OpenAI adds "Showcase" tab to developer plugin; API costs covered by credits for Pro and Business subscribers

New tab in plugin, API costs covered by credits

OpenAI said on Nov. 6 (Nov. 7 Japan time) on its official X account for developers that it had added a new "Showcase" tab to the "OpenAI Developers" plugin used in ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI's AI coding tool). The post invited users to "kickstart your weekend build with the new Showcase tab" and said eligible ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers could claim API credits in billing settings to cover the usage fees of the API (the interface that lets software call AI) for the apps they build.

The plugin connects ChatGPT and Codex to OpenAI's API development environment, and lets users create and store an API key (the key used to access the API) within Codex and configure it in a project. It is listed in the plugin directory shared by ChatGPT and Codex, and there are also versions for Anthropic's Claude Code and Cursor.

Tab's contents not confirmed in official documentation

OpenAI's documentation did not describe the Showcase tab's interface or the projects it includes. Neither the plugin's description page nor the plugin configuration published on GitHub (version 1.2.3) mentioned "Showcase" as of Nov. 8. In the roughly 16-second video attached to the post, "show me a starter project for the weekend." is typed after "@OpenAI Developers" in the opening 0 to 4 seconds, and a list of samples with "Demo" and "Remix" buttons appears at 5 to 7 seconds. From 8 seconds on, it switches to finished demos of an itinerary (Trips), CSV analysis (Facet), chess and slides (Folio). The video does not show the tab's name, the Codex name, a URL, the action of pressing "Remix," moving to Codex, or modification prompts or code changes, and it is unclear whether it is the same as the developer site listing described below.

OpenAI's developer site has a listing of demos built with OpenAI technology under the same "Showcase" name. Of these, "API demos" is described as a place to try working demos and download the source to build your own version, and lists eight, including "Trips," which plans itineraries, "Tempo," which solves chess puzzles, and "Facet," which analyzes CSVs through questions. Each of the eight has three buttons, to try the demo, open it in Codex and download the source, and indicates which of the Responses, Decisions or Agents APIs it uses. Whether these eight appear in the plugin's tab could not be confirmed.

Pressing "Open in Codex" opens Codex with a prompt already entered. The prompt asks Codex to extract the source into a new folder and launch it locally, securely configure the user's own API key if needed, and keep the included usage limits. It says that once the app runs, Codex should explain how it works, suggest three changes and help improve it, and help choose where to deploy it if asked, and it specifies the OpenAI Developers plugin at the end.

Credits of $100 to $500 a month for Pro, up to $500 a month for Business

According to official documentation, the API credits are available for ChatGPT Pro and Business, while Plus, Go, Free and Enterprise are not eligible. A paid subscription must have been active for at least seven days, excluding free trials and subscriptions granted at no cost. The user must also personally own both the ChatGPT subscription and the API organization receiving the credits, registered with the same email address.

For Pro, the amount equals the subscription price: the $100-a-month plan receives $100 each month, the $200 plan $200 and the $500 plan $500. For Business, $20 a month per Standard seat and $100 a month per Premium seat are added up across the workspace, with a cap of $500 a month, or $6,000 a year for annual billing. Once enabled, credits are granted at each subscription renewal, with the first grant prorated for the remainder of the billing period. Unused credits expire at the end of the billing period and do not roll over.

The official documentation does not state when the credits started or whether there are regional conditions, and these could not be confirmed.

APIs used by API demos covered, Codex usage not

The credits can be used for API usage paid by the API organization designated to receive them. Covered items include the Responses API, Agents API (including fees for the runtime environment OpenAI provides), Decisions API, GPT-Live and Realtime API, Images API, and built-in tools such as web search and file search, covering all the APIs shown in API demos. Codex usage via API keys, however, is not covered, and the credits do not raise usage limits for ChatGPT or signed-in Codex. Work done in Codex to modify the samples cannot be paid for with these credits.

Free credits are used before purchased credits. When the balance runs out, API calls stop with an error, and continuing requires buying credits or setting up auto-recharge. Credits already granted remain usable until they expire even if the subscription is canceled, but switching to an ineligible plan disconnects the API organization at the end of the billing period.

Anthropic grants nearly the same amounts

Anthropic grants monthly Claude API credits to its paid Claude plans Max, Ultra and Team. According to the company's documentation, Max receives $100 a month and Ultra $200 a month, while Team adds up $20 per Standard seat and $100 per Premium seat to a maximum of $500 a month. Claude Code usage is not covered, and unused credits expire at the end of the billing period. The per-seat amounts and cap for teams are the same as OpenAI's Business, while for individuals OpenAI's cap is higher because it has a $500-a-month Pro plan.

OpenAI credits are claimed under "Billing" in ChatGPT settings or on the billing page of the API development environment. Users cannot change the receiving organization themselves afterward; changes require contacting support.