5.2 Instant, ChatGPT-5.2 Thinking, and ChatGPT-5.2 Pro. In the OpenAI API, those map to:

gpt-5.2-chat-latest (Instant)
gpt-5.2 (Thinking)
gpt-5.2-pro (Pro)

OpenAI states that gpt-5.2 is available in the Responses API and the Chat Completions API, while gpt-5.2-pro is available only in the Responses API. The release post also notes that both GPT-5.2 Thinking and GPT-5.2 Pro support a new reasoning effort level, xhigh.

On the OpenAI API model page, OpenAI lists gpt-5.2 with a 400,000-token context window and up to 128,000 output tokens, plus a knowledge cutoff of 31 August 2025. The same page lists snapshots for reproducibility, including gpt-5.2-2025-12-11.

OpenAI’s Help Center article GPT-5.2 in ChatGPT, updated 12 December 2025, lists usage limits (10 messages per 5 hours on Free; 160 messages per 3 hours on Plus), along with tier-specific context windows for Instant and Thinking.

GitHub announced on 11 December 2025 that GPT-5.2 is in public preview for GitHub Copilot on Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise plans. GitHub says GPT-5.2 can be selected in the model picker in Visual Studio Code 1.104.1 or later, on GitHub.com, in GitHub Mobile, and via Copilot CLI.

Why it matters

For learners, stronger coding models are useful only if they improve your feedback loop. The core skill is verification: writing tests, reading diffs, and being able to explain what changed and why. A better model can help you practice more, but it can also produce confident-looking mistakes if you skip checks.

For developers, long context reduces friction in multi-file work. If you can include more repository context, specs, and logs in one pass, you spend less time re-summarizing and more time iterating on patches. The upside is highest when prompts are constrained: define acceptance criteria, reference existing patterns in the codebase, and request changes in a reviewable format.

For teams, rollout mechanics affect reproducibility. ChatGPT access depends on plan tiers and caps; Copilot access depends on plan eligibility and, for Business and Enterprise, admin enablement. During a gradual rollout, two people can see different results from the same workflow, which matters when model output lands in pull requests or internal docs.

Cost is also part of the design. OpenAI lists GPT-5.2 API pricing at 1.75 USD per 1M input tokens, 0.175 USD per 1M cached input tokens, and 14 USD per 1M output tokens. GPT-5.2 Pro is far higher at 21 USD per 1M input tokens and 168 USD per 1M output tokens. That spread makes “which tier for which job” a practical policy decision.

Key numbers

GPT-5.2 announcement: 11 December 2025
GDPval (wins or ties): 70.9% for GPT-5.2 Thinking (OpenAI, 44 occupations)
SWE-Bench Pro (public): 55.6% for GPT-5.2 Thinking
SWE-bench Verified: 80.0% for GPT-5.2 Thinking
OpenAI API gpt-5.2 context window: 400,000 tokens
OpenAI API gpt-5.2 max output: 128,000 tokens
OpenAI API snapshot name: gpt-5.2-2025-12-11
Knowledge cutoff listed in API docs: 31 August 2025
ChatGPT usage limits: Free 10 messages per 5 hours; Plus 160 messages per 3 hours
ChatGPT context windows (Instant): Free 16K; Plus/Business 32K; Pro/Enterprise 128K
ChatGPT context window (Thinking): 196K for all paid tiers
GitHub Copilot minimum VS Code version: 1.104.1

Context

GPT-5.2 follows GPT-5.1 with a familiar trajectory: clearer product tiers and a push toward long-running workflows. OpenAI says GPT-5.2 improves on knowledge-work tasks (GDPval) and software-engineering benchmarks like SWE-Bench Pro, while emphasizing long-context capabilities.

The bigger shift is where model upgrades land. With GPT-5.2 showing up in ChatGPT and in IDE assistants like Copilot, teams need lightweight evaluation and governance: a small test harness, a model-selection policy, and clear review expectations when AI-generated code is proposed for production.

What’s next

If you use the OpenAI API, evaluate GPT-5.2 on your own tasks with a pinned snapshot and a small regression suite before changing defaults.

Use cached inputs for repeated system prompts and shared context, and keep outputs structured for review.

In ChatGPT, document whether an artifact was created with Instant, Thinking, or Pro, especially if your team shares prompt templates.

In GitHub Copilot, upgrade Visual Studio Code to 1.104.1 or later and confirm whether an admin needs to enable GPT-5.2 for your organization.

OpenAI says it expects to release a GPT-5.2 variant optimized for Codex in the coming weeks, which may change defaults for agentic coding workflows.

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