How to use Sora: step-by-step tutorial
OpenAI discontinued Sora in 2026. Exact dates, how to export your videos, what happens to credits, and the best alternatives, with prompts to recreate your shots.
At a glance
Is Sora right for this job?
Use Sora for
- Exporting your old Sora videos
- Recreating your favorite shots in another tool
- Moving API code to a new provider
- Using leftover credits as OpenAI allows
- Archiving prompts that worked
Think twice for
- Trusting “Sora is back” apps
- Giving your login to export sites
- Waiting to export
- Expecting the old API to work
Get set up: step by step
Basics
What it is
Sora was OpenAI’s AI video generator. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experience on April 26, 2026 and the Sora API on September 24, 2026 (OpenAI Help Center). This page explains how to save your work, what happens to leftover credits, and which tools to try instead.
Why this step matters: Knowing what it is good and bad at stops you using it for jobs where it will fail quietly.
Setup
Step 1: Export your videos
- Go to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset, the official export page named by OpenAI.
- Sign in with the same account you used for Sora.
- Download the videos you want to keep and store them somewhere you control.
- Ignore third-party sites claiming to “restore” Sora; they are not official.
Why this step matters: Copycat apps and unofficial installers are common; starting from the official source protects your account and data.
Setup
Step 2: Plans, limits and costs
Sora is no longer sold. OpenAI says leftover Sora credits can be used for Codex (OpenAI Help Center). For video, compare Runway’s credit pricing on our Runway tutorial.
Why this step matters: Paying for features you don't use is the most common waste. Knowing the limits first tells you if the free tier is enough.
Use
Step 3: Recreate a shot elsewhere
Take a shot you made in Sora and rebuild its prompt for another tool, with camera, subject and light spelled out:
Slow aerial push over a foggy pine forest at sunrise, golden light breaking through, cinematic, 5 seconds.Why this step matters: A prompt with situation, task and format gets a usable answer first time, so you learn what the tool can actually do.
Real things to do with Sora
Archive your Sora library
Export and back up, then list your videos with their prompts.
Help me make a spreadsheet of my exported Sora videos: file name, date, prompt, where it was used.
Recreate a shot in Runway
Rewrite your prompt camera-first and test 5 seconds.
Rewrite this prompt for Runway: camera move first, then subject, setting, light, style, 5 seconds.
[old prompt]
Move your app off the Sora API
Find every Sora call and plan the replacement.
Find every place this codebase calls the Sora API. List file and line, and suggest an adapter interface so I can swap providers.
Pick a replacement
Compare costs for your real monthly volume.
I make 20 ten-second clips a month. Compare Runway Standard and Pro on monthly cost using 12 credits per second.
Social clips without video AI
Sometimes stills plus motion templates are enough.
Give me 5 ideas for a 15-second Instagram clip using only photos and simple motion.
Teach with archived clips
Use exported clips in lessons; note they’re AI-made.
Write a 3-sentence caption explaining that this clip was AI-generated and what that means.The 5-part prompt that works in Sora
Most weak answers come from weak instructions, not a weak model. Before you send anything important to Sora, check that your message has these five parts. It takes thirty seconds and saves several rounds of “that’s not what I meant.”
- Situation. Who you are and why you are asking. “I run a two-person bakery” changes every answer that follows.
- Task. One clear verb: draft, compare, summarize, fix, plan, explain. If you have three tasks, send them as three steps.
- Inputs. Paste or attach the material it should use, and say what to ignore. Name the file and the pages if it is long.
- Format. Length, structure and tone: “a table with 4 columns”, “under 150 words”, “plain English, no jargon”.
- Checks. Tell it how you will judge the answer: “give a source link for every number”, “say unknown instead of guessing”, “list your assumptions first”.
Save the version that works. In Sora the natural home for reusable instructions is a folder of exported videos with their prompts, so you never type the same context twice.
Go further: steps continued
Setup
Step 4: Privacy
- Don't paste passwords, ID numbers, card numbers or other people's private details.
- Assume the company can read and keep your chats unless its official policy says otherwise.
- For health, money or legal decisions, confirm with a professional or an official source.
- Download your own videos only from the official sunset page.
- Don’t give your OpenAI login to sites offering Sora exports.
Why this step matters: Anything you paste may be stored and read. Deciding what never goes in is easier than undoing a leak.
Next
What to use instead
- Runway: credit-based AI video with Gen-4.5.
- Canva AI: quick social visuals and simple motion.
- Midjourney: stills you can animate elsewhere.
Test each on one 5-second shot before paying.
Why this step matters: Testing one real shot is the fastest way to find a replacement that fits your work.
Mistakes
Mistakes
- Waiting too long to export videos you care about.
- Trusting “Sora is back” apps or sites.
- Assuming leftover credits are lost; OpenAI says they can be used for Codex.
- Expecting old API code to keep working after Sep 24, 2026.
Why this step matters: Knowing how it typically fails tells you where to look when you review its work.
A good session, start to finish
Decide what “done” looks like
Write one sentence describing the finished result before you open the chat: “a one-page plan I can send to my landlord by Friday.” If you cannot describe it, the bot cannot hit it.
Give context once, in the right place
Put standing facts about you, your business or your project where {name} keeps them between chats, instead of pasting them into every message.
Ask for a draft, then steer
Take the first answer as a rough draft. Reply with specific edits (“shorter”, “cut the second option”, “use our real prices”) rather than starting over.
Check the parts that matter
Open the source behind every number, name, date and quote you will reuse. For files, spot-check two page references. For code, run it.
Save what worked
Copy the final prompt into a notes file or saved instructions. Next time the same job takes one message instead of ten, and you spend fewer credits doing it.
Your first week with Sora
How to spot a wrong answer
Warning signs
- It gives an exact number, date or quote with no link, or with a link that does not contain it.
- It agrees with everything you say, including a wrong assumption you slipped in to test it.
- The answer is fluent but vague: lots of “generally” and “it depends” and no specifics you can act on.
- It claims to have done something (sent, saved, booked, run) without a link, ID or file you can open.
- Two answers to the same question, asked in fresh chats, disagree on a fact.
- It names a setting, menu or plan feature you cannot find. Apps change their menus often, so check the official help pages.
What to do
Open the source and find the exact sentence. Ask Sora to separate what it checked from what it assumed. Re-ask in a fresh chat with the source attached. If it still cannot back the claim up, treat it as unknown and use the official page instead.
None of this means the tool is bad. It means you are the editor, and editors check.
Power-user tips
Do it today; don’t rely on the page staying up forever.
Keep files in two places you control.
Prompts are the recipe for recreating shots.
Most video tools respond best to camera move first.
Try 5 seconds before longer clips in a new tool.
Only official OpenAI pages handle Sora exports.
Privacy and safety with Sora
Only use OpenAI’s official sunset page to export, and never share your login with third-party “Sora” services.
- Never paste passwords, API keys, one-time codes, full card numbers or government ID numbers into any chat.
- Remove other people’s names, addresses and account details from files before you upload them, unless you have their permission and a reason.
- Open the privacy or data-controls settings in your first week and decide whether your chats may be used to improve models.
- Use the account your employer approved for work material. A personal plan follows the consumer terms, not your company’s contract.
- For health, legal, tax or money decisions, use the bot to prepare questions, then confirm with a professional or an official source.
Sora or another bot?
| If you need… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Generated video clips | Runway | Credit-based video generation. |
| Quick social visuals | Canva AI | Templates plus AI. |
| Artistic stills | Midjourney | Images you can animate. |
| Coding with leftover credits | Codex | OpenAI says Sora credits apply there. |
Our editorial judgment, not a benchmark. Try your own real task in two bots before you pay for either.
Questions people ask
Is Sora discontinued?
Yes. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app on April 26, 2026 and the API on September 24, 2026 (OpenAI Help Center, checked Oct 30, 2026).
How do I get my videos?
Use the official export page at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset.
What happens to my credits?
OpenAI says leftover credits can be used for Codex.
Does the Sora API still work?
No, it was discontinued on September 24, 2026.
What’s the best alternative?
For generated video, try Runway. Test one shot in two tools before paying.
Are “Sora” apps in stores real?
Be careful. Sora is discontinued; treat apps using the name with suspicion.
Can I recreate my videos?
Not exactly, but your prompts help; rewrite them camera-first for a new tool.
Will it come back?
We have no official information saying so.
Words you will see
The Sora quiz, first-week checklist and cost calculator now have their own page.
Where these facts come from
- OpenAI Help Center: Sora web and app discontinued April 26, 2026; API discontinued September 24, 2026; export at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset; leftover credits usable for Codex
- Official Sora export page
Checked Oct 30, 2026. Plans change, so confirm on the official page before you pay.
Next: Sora lessons →