OpenAI SDK Patterns

Quick Guide: Use the official openai npm package (v6+) to interact with OpenAI's API directly. Use client.responses.create() (Responses API) for new projects with built-in tools and server-side state, or client.chat.completions.create() (Chat Completions) for stateless chat flows. Use zodResponseFormat and client.chat.completions.parse() for structured outputs. Use .stream() or stream: true for streaming. Supports GPT-5.x family, GPT-4o, o4-mini, embeddings, vision, audio, and batch processing.

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CRITICAL: Before Using This Skill

All code must follow project conventions in CLAUDE.md (kebab-case, named exports, import ordering, import type, named constants)

(You MUST use the Responses API (client.responses.create()) for new projects -- it provides better performance, built-in tools, and server-side conversation state)

(You MUST use zodResponseFormat() from openai/helpers/zod for structured outputs -- do NOT manually construct JSON schemas)

(You MUST handle errors using OpenAI.APIError and its subclasses -- never use bare catch blocks without error type checking)

(You MUST configure appropriate retries and timeouts for production use -- the SDK retries 2 times by default on 429/5xx errors)