OpenAI has raised GPT-6.1 Sol's default context in Codex and Work from 272,000 to 500,000 tokens, Thibault Sottiaux announced late October 11 UTC as Day 7 of the company's 28-day shipping campaign. The maximum remains 1 million tokens, and users can override the default higher or lower.
Context length is the text a model can consider during a session, rather than an account's usage allowance. Sottiaux says the larger default was tested to reduce compactions and retain nuance across long tasks. Those are OpenAI's stated aims; the change does not promise a larger subscription allowance.
In a separate reply, Sottiaux said OpenAI is not charging long-context fees for GPT-6.1 Sol when usage is drawn from a subscription. Subscription usage still applies; the exception does not make sessions unlimited or announce a change to pay-as-you-go API prices.