ChatGPT and OpenAI API file download errors resolved October 19 after about 42 minutes
OpenAI reported degraded performance from file download errors on October 19, 2026. The incident affected the Responses, Images and Files APIs and ChatGPT file uploads and image generation. The status page runs from 01:31 PM to full recovery at 02:14 PM, about 42 minutes.
SessionWatcher editorial · Published · Updated · Source announcement: 2026-10-19
What happened and when
On Monday, October 19, 2026, OpenAI's status page listed an incident called File Download errors and classed it as degraded performance. The affected-components timeline runs from 01:31 PM to 02:14 PM. The status page puts the first update 42 minutes before the resolution.
At 01:31 PM OpenAI said users were seeing elevated errors on the affected services and that it was working on implementing a mitigation. At 02:14 PM it marked the incident resolved and said all affected services had fully recovered.
Which services were affected
The status page lists three affected API components: Responses, Images and Files. It also lists two affected ChatGPT components: File uploads and Image Generation. Codex does not appear among the affected components.
OpenAI says its availability metrics are reported in aggregate across all tiers, models and error types. Availability for individual customers may vary by subscription tier, model and the API features they use.
Usage and billing
The status page does not mention any effect on usage limits, credits or billing from this incident.
AI assisted reporting, checked against the linked official sources. Source pages checked 2026-10-19. Editorial process and corrections.