openai · OpenAI Platform Docs

Reasoning best practices | OpenAI API

Provides strategies and prompting techniques to optimize the performance of reasoning models, including how to structure complex queries and manage chain-of-thought processes.

Import to Prompt Buddy

Derived skill

Files assembled from official documentation

Viewing SKILL.md

Reasoning best practices | OpenAI API

Provides strategies and prompting techniques to optimize the performance of reasoning models, including how to structure complex queries and manage chain-of-thought processes.

When To Use

Use when you need to improve the accuracy of complex logical tasks, structure prompts for reasoning-heavy models, or optimize how a model handles multi-step problem solving.

Reference Files

File	Contains	Use For
`SKILL.md`	Entry point: scope, routing table, and workflow.	Start here.
`docs/reasoning-best-practices-openai-api-workflow-guide.md`	A guide detailing the differences between reasoning and GPT models, including selection criteria and usage strategies for navigating ambiguous tasks.	Questions about a guide detailing the differences between reasoning and GPT models, including selection criteria and usage strategies...

What This Skill Covers

OpenAI offers two types of models: reasoning models (o3 and o4-mini, for example) and GPT models (like GPT-4.1). These model families behave differently.
Main sections: Reasoning models vs. GPT models, How to choose, When to use our reasoning models, 1. Navigating ambiguous tasks, 2. Finding a needle in a haystack.

Workflow

Open the most relevant file under docs/ for the exact documented workflow and wording.
Open schemas/ files for exact structured contracts.
Open examples/ files for concrete requests, commands, snippets, and manifests.
Do not add behavior or configuration that is not present in the attached source files.

Canonical source: https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/reasoning-best-practices