# GPT-5.6 Sol

> **TL;DR.** GPT-5.

- **Category:** AI / Language Models / Frontier
- **Stage:** emergent
- **Age:** 17 days
- **Origin date:** 2026-06-26
- **First detected:** 2026-07-11
- **Canonical URL:** https://earlyterms.com/term/gpt-5-6-sol
- **Sources:** 11 primary URLs

## Definition

GPT-5.6 Sol is OpenAI's flagship frontier model — the top tier of a three-model GPT-5.6 family (Sol, Terra, Luna) named after the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Sol targets the hardest professional work: coding agents, long-running research, computer use, and cybersecurity, with a 1.05M-token context window and a high-effort "Sol Ultra" mode.

OpenAI previewed GPT-5.6 Sol on [June 26, 2026](https://openai.com/index/previewing-gpt-5-6-sol/), shipping it only to government-vetted partners under a 30-day cybersecurity safety review tied to a Trump-administration executive order, before releasing it broadly alongside Terra and Luna on [July 9, 2026](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6/). Sol prices at $5/$30 per million input/output tokens.

## Analogy

Same family as GPT-5.5, but the version OpenAI made the government sign off on first.

## Why it's emerging now

OpenAI gated GPT-5.6 Sol behind a government cybersecurity review before its July 9, 2026 general release, then days later a Sol Ultra agent deleted a tester's home directory.

## Related terms

- *parent:* GPT-5.5
- *parent:* gpt-5-5
- *competitor:* Claude Fable 5
- *competitor:* claude-fable-5
- *competitor:* Claude Mythos
- *competitor:* claude-mythos
- *related:* OpenAI Codex CLI
- *related:* openai-codex-cli
- *parent:* agentic coding
- *parent:* agentic-coding
- *related:* context window

## Sources

1. [OpenAI — Previewing GPT-5.6 Sol](https://openai.com/index/previewing-gpt-5-6-sol/)
2. [OpenAI — GPT-5.6 (general availability)](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6/)
3. [OpenAI API — GPT-5.6 Sol model docs](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/gpt-5.6-sol)
4. [CNBC — OpenAI's newest model is 54% more token efficient, Altman tells CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/open-ai-sam-altman-chatgpt-5-6-sol.html)
5. [METR — Summary of predeployment evaluation of GPT-5.6 Sol](https://metr.org/blog/2026-06-26-gpt-5-6-sol/)
6. [Simon Willison — The new GPT-5.6 family: Luna, Terra, Sol](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jul/9/gpt-5-6/)
7. [Tech Times — GPT-5.6 Sol's Shell Bug Wiped a Mac](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/320267/20260712/gpt-56-sols-shell-bug-wiped-mac-openai-had-flagged-risk-16-days-earlier.htm)
8. [CCN — OpenAI Names GPT-5.6 Models Sol, Terra, and Luna, Prompting Solana's 'Sam Altcoinman' Response](https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/openai-gpt-5-6-sol-terra-luna-solana-sam-altcoinman/)
9. [Hacker News — GPT-5.6 (1,554 points)](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48849066)
10. [Hacker News — U.S. government will decide who gets to use GPT-5.6 (1,184 points)](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48690101)
11. [Wikipedia — GPT-5.6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPT-5.6)

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_Generated by EarlyTerms · https://earlyterms.com/term/gpt-5-6-sol_