The cookbook is organized around runnable examples and reference articles for OpenAI APIs. Place notebooks and Python scripts under examples/<topic>/, grouping related assets inside topic subfolders (for example, examples/agents_sdk/). Narrative guides and long-form docs live in articles/, and shared diagrams or screenshots belong in images/. Update registry.yaml whenever you add content so it appears on cookbook.openai.com, and add new author metadata in authors.yaml if you want custom attribution. Keep large datasets outside the repo; instead, document how to fetch them in the notebook.
Use a virtual environment to isolate dependencies:
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activatepip install -r examples/<topic>/requirements.txt(each sample lists only what it needs)jupyter laborjupyter notebookto develop interactivelypython .github/scripts/check_notebooks.pyto validate notebook structure before pushing
Write Python to PEP 8 with four-space indentation, descriptive variable names, and concise docstrings that explain API usage choices. Name new notebooks with lowercase, dash-or-underscore-separated phrases that match their directory—for example examples/gpt-5/prompt-optimization-cookbook.ipynb. Keep markdown cells focused and prefer numbered steps for multi-part workflows. Store secrets in environment variables such as OPENAI_API_KEY; never hard-code keys inside notebooks.
Execute notebooks top-to-bottom after installing dependencies and clear lingering execution counts before committing. For Python modules or utilities, include self-check cells or lightweight pytest snippets and show how to run them (for example, pytest examples/object_oriented_agentic_approach/tests). When contributions depend on external services, mock responses or gate the cells behind clearly labeled opt-in flags.
Use concise, imperative commit messages that describe the change scope (e.g., "Add agent portfolio collaboration demo"). Every PR should provide a summary, motivation, and self-review, and must tick the registry and authors checklist from .github/pull_request_template.md. Link issues when applicable and attach screenshots or output snippets for UI-heavy content. Confirm CI notebook validation passes locally before requesting review.
New or relocated content must have an entry in registry.yaml with an accurate path, date, and tag set so the static site generator includes it. When collaborating, coordinate author slugs in authors.yaml to avoid duplicates, and run python -m yaml lint registry.yaml (or your preferred YAML linter) to catch syntax errors before submitting.
These are considered priority 0 issues for this repo, in addition to the normal priority for possible issues.
- Verify file, function, and notebook names follow the repo's naming conventions and clearly describe their purpose.
- Scan prose and markdown for typos, broken links, and inconsistent formatting before approving.
- Check that code identifiers remain descriptive (no leftover placeholder names) and that repeated values are factored into constants when practical.
- Ensure notebooks or scripts document any required environment variables instead of hard-coding secrets or keys.
- Confirm metadata files (
registry.yaml,authors.yaml) stay in sync with new or relocated content.