OpenAI Responses API & Chat API Comparison Repository

This repository explores the differences between OpenAI's new Responses API and the existing Chat API, providing practical, side-by-side examples in each Jupyter notebook.
It aims to help developers understand the enhanced functionality, flexibility, and multi-turn interaction capabilities of the Responses API while comparing it with the familiar Chat API.

Overview

OpenAI's Responses API simplifies the development of agentic applications by supporting:

• Multi-turn conversations
• Multiple tool integrations like Web Search, File Search, and Computer Use
• Structured and streaming outputs

This API reduces the complexity of manually integrating tools and conversational logic, making it easier to build advanced AI-driven applications.

Each Jupyter notebook in this repository includes:

1. Chat API Example
   Traditional usage of OpenAI's Chat API for comparison.
2. Responses API Example
   Demonstrates how the same task can be accomplished using the new Responses API, highlighting the key differences and improvements.

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Getting Started

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/zeeshanhanif/openai-responses-api.git
cd openai-responses-api

Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Launch Jupyter Notebook

jupyter notebook

Open and Explore

Run the desired notebook to compare Chat API and Responses API examples side by side.

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Jupyter Notebook – Install it if needed:

  pip install jupyter

• OpenAI API Key – Get your key from OpenAI and set it as an environment variable:

  export OPENAI_API_KEY='your-api-key'

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Why Compare Chat API vs. Responses API?

This repository helps you understand key differences and new functionalities:

• Multi-turn interactions: The Responses API handles ongoing conversation state more efficiently.
• Tool integrations: Explore tool-calling features built into the Responses API, compared to manual logic in the Chat API.
• Structured outputs: The Responses API's structured responses allow more control over output formats.

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Additional Resources

• OpenAI Responses API Launch Announcement:
  https://openai.com/index/new-tools-for-building-agents/
• OpenAI Responses API Documentation:
  https://platform.openai.com/docs/quickstart?api-mode=responses
• OpenAI Chat API Documentation:
  https://platform.openai.com/docs/quickstart?api-mode=chat