Sora Has Shut Down: How to Migrate Your Video Prompts
Short answer: OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and mobile apps on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API ended on September 24, 2026. No successor has been announced. Your prompts are not lost — they were plain-language shot descriptions, and every 2026 video model reads those. What you need to translate is the syntax around them: timestamps, cameos, storyboards, remixes and audio. This guide maps each Sora feature to its replacement and gives you a checklist you can finish in half an hour.
What has ended
- Sora app and web — gone since April 26, 2026 (video generation inside ChatGPT went with it).
- Sora API (
sora-2,sora-2-pro) — ended September 24, 2026. Use a supported video model for new work. - Your history — use your existing exports and local prompt records. Do not rely on the discontinued API to recover missing assets.
Feature-by-feature replacement
| Sora feature | Use instead | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-video with native audio | Veo 3.1 · Kling 3.0 · MiniMax H3 | All three generate speech and sound in one pass; describe the sound, do not assume it |
| Timestamped prompts ("0-3 s …") | Seedance 2.5 TIMELINE · Kling 3.0 custom shots | Seedance reads second ranges; Kling wants Shot 1 / Shot 2 with a duration each |
| Cameos / character consistency | Seedance 2.5 @Image roles · Veo 3.1 ingredients · Kling Elements | One canon photo, one role per reference |
| Storyboard (several shots in one clip) | Kling 3.0 multi-shot · Seedance 2.5 multi-shot | Specify cuts explicitly; use a continuous take only when the scene needs one |
| Remix / extend an existing clip | Veo 3.1 extension (+7 s steps) · Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash · Runway Aleph | Omni edits by conversation; Aleph edits in context |
| Long clips (20-30 s) | Seedance 2.5 · Wan3.0 | 30 s in one generation, no stitching |
| Self-hosted / open weights | Wan 2.2 · MiniMax H3 · LTX-2.5 | Wan3.0 itself is API-only |
Translate your prompts
A typical Sora prompt looked like this: "0-3 s: a woman in a red coat walks out of a café into rain, camera follows; 3-8 s: she looks up, the rain stops, warm light." Here is the same brief in the three syntaxes you will use from now on:
- Seedance 2.5 (one 8-second take): FORMAT: one continuous take, 8 s, 9:16. REFERENCE: @Image1 controls identity only. TIMELINE: 0-3 s — she walks out of the café into rain, camera tracks beside her; 3-8 s — she looks up, the rain stops, warm light spreads. AUDIO: rain on awnings, footsteps, a soft piano swell at 3 s. CONSTRAINTS: no cuts, no text.
- Kling 3.0 (two shots): Shot 1 (3 s): she walks out of the café into rain, tracking shot. Shot 2 (5 s): she looks up, rain stops, warm light. Dialogue: Anna "Finally." (soft, relieved). The subject is bound to the reference Element.
- Veo 3.1 (8 s with ingredients): attach the reference photo as an ingredient; write the same two beats as prose, put any speech in quotes ("Finally.") and describe the sound explicitly: "rain on awnings, then silence, a soft piano".
Two habits to drop with Sora: spec tokens such as "4K 60fps" (video models render at their own settings) and negative prompts (Veo on the Gemini API has no negative field; state exclusions as constraints instead).
Rebuild your characters
Cameos were a Sora-only feature. Pick one clean, front-facing canon photo per character and reuse it everywhere: Veo 3.1 takes up to three reference images, Seedance 2.5 up to 50 references with explicit roles ("@Image1 controls identity only — do not copy its pose, background or lighting"), Kling 3.0 binds the subject as an Element, MiniMax H3 uses omni-reference. If you need the same face across hundreds of stills as well, a trained identity (Higgsfield Soul ID) or a canon image in Nano Banana Pro covers the photo side. See how to keep an AI character consistent.
What it costs now
Compare current provider quotes at the same duration, resolution, audio and reference settings. Budget for every attempt and any upscaling. Run a small matched test before buying credits; lower list prices do not guarantee a cheaper finished clip.
The 30-minute migration checklist
- Collect your existing Sora exports, reference photos and saved prompts.
- Pick your primary model by feature: realism + audio → Veo 3.1; dialogue scenes → Kling 3.0; long takes → Seedance 2.5; self-hosted → Wan 2.2 / MiniMax H3.
- Create one canon reference photo per character and store it with the project.
- Rewrite your three most-used prompts in the FORMAT / REFERENCE / TIMELINE / CAMERA / CONTINUITY / AUDIO / CONSTRAINTS structure.
- Move audio into the prompt: speech in quotes, sounds described, music named.
- Use the target provider's documented controls. Put exclusions in plain language when no negative-prompt field is available.
- Run one test clip per model on the same brief, compare, and lock your default.
Sources checked · 2026-09-30
FAQ
When did Sora stop working?
The Sora web and mobile apps were discontinued on April 26, 2026. The Sora API (sora-2 and sora-2-pro) ended on September 24, 2026. The official deprecation table lists no replacement model.
Which model is the closest replacement for Sora 2?
For realism with native audio, Google Veo 3.1. For multi-shot scenes with dialogue, Kling 3.0. For long single takes with many references, Seedance 2.5. For an open-weights option you can self-host, Wan 2.2 or MiniMax H3. There is no one-to-one replacement, so pick by the feature you actually used.
Can I reuse my Sora prompts as they are?
Mostly yes. Sora prompts were natural-language shot descriptions, and every 2026 video model reads that. What changes is the syntax around them: timestamps become TIMELINE beats or Kling shots, cameos become reference images with roles, and audio has to be described explicitly (speech in quotes on Veo, Name "line" on Kling).
What happens to my Sora characters and cameos?
Cameos were a Sora-only feature. Rebuild the identity from a clean reference photo: Veo 3.1 takes up to three reference images, Seedance 2.5 takes up to 50 references with roles such as "@Image1 controls identity only", Kling 3.0 uses Elements and "Bind Subject", and MiniMax H3 uses omni-reference. Keep the canon image and reuse it everywhere.
What does the migration cost?
Compare the provider quote for the same duration, resolution, audio and reference inputs. Include failed drafts, retries, upscaling and storage in the budget. Self-hosting also has GPU costs. Migration does not guarantee a lower total cost.
Do I need to download my Sora videos?
The September 24, 2026 API shutdown has passed. Use clips and prompts you already exported or stored locally. Do not assume that the discontinued API can retrieve missing history; consult OpenAI support for account-specific recovery options.
Want the migration done for you? GoldenPrompts writes the structured brief — timeline, references, camera, audio and constraints — for Veo, Kling, Seedance, Runway and MiniMax from a few clicks. Free to start: 24 hours of everything, no card.