Key takeaways
- The only official GPT Image 2.6 information is one line in OpenAI's API spec, added October 28, 2026: the new
markupedit field "Supports GPT Image 2.5 and 2.6." - Before that, two sets of anonymous image models drew attention: Aurora (red, green and blue alpha) and Shooting Star (red and green alpha). Neither has been tied to 2.6 by any public source.
- The main Aurora report speculated about GPT Image 3, not 2.6.
- Code samples with
"model": "gpt-image-2.6"on third-party sites use an ID that isn't in any OpenAI list.
Claims checked, at a glance
| Claim | Source | Tied to 2.6? | Our read |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT Image 2.6 exists | OpenAI API spec, commit aa880040 | Yes, by name | Confirmed |
| 2.6 supports markup edits | Same commit | Yes | Confirmed |
| Aurora models briefly appeared in OpenAI's API | TestingCatalog, October 18 | No | Reported, not confirmed by OpenAI |
| Aurora is GPT Image 3 | TestingCatalog, Lumina Bench | No | Speculation, marked as such by the authors |
| Shooting Star is an OpenAI model | Posts on X | No | Guessed from output style; provider unknown |
| 2.6 launches with GPT-6.2 | A post marked "unconfirmed" by its author | Yes, as a guess | No evidence |
The model ID is gpt-image-2.6 | Third-party code samples | Yes, as a guess | Not in OpenAI's model list or the edit endpoint's model enum |
| 2.6 price, resolution, release date | None | n/a | Not published anywhere official |
What OpenAI confirmed
On October 28, 2026, OpenAI's public OpenAPI repository got a commit titled "Add 'markup' property to image editing endpoints." The field's description:
A transparent PNG overlaid on the first image to guide the edit. Must match that image's dimensions after orientation and contain transparent pixels. Supports GPT Image 2.5 and 2.6. Cannot be combined with mask.
That's a documentation change, not a leak. It confirms the name and one capability. It doesn't add a 2.6 model ID: the edit endpoint's model list still defaults to gpt-image-2.5-sunburst, and OpenAI's model list has no 2.6 entry. How markup works, with a script to build a valid overlay, is in What Is GPT Image 2.6?.
Aurora: what was seen
On October 18, TestingCatalog reported that three model names, aurora-red-alpha, aurora-green-alpha and aurora-blue-alpha, appeared briefly in the OpenAI API, were removed, and then showed up in Arena's blind image comparisons within hours.
What the public record shows:
- Two sample images, both of cats. Observers said red was fast with lower quality and green was slower with better quality. Blue wasn't tested.
- The report said "OpenAI may be testing GPT-Image-3." The author presented this as a guess. Lumina Bench also suggested GPT Image 3.
- No mention of 2.6. The report predates the October 28 spec change, and nothing since has connected the two.
Two cat pictures can't support a quality ranking. And the GPT Image 3 guess cuts against the idea that Aurora is 2.6.
Shooting Star: what was seen
X user @abhinavflac posted outputs from shooting-star-red-alpha and shooting-star-green-alpha (post 1, post 2).
- Some readers thought the style looked like OpenAI's. No one has confirmed which company built it.
- One test asked for an intersection with 7 cars, 3 bicycles, 5 pedestrians and 2 buses; the car count in the output didn't fully match.
- No public source maps Shooting Star to 2.6.
Is Aurora or Shooting Star GPT Image 2.6?
There's no evidence either way. The name "2.6" came from OpenAI's own docs; the Arena names came from anonymous tests with no stated provider. Linking them takes an assumption that nobody has backed with a source. If OpenAI publishes a 2.6 model page with samples, that's when a match could be checked.
The model ID problem
Several third-party pages already show request code with "model": "gpt-image-2.6". That ID doesn't appear in OpenAI's model list or in the spec's model enum. Copying that code today will fail, and when 2.6 does open, the real ID may differ: GPT Image 2.5 shipped as two IDs, gpt-image-2.5-flare and gpt-image-2.5-sunburst, not a single gpt-image-2.5.
What to do with this
- Don't plan around leaked specs. None of the Arena sightings come with a price, size limit or release date.
- Build on what's live. GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Sunburst run on HiAPI from $0.025 per 1K image. See GPT Image 2.6 vs GPT Image 2.5 for what 2.5 already covers.
- Get the real answer when it lands. Turn on Notify me at launch on HiAPI's GPT Image 2.6 page. The signals to watch are in GPT Image 2.6 Release Date.
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FAQ
Did GPT Image 2.6 leak?
Its name was published by OpenAI in the API spec. The anonymous Arena models are a separate story, and none has been tied to 2.6.
What is aurora-red-alpha?
An anonymous image model name reported in OpenAI's API and Arena on October 18, 2026. Its identity hasn't been confirmed.
Is Shooting Star from OpenAI?
Unconfirmed. The guess is based on output style.
Where can I see official GPT Image 2.6 information?
Right now, only the markup field description in OpenAI's API spec (commit aa880040).
