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«model_not_found» error: «The model … does not exist or you do not have access to it»

The model `gpt-4` does not exist or you do not have access to it. (code: model_not_found)

OpenAI returns model_not_found when it can’t use the model you ask for. There are three causes: the model has been switched off, the name is misspelt, or your project or account tier has no access to it. Paste the error into the checker: if it’s a retired model, it gives you the replacement.

Checked on

Example: the card of the model in the error

gpt-4 OpenAI

Shutdown date: 23 October 2026

Official replacement: gpt-5.6-sol

Price per million tokens (input / output): $30 / $60 → $4 / $20

What changes in your code

  • Change the name in model. If it lives in an environment variable or in an n8n, Make or Zapier setting, change it there.
  • The new models reason by default (medium): slower and more tokens. To answer like the old one, set reasoning_effort: "none" in Chat Completions or reasoning: { effort: "none" } in the Responses API.
  • If you send temperature, top_p or logprobs, keep reasoning at none: at any other level the API rejects them (per the GPT-5.4 and GPT-6 guides).
  • max_tokens is deprecated: use max_completion_tokens (or max_output_tokens in Responses). With reasoning on, that limit is spent on reasoning too: leave room.
  • Function calling in Chat Completions only works with reasoning_effort: "none". To reason and call tools together, move to the Responses API.
  • The new models don’t support the old /v1/completions endpoint or fine-tuning (each model’s page says so).

Example code

Python
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI()  # reads OPENAI_API_KEY from the environment

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5.6-sol",              # was: "gpt-4"
    reasoning_effort="none",    # answers like the old one, no reasoning
    max_completion_tokens=500,  # was: max_tokens=500
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
Node.js
import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI(); // reads OPENAI_API_KEY from the environment

const resp = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-5.6-sol",             // was: "gpt-4"
  reasoning_effort: "none",   // answers like the old one, no reasoning
  max_completion_tokens: 500, // was: max_tokens: 500
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }],
});
console.log(resp.choices[0].message.content);

Sources: OpenAI · Deprecations · Upgrading to GPT-5.6 · Using GPT-6 · Chat Completions API

More on this change →

We’ll email you before your model is switched off

One email 30 days before and another 7 days before the official date, with the replacement and what changes in the code. Free, no account, no marketing.

Which models does your app use?
More models (43)

Using more than one model? Paste your code into the free checker.

Open the checker

Got a whole repository? Check it at once from the terminal, with nothing to install:

npx -y github:ericc2005t/ai-model-sunset

The code, on GitHub →

Questions

How do I tell a retired model from an access problem?
If the model is on the shutdown list with a date already past, that’s it. If not, check the name (quotes, spaces, prefixes like «openai:») and, in OpenAI’s dashboard, which models your project allows.
And on Anthropic?
The Claude API answers with a 404 of type not_found_error. If the model is retired, the checker gives you the replacement.

Rather I fix it for you? Model swap, €79; full migration, €290–490. I reply within 24 h with a fixed price.

Ask for the fix: I reply within 24 h

No calls and nothing to pay here. Tell me what your app runs on and what breaks: I reply in writing within 24 h with a fixed price and a timeline.

What you need