Not on its own since Sora shut down. How ChatGPT's Codex makes real, editable videos with HyperFrames.
Quick answer: Not on its own any more. OpenAI shut down Sora, its video generator, on 26 April 2026, and ChatGPT now makes images and short looping GIFs, not video files. To make a real video from ChatGPT, pair its coding agent, Codex, with HyperFrames, a free and open-source video framework from HeyGen. Codex writes the video as code and HyperFrames renders it to an MP4 you can keep editing. You can do it in the free HyperFrames Studio app, in Codex itself, or through the HyperFrames plugin in ChatGPT's plugin directory.
We asked six AI chats “Can ChatGPT make videos?” on 6 November 2026. ChatGPT itself said “Yes!” and pointed to Sora, which no longer exists, and Claude also sent readers to Sora. Gemini, Grok and Perplexity said ChatGPT can't do it alone and named third-party plugins. Only Google's AI Overview mentioned HyperFrames, and none of the six gave the steps, the plan you need or a free way to do it.
WHY TRUST US? Full disclosure: HeyGen publishes this article and makes HyperFrames. Every fact about ChatGPT, Sora and Codex comes from OpenAI's own help center, release notes and pricing pages, checked on 6 November 2026. Every fact about HyperFrames comes from its public docs and code.
What can ChatGPT do with video on its own?
On its own, ChatGPT plans videos but does not render them. Here is what it does and doesn't do today:
- It can write the video: the script, the hook, a scene-by-scene storyboard, captions and the prompts for other video tools.
- It can make still images: OpenAI released ChatGPT Images 2.6 on 4 November 2026.
- It can make short GIFs: the same day, OpenAI said “GIF creation is rolling out in ChatGPT”, for looping animations such as a sketched character that waves. A GIF has no sound and is not a video file.
- It can't make an MP4: ChatGPT has no video model of its own since Sora closed, so it can't render a clip, add a voiceover and music, or export a video file by itself.
Source: OpenAI's ChatGPT release notes, 4 November 2026.
What happened to Sora?
OpenAI discontinued Sora. Its help center says the Sora web and app experiences ended on 26 April 2026 and the Sora API ended on 24 September 2026. OpenAI's Sora 2 announcement now reads “As of April 26, 2026, the Sora product is no longer available.” Guides and AI answers that still tell you to use Sora inside ChatGPT are out of date.
How does ChatGPT make a real video?
ChatGPT makes a real video through Codex, OpenAI's coding agent, which comes with every ChatGPT plan. With HyperFrames, Codex writes the video as a web page: HTML, CSS and animation code. HyperFrames plays that page in a real browser, captures every frame and saves an MP4.
Because the video is code in a folder you own, you change it by asking: a bigger title, a slower ending, a vertical cut for TikTok. Nothing is a one-shot clip you have to regenerate from scratch. HyperFrames is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, with more than 79,000 stars on GitHub. Rendering on your own computer costs nothing.
The 4 ways ChatGPT makes videos with HyperFrames
Pick the way that matches how you like to work. Each one lists what you need, the plan, what you get and how to start.
1. In the HyperFrames Studio app, with Codex inside
Best for: most people. You watch the video take shape and steer it, with no terminal.
What you need: the free HyperFrames Studio app for Mac, Windows or Linux, a free HeyGen account, and your ChatGPT account for Codex. The app installs Codex for you and opens Codex's sign-in in your browser.
Plan: the Studio app is free. Exporting on your own computer is free, with no watermark, and its free plan includes AI voiceovers, captions, music and sound effects, 3 AI video clips and 5 cloud exports a month. Pro is optional at $25 a month. Codex bills to your ChatGPT plan. The app runs the Codex command-line tool, which OpenAI's Codex pricing page lists on Plus ($20 a month), Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, or with an OpenAI API key. On Free and Go, OpenAI lists Codex for quick tasks in its desktop app, subject to rollout.
What you get: Codex works in a chat on the left, the live preview sits in the middle, and the timeline opens under it. The agent asks a question or two, then builds the video in the preview. After that, you change it by typing, pointing at the picture or drawing on it, and export an MP4, WebM or MOV.
How to start:
- Download Studio and sign in with HeyGen.
- Type one sentence about your video in Make something and choose Let's go.
- When the app asks for an agent, choose Install next to Codex and sign in with ChatGPT.
See connect your agent for each sign-in.
2. In Codex, with the HyperFrames skills
Best for: developers who want the project files, scripts and renders on their own computer.
What you need: Codex, signed in with your ChatGPT account or an OpenAI API key, plus Node.js 22 or newer and FFmpeg. Run npx hyperframes doctor to check.
Plan: OpenAI's Codex pricing page says Codex is included in every ChatGPT plan. It lists the Codex command-line tool on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, or with an OpenAI API key; on Free and Go, Codex is for quick tasks in the desktop app, subject to rollout. HyperFrames itself is free.
What you get: a HyperFrames project in your folder, made of plain HTML files you own. Codex checks it, opens a live preview in the browser editor and renders the MP4 on your computer, at any length you set. For a longer film that tells a story, it first offers three storylines to pick from.
How to start:
- Install the skills once:
npx hyperframes skills update. - Start a new Codex session in an empty folder.
- Ask for the video, then say what to change after the first preview.
Replace the address with your own page. To make the file yourself later, run npx hyperframes render --output final.mp4 in the project folder.
The Codex guide covers updates and fixes.
3. With the HyperFrames plugin in ChatGPT's plugin directory
Best for: people who already use plugins in ChatGPT Work or Codex and want HyperFrames one click away.
What you need: a ChatGPT account. The plugin is listed as HyperFrames by HeyGen under Plugins in ChatGPT's sidebar. It holds the HyperFrames skills that teach the agent to build and render with the HyperFrames command-line tool.
Plan: OpenAI says the plugin directory is available across ChatGPT plans, and its plugin page says to “start a new chat in ChatGPT Work or Codex” and ask it to use the plugin. The skills run commands, so the agent needs a computer with Node.js and FFmpeg, such as Codex on yours.
What you get: the same HyperFrames project and MP4 as way 2, with the skills installed from ChatGPT instead of the terminal.
How to start:
- In ChatGPT, open Plugins, search for HyperFrames and choose Install plugin.
- Start a chat in ChatGPT Work or Codex and pick HyperFrames by HeyGen (in ChatGPT, type @ and its name).
- Ask for the video, for example “Turn this website into a 20-second product promo”.
4. On ChatGPT Business and Enterprise, with the HyperFrames connector
Best for: teams who want to make videos in the ChatGPT chat itself, with nothing installed.
What you need: a ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace. OpenAI's help article says custom MCP servers are available on those plans, and that admins and owners add them. You also need a HeyGen account.
Plan: the HyperFrames connector is in beta. Videos are built in your HeyGen account and rendered in HeyGen's cloud, and cloud renders count toward your HeyGen plan. The connector makes short videos.
How to start: an admin opens Plugins, chooses + and then Add custom MCP server, pastes this address and signs in with HeyGen:
Then members describe the video in the chat and revise it in plain words. The connector guide has more.
Your first prompt, and what comes back
Describe the video the way you would brief an editor: the goal, who it is for, two to four specifics and the exact words in quotes. Start with "Use HyperFrames" so the chat calls HyperFrames instead of trying to make the video on its own. For example:
What comes back depends on the way you chose:
- Studio app: the video in the preview with a timeline, ready to change and export.
- Codex or the plugin: a project folder of HTML files, a live preview in your browser, and an MP4 when you ask for it.
- Business connector: a project in your HeyGen account and a rendered MP4 to download.
Then keep going in the same conversation: “Reveal the product two seconds earlier” or “Make the captions smaller.” Name what you see and what you want, rather than rewriting the whole brief.
Can ChatGPT edit videos?
ChatGPT can't edit a video file by itself. With HyperFrames, Codex can work on your own clips: captions timed to every word, titles, pull quotes and lower thirds, or a tighter cut with the long pauses removed. Add the clip in the Studio app, or put it in your Codex project folder, and say what you want.
What kinds of video can you make with ChatGPT and HyperFrames?
Anything a web page can show, in motion: product launches built from your website, explainers told with type, charts and maps, captions on your own clips, pull request explainers, music videos and vertical 3D clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts. HyperFrames renders MP4, WebM and MOV files, up to 4K. Both films below were made with HyperFrames.
What can't it do?
- Realistic footage. Codex writes animation, so real people, places and camera footage need a video model. In the HyperFrames Studio app, the agent can add AI clips from HeyGen Video 1: the free plan includes 3 a month, and Pro adds models such as Seedance 2.5.
- Talking avatars. Avatars are part of HyperFrames Studio Pro. HeyGen also has its own ChatGPT plugin for avatar and presenter videos.
- Video in the plain ChatGPT chat on personal plans. Custom connectors in the chat are for Business, Enterprise and Edu. On Free, Go, Plus and Pro, use Codex or the Studio app.
ChatGPT video generation: the 4 ways compared
Start with the Studio app if you want to see and steer every frame, or with Codex if you want the files and scripts. Both render on your own computer for free.
Related guides: Can Claude make videos?, the HyperFrames MCP server, the best free AI video editor, AI motion graphics.
FAQs
What is the best way to make a video with ChatGPT now?
Pair ChatGPT with HyperFrames. With Codex, ChatGPT's coding agent, HyperFrames turns the code it writes into an MP4 on your computer, free; in the HyperFrames Studio app you can pick Codex as the agent with no terminal. On ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu, a workspace admin can also add the HyperFrames connector to the chat.
Can ChatGPT make videos for free?
Partly. HyperFrames is free and open source, the Studio app has a free plan, and rendering on your own computer costs nothing. Codex is the limit: OpenAI includes it in the free ChatGPT plan only for quick tasks in its desktop app, subject to rollout, and lists the Codex command-line tool that HyperFrames uses from Plus ($20 a month) up. For a start that costs nothing at all, the Studio app can also run OpenCode with free models.
Is Sora still available in ChatGPT?
Sora is no longer available. OpenAI discontinued the Sora app and website on 26 April 2026 and the Sora API on 24 September 2026. ChatGPT has no built-in video generator today.
Can ChatGPT generate a video from a text prompt?
ChatGPT can't render a video from a prompt by itself. Codex with HyperFrames turns a text prompt into an animated video written as code, and the Studio app can add AI footage clips from HeyGen Video 1.
Does ChatGPT Plus include video generation?
ChatGPT Plus includes no video model since Sora closed. It does include Codex in the command line and more Codex usage than the free plan, which you can use with HyperFrames to make videos.
Can ChatGPT make GIFs?
ChatGPT can make GIFs. On 4 November 2026, OpenAI said GIF creation is rolling out in ChatGPT for short looping animations. GIFs have no sound; for a video with voiceover and music, use Codex with HyperFrames.
Can Codex make videos?
Codex can make videos with the HyperFrames skills. It writes the video as an HTML project, opens a live preview and renders an MP4 on your computer.
How long can a video made with ChatGPT be?
With Codex or the HyperFrames Studio app, HyperFrames renders on your computer at the length you set. On ChatGPT Business and Enterprise, the HyperFrames connector makes short videos.
Does HyperFrames work with Claude and other agents?
HyperFrames works with more than ChatGPT. The Studio app also has a built-in HyperFrames agent and runs Claude Code, Grok, Antigravity, GitHub Copilot, Hermes Agent, OpenClaw, Qoder, or OpenCode with free models. See can Claude make videos?.
Ular Kimsanov works on HyperFrames at HeyGen, the open-source framework that lets AI agents make videos, and writes about making videos with AI agents.
