Persistent caas.internal.errors.ClientError Preventing DOCX Creation and Python Execution in ChatGPT Web

ChatGPT Bugs
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1

Environment

Surface: ChatGPT Web

Browser or app version: Web browser

Affected feature: Python execution, DOCX file analysis and generation, file processing.

Model: GPT-6

Timezone: Brazil (BRT / UTC-3)

Bug

What happened, and what did you expect?

I am experiencing a persistent issue when attempting to analyze files and generate Microsoft Word (.docx) documents using ChatGPT Web.

The error occurs when ChatGPT attempts to execute Python code during file processing or document generation.

The following exception is returned:

ClientError
Encountered exception: <class 'caas.internal.errors.ClientError'>.

The issue persists across multiple attempts, including when explicitly asking ChatGPT to retry.

Interestingly, file retrieval and reading operations appear to work correctly. However, Python execution consistently fails, preventing document creation and validation.

Even basic Python commands fail, suggesting that the issue may be related to the Python execution environment rather than the DOCX format itself.

Expected behavior:

ChatGPT should initialize its Python environment, execute code, process uploaded files, and generate downloadable DOCX documents without encountering execution errors.

If execution fails, the system should provide a meaningful diagnostic message explaining the underlying cause.

Reproduction

Steps to reproduce

  1. Open ChatGPT through the web interface.

  2. Start a conversation requesting the creation or analysis of a DOCX document.

  3. Upload a document or reference an existing file from the ChatGPT Library.

  4. Ask ChatGPT to process the document and generate a new DOCX file.

  5. ChatGPT attempts to execute Python code.

  6. The execution fails with caas.internal.errors.ClientError.

  7. Ask ChatGPT to retry the operation.

  8. The same exception occurs.

Minimal reproduction example

During troubleshooting, even a simple Python command failed:

print("Testing Python execution")

The execution environment returned:

ClientError
Encountered exception: <class 'caas.internal.errors.ClientError'>.

The same error was observed when attempting to execute Python through the user-visible Python environment.

This indicates that the problem may affect general Python execution, not just DOCX processing.

Diagnostics

Exact error

ClientError
Encountered exception: <class 'caas.internal.errors.ClientError'>.

No detailed traceback or additional diagnostic information was provided.

Affected operations

  • Python code execution.

  • DOCX creation and analysis workflows.

  • Python-based file processing.

  • Validation of generated documents.

  • Operations requiring Python to produce downloadable files.

Operations that worked

  • Accessing files stored in the ChatGPT Library.

  • Listing available files.

  • Retrieving uploaded documents.

  • Reading document contents.

This suggests that file access itself is functioning, while the execution environment is failing.

When it happened and how often

First occurrence: Approximately November 5, 2026.

Most recent occurrence: November 7, 2026.

Frequency: Repeated across multiple attempts.

Timezone: Brazil (BRT / UTC-3).

Status: Still occurring during the latest test.

Additional observations

  • Retrying the same operation did not resolve the issue.

  • Switching between Python execution methods produced the same error.

  • The failure occurred even with minimal Python code.

  • The error message did not identify a specific file, dependency, or code-related problem.

  • DOCX generation could not be completed because Python execution failed.

Questions for the OpenAI Team

  1. Is there a known issue affecting Python execution in ChatGPT Web?

  2. What could cause caas.internal.errors.ClientError even when executing basic Python commands?

  3. Could this indicate a problem with container initialization, sandbox availability, or execution resource allocation?

  4. Are there recommended troubleshooting steps for persistent execution failures?

  5. Is there a way to reset or recover the Python execution environment when this error occurs repeatedly?

The issue is preventing me from using ChatGPT’s Python-based document creation and file-processing capabilities.

Any guidance, workaround, or confirmation of a known issue would be appreciated.

Attachment: Screenshot showing the exact error message.