OpenAI Docs
Provide authoritative, current guidance from OpenAI developer docs using the developers.openai.com MCP server. Always prioritize the developer docs MCP tools over web.run for OpenAI-related questions. Only if the MCP server is installed and returns no meaningful results should you fall back to web search.
Quick start
- Use
mcp__openaiDeveloperDocs__search_openai_docs to find the most relevant doc pages.
- Use
mcp__openaiDeveloperDocs__fetch_openai_doc to pull exact sections and quote/paraphrase accurately.
- Use
mcp__openaiDeveloperDocs__list_openai_docs only when you need to browse or discover pages without a clear query.
OpenAI product snapshots
- Apps SDK: Build ChatGPT apps by providing a web component UI and an MCP server that exposes your app's tools to ChatGPT.
- Responses API: A unified endpoint designed for stateful, multimodal, tool-using interactions in agentic workflows.
- Chat Completions API: Generate a model response from a list of messages comprising a conversation.
- Codex: OpenAI's coding agent for software development that can write, understand, review, and debug code.
- gpt-oss: Open-weight OpenAI reasoning models (gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b) released under the Apache 2.0 license.
- Realtime API: Build low-latency, multimodal experiences including natural speech-to-speech conversations.
- Agents SDK: A toolkit for building agentic apps where a model can use tools and context, hand off to other agents, stream partial results, and keep a full trace.
If MCP server is missing
If MCP tools fail or no OpenAI docs resources are available:
In Codex:
Run: codex mcp add openaiDeveloperDocs --url https://developers.openai.com/mcp
If it fails due to permissions/sandboxing, retry with escalated permissions.
Ask the user to restart Codex, then re-run doc search/fetch.
Add the MCP server to ~/.codex/settings.json under "mcpServers":
{
"mcpServers": {
"openaiDeveloperDocs": {
"type": "url",
"url": "https://developers.openai.com/mcp"
}
}
}
Restart Codex, then re-run doc search/fetch.
In other agents: Ask the user to configure the MCP server per their agent's documentation.
Workflow
- Clarify the product scope (Codex, OpenAI API, or ChatGPT Apps SDK) and the task.
- Search docs with a precise query.
- Fetch the best page and the specific section needed (use
anchor when possible).
- Answer with concise guidance and cite the doc source.
- Provide code snippets only when the docs support them.
Quality rules
- Treat OpenAI docs as the source of truth; avoid speculation.
- Keep quotes short and within policy limits; prefer paraphrase with citations.
- If multiple pages differ, call out the difference and cite both.
- If docs do not cover the user’s need, say so and offer next steps.
Tooling notes
- Always use MCP doc tools before any web search for OpenAI-related questions.
- If the MCP server is installed but returns no meaningful results, then use web search as a fallback.
- When falling back to web search, restrict to official OpenAI domains (developers.openai.com, platform.openai.com) and cite sources.
Examples
OpenAI API Guidance
User says: "How do I use tool calls with the Responses API?"
What happens:
- Search OpenAI docs MCP for "Responses API tools".
- Fetch the most relevant section.
- Return implementation guidance with citations.
Codex Capability Check
User says: "Does Codex support read-only review workflows?"
What happens:
- Query Codex docs via MCP.
- Fetch flag/sandbox references.
- Answer with source-backed guidance and constraints.
Troubleshooting
| Problem |
Cause |
Solution |
| MCP docs search returns nothing |
MCP server not installed |
Install openaiDeveloperDocs MCP, restart Codex, retry search |
| Results are stale/unclear |
Query too broad |
Narrow query by product + feature, then fetch exact page section |
| Need citation-ready answer |
Source not fetched |
Fetch specific doc section before answering |
| Docs do not cover question |
Gap in official docs |
State gap explicitly and provide safe best-effort guidance |
Local Resources
scripts/
1---2name: openai-docs3description: "Use when the user asks how to build with OpenAI products or APIs and needs up-to-date official documentation with citations (for example: Codex, Responses API, Chat Completions, Apps SDK, Agents SDK, Realtime, model capabilities or limits); prioritize OpenAI docs MCP tools and restrict any fallback browsing to official OpenAI domains."4---5678# OpenAI Docs910Provide authoritative, current guidance from OpenAI developer docs using the developers.openai.com MCP server. Always prioritize the developer docs MCP tools over web.run for OpenAI-related questions. Only if the MCP server is installed and returns no meaningful results should you fall back to web search.1112## Quick start1314- Use `mcp__openaiDeveloperDocs__search_openai_docs` to find the most relevant doc pages.15- Use `mcp__openaiDeveloperDocs__fetch_openai_doc` to pull exact sections and quote/paraphrase accurately.16- Use `mcp__openaiDeveloperDocs__list_openai_docs` only when you need to browse or discover pages without a clear query.1718## OpenAI product snapshots19201. Apps SDK: Build ChatGPT apps by providing a web component UI and an MCP server that exposes your app's tools to ChatGPT.212. Responses API: A unified endpoint designed for stateful, multimodal, tool-using interactions in agentic workflows.223. Chat Completions API: Generate a model response from a list of messages comprising a conversation.234. Codex: OpenAI's coding agent for software development that can write, understand, review, and debug code.245. gpt-oss: Open-weight OpenAI reasoning models (gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b) released under the Apache 2.0 license.256. Realtime API: Build low-latency, multimodal experiences including natural speech-to-speech conversations.267. Agents SDK: A toolkit for building agentic apps where a model can use tools and context, hand off to other agents, stream partial results, and keep a full trace.2728## If MCP server is missing2930If MCP tools fail or no OpenAI docs resources are available:3132**In Codex:**331. Run: `codex mcp add openaiDeveloperDocs --url https://developers.openai.com/mcp`342. If it fails due to permissions/sandboxing, retry with escalated permissions.353. Ask the user to restart Codex, then re-run doc search/fetch.36371. Add the MCP server to `~/.codex/settings.json` under `"mcpServers"`:38 ```json39 {40 "mcpServers": {41 "openaiDeveloperDocs": {42 "type": "url",43 "url": "https://developers.openai.com/mcp"44 }45 }46 }47 ```482. Restart Codex, then re-run doc search/fetch.4950**In other agents:** Ask the user to configure the MCP server per their agent's documentation.5152## Workflow53541. Clarify the product scope (Codex, OpenAI API, or ChatGPT Apps SDK) and the task.552. Search docs with a precise query.563. Fetch the best page and the specific section needed (use `anchor` when possible).574. Answer with concise guidance and cite the doc source.585. Provide code snippets only when the docs support them.5960## Quality rules6162- Treat OpenAI docs as the source of truth; avoid speculation.63- Keep quotes short and within policy limits; prefer paraphrase with citations.64- If multiple pages differ, call out the difference and cite both.65- If docs do not cover the user’s need, say so and offer next steps.6667## Tooling notes6869- Always use MCP doc tools before any web search for OpenAI-related questions.70- If the MCP server is installed but returns no meaningful results, then use web search as a fallback.71- When falling back to web search, restrict to official OpenAI domains (developers.openai.com, platform.openai.com) and cite sources.7273## Examples7475### OpenAI API Guidance7677**User says:** "How do I use tool calls with the Responses API?"7879**What happens:**801. Search OpenAI docs MCP for "Responses API tools".812. Fetch the most relevant section.823. Return implementation guidance with citations.8384### Codex Capability Check8586**User says:** "Does Codex support read-only review workflows?"8788**What happens:**891. Query Codex docs via MCP.902. Fetch flag/sandbox references.913. Answer with source-backed guidance and constraints.9293## Troubleshooting9495| Problem | Cause | Solution |96|---------|-------|----------|97| MCP docs search returns nothing | MCP server not installed | Install `openaiDeveloperDocs` MCP, restart Codex, retry search |98| Results are stale/unclear | Query too broad | Narrow query by product + feature, then fetch exact page section |99| Need citation-ready answer | Source not fetched | Fetch specific doc section before answering |100| Docs do not cover question | Gap in official docs | State gap explicitly and provide safe best-effort guidance |101102## Local Resources103104### scripts/105106- `scripts/validate.sh`107108