OpenAI conversation state: what it remembers, who owns it, and what it costs
thecontinuitylayer.com/memory-systems/openai-conversation-stateServer-side conversation state for the Responses API: stored responses chained together, with a 30-day default retention, and durable Conversation objects reusable across sessions.
- 1No
Is OpenAI conversation state open source?
No, by OpenAI's own page.
A hosted API feature with no open-source core.
Yes means: The core is under an open-source license.
- 2No
Can you run OpenAI conversation state yourself?
No, by OpenAI's own page.
State is stored by OpenAI; storing is on by default and can be turned off, in which case you keep the history yourself.
Yes means: It runs on your own machine or server.
- 3Partly
Can you take your memory out of OpenAI conversation state?
Partly, by OpenAI's own page.
Stored responses can be retrieved through the API or the dashboard logs, and conversation items can be listed; no bulk export is described.
Yes means: An export, or the data sits in a standard store you own.
- 4No
Does OpenAI conversation state work with more than one model provider?
No, by OpenAI's own page.
OpenAI models only.
Yes means: It is not tied to one provider's models.
- 5Yes
Is there a hosted OpenAI conversation state?
Yes, by OpenAI's own page.
Hosted; the Responses API is not priced separately and tokens are billed at model rates.
Yes means: A cloud or managed option exists.
- 6Partly
Does OpenAI conversation state have a free tier, and what is the entry price?
Partly, by OpenAI's own page.
No free model tier is stated and there is no storage charge; chained earlier inputs are billed as input tokens.
Yes means: A free tier exists and the entry paid price is published.
- 7Partly
Does OpenAI conversation state scope memory per user and per session?
Partly, by OpenAI's own page.
Conversation objects are durable and reusable across sessions and devices; no user-level memory or user identifier is described.
Yes means: Both per-user and per-session or per-agent memory are supported.
- 8Partly
Can you delete a user's memories from OpenAI conversation state?
Partly, by OpenAI's own page.
A response can be deleted and a conversation can be deleted, but deleting a conversation does not delete its items; there is no per-user delete.
Yes means: A documented way to delete everything for one user.
What these grades say about continuity, and what they do not.
Every grade on this site is read from the maker's own pages. The Continuity Framework asks five things of any system that carries state: that it carry, govern, evolve, prove and forget. These tests reach carry, govern and forget; they do not reach evolve or prove, which no maker's page documents in a gradeable way. A high letter is a good memory system, not a continuity layer.
- M1 Open sourceCarry
- Open source means the memory engine can outlive the vendor; the state is not hostage to a contract.
- M2 Self-hostCarry
- Self-hosting puts the store under the owner's control, which is the precondition for every other obligation.
- M3 ExportCarry
- An export is question C3: can the state leave in a form another system reads? A standard store you own answers it; a proprietary dump only partly.
- M4 Any modelCarry
- Working with more than one model provider is question C2: the memory, not the model, holds the state.
- M7 ScopingGovern
- Scoping per user, agent and session is question G2: who may read and write each item. It is the floor of governance, not the ceiling.
- M8 DeleteForget
- A documented delete for one user is rung 5 of the erasure ladder: the record leaves the store. Derived memories, the index and backups are not covered unless the maker says so. Rung 5 of the erasure ladder: delete the record.
License as stated: Proprietary API feature. Every grade above is read from OpenAI's own page on the day shown. If a page has changed, tell us.