---
title: "How should an OpenAI structured output schema change without breaking existing clients?"  
description: "How should an OpenAI structured output schema change without breaking existing clients?"  
author: "Björn Ólafsson"  
published: 2026-10-21  
updated: 2026-10-21  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/162640/how-should-an-openai-structured-output-schema-change-without-breaking-existing-clients  
category: "OpenAI API"  
tags: ["OpenAI", "API Design", "Structured Outputs"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# How should an OpenAI structured output schema change without breaking existing clients?

I’m building an app that uses OpenAI structured outputs, and the response format is becoming part of our client contract. We may need to add optional fields over time, but older app versions will still be expecting the original shape.

How are others handling a **structured output schema** that evolves? I’m especially interested in whether you version the schema per request, keep one backward-compatible format, or handle changes somewhere between the model response and the client.


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/162640/how-should-an-openai-structured-output-schema-change-without-breaking-existing-clients

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