Since late April 2025, the Code Interpreter has become completely unreliable when handling even basic Excel files (.xlsx).
We are experiencing persistent failures including:
MemoryError
pthread_create failed for thread X of 32
Environment crashing even on files with ~200 columns × 10 rows
This is not a user error. These are structural failures within the current Python execution environment provided by ChatGPT. We have tested with clean files and minimal data, and the failures persist consistently.
Our team relies on ChatGPT’s Python tool for mission-critical business analysis. We’re not hobbyists — we’re paying Pro users building systems that depend on this functionality.
Because of this issue:
Our business operations are disrupted.
We are unable to deliver work to clients.
Our professional credibility is at risk.
We already contacted support and received a generic auto-reply. No timeline or acknowledgment of the issue has been provided.
We ask OpenAI to:
Escalate this to the engineering team.
Publicly acknowledge the current environment instability.
Provide a clear timeline for resolution or official workaround.
If any other users are facing the same issue, please comment here. This needs visibility.
OpenAI — this is not about minor bugs. This is about broken infrastructure. We need answers. Now.
I experienced the same issue and have received no response from customer support. It is truly the poorest service I have encountered.
I tried to process a file that is even smaller than the example you provided, but it will not work. It remains stuck, and the data in the file appears corrupted in the response. I fully agree with you that this is not a user issue.
This is really unreliability and not acceptable for the amount the service cost. It feels as though they are trying to improve the service constantly without a real change control process and are accepting that we, as the users, experience all types of issues which give them insight that they may have done something wrong and they try to improve based on the feedback. But do not recognize that nowadays business rely on this type of services.
I am dealing with the same issue. Simple CSV file upload. Tested with a very small file in my code and also just using ChatGPT (for a totally different account). So the problem is happening everywhere at this point. And our product is down.
Here are some of the messages:
It looks like there was a resource error while trying to open the file
It looks like the environment reset, so the file is no longer available.
It seems there is an issue with accessing the file due to resource constraints.
Looking to hear back as well. The support agent is terrible and not helpful.
Thank you both for sharing your experiences. As you pointed out, this issue is widespread and clearly has a significant impact on professional workflows.
I have been in direct contact with OpenAI Support multiple times regarding these ongoing Code Interpreter issues and reliability concerns with GPT-4.5. According to their responses, these errors are typically caused by temporary resource limitations or fluctuations within the Python execution environment.
Importantly, OpenAI has explicitly stated to me that the Python Code Interpreter is “not designed for production or fault-tolerant use cases.” This is despite it being marketed as a professional-grade tool. They have advised us to treat it as a flexible interactive analysis tool and avoid relying on it for critical business processes.
This lack of transparency and clear guidelines is a serious issue for users like us who rely on stable, predictable operations.
If you have experienced similar issues, we strongly recommend contacting OpenAI support directly and publicly requesting a clear definition of the scope of official support, improved transparency regarding incidents, and significant improvements to the stability and consistency of GPT-4.5.
The more visibility and collective pressure we apply, the more likely OpenAI will fulfill the transparency and accountability we require.
Let us continue to pursue better communication and higher standards.