What a plugin is
OpenAI describes a plugin as a reusable package for a workflow that can include skills, apps or both. A skill explains how to do a task; an app connects ChatGPT to another service. Skills follow the open Agent Skills format, a folder with a SKILL.md file (Build skills).
Who can migrate a GPT
- The GPT's creator, or a workspace owner or admin. Having access to someone else's GPT is not enough.
- The GPT must be published (public sharing is not required), and plugins must be turned on for you.
- OpenAI's guide is written for ChatGPT Enterprise; it says public sharing and timelines for other plans may differ.
To start: My GPTs, find the GPT under Created by me, and select Migrate to plugin.
What moves and what does not
| Part of the GPT | After migration |
|---|---|
| Instructions | Become a skill in the plugin |
| Knowledge files | Brought over as the skill's reference files; transfer and retrieval may differ |
| Connected apps | Stay part of the plugin |
| Custom actions | Do not transfer: rebuild them with a supported connector or a custom MCP server |
| Selected model | Does not carry over |
| Capabilities (web search, images, data analysis, files) | Not guaranteed to work the same: test them |
| Conversation starters and previous chats | May not copy |
| Sharing | The plugin starts private: share it again with the people who used the GPT |
After you migrate
- The original GPT becomes read-only. You can keep using it until the retirement date; later edits go in the plugin.
- At the retirement, custom GPTs stop running and leave the GPT directory.
- OpenAI says you can still migrate a GPT after the retirement, though the GPT itself will no longer run.
Save a copy before you migrate
Migration is the official path, but it leaves things behind and it keeps everything inside ChatGPT. Before you click it, pack the GPT with Skillcase: the instructions and starters as text, your knowledge files, each action's schema with its operations for the rebuild (OpenAI's own guide says to save the schema, authentication method and non-secret settings first, Replacing a GPT custom action), and your chats with the GPT. The same backup holds a SKILL.md folder, the format plugins use for skills.
Pack your GPT before December 11
Paste your GPT's setup, add its knowledge files and your ChatGPT export, and download a backup you can open anywhere, a skill for Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT, and your chats as Markdown. Free, in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
Questions
Why don't I see "Migrate to plugin"?
OpenAI says you must be the GPT's creator or a workspace admin, the GPT must be published, and plugins must be turned on for you. Access to someone else's GPT is not enough.
Do custom actions move to the plugin?
No. OpenAI says GPT custom actions do not transfer through the migration and need rebuilding with a supported connector or a custom MCP server.
Can I migrate after December 11?
OpenAI says you will still be able to migrate a GPT after the retirement, although the GPT itself will no longer run.
Sources: OpenAI: Moving your custom GPT workflows to plugins; OpenAI Help: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ; OpenAI: Build plugins; OpenAI: Build skills; OpenAI: Replacing a GPT custom action. Last checked: October 27, 2026. Skillcase is an independent tool by Peak Apps Studio and is not affiliated with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or Ollama.