8. Run Background Work

Background mode starts a response asynchronously and lets the application poll for terminal status.

8.1 Submit and Poll a Background Response

This cell sends background=true, stores the response ID, polls while status is queued or in progress, and then prints the final manager summary. Inspect the status history, final status, response ID, and token summary.

from __future__ import annotations
backlog = """
Same-day BrightCart support backlog:
1. 18 delayed-order contacts, mostly from the West Coast distribution lane.
2. 7 damaged-item replacement contacts; 3 mention replacement delays.
3. 5 return-window exception requests after holiday promotions.
""".strip()
background_payload = {
    "model": MODEL_ID,
    "input": f"Return exactly three labeled plain-text lines for a support-manager summary: theme, risk, next action. Keep each line under 12 words. Do not use leading hyphens or bold text.\n\n{backlog}",
    "background": True,
    "max_output_tokens": 1024,
    "store": True,
}

print_request_shape(background_payload)
try:
    background_response = create_response(**background_payload)
    remember_stored_response(background_response)
    status_history = [getattr(background_response, "status", None)]
    for _ in range(15):
        if getattr(background_response, "status", None) not in {"queued", "in_progress"}:
            break
        time.sleep(2)
        background_response = retrieve_response(background_response.id)
        status_history.append(getattr(background_response, "status", None))
    background_summary = summarize_response(background_response)
    manager_summary = output_text(background_response).strip()
    require(manager_summary, "Background response did not return text.")
    status = "pass" if background_summary.get("status") in {None, "completed"} else "warn"
    record_check("Background mode", status, {"status_history": status_history, "id": getattr(background_response, "id", None), "final_status": background_summary.get("status")})
    record_response("Background manager summary", "text", manager_summary)
    print_labeled_json("Result: status history", status_history)
    print_labeled_text("Result: manager summary", manager_summary)
    print_response_summary(background_summary)
    print_key_takeaway('Background mode starts work asynchronously and lets the application poll by response ID.')
except Exception as exc:
    handle_example_error("Background mode", exc)

Request shape

field	value
model	openai.gpt-5.4
max_output_tokens	1024
store	True
background	True
input	Return exactly three labeled plain-text lines for a support-manager summary: theme, risk, next action. Keep each line under 12 words. Do not use leading hyphens or bold text. Same-day BrightCart support backlog: 1. 18 delayed-order contacts, mostly from the We...

Result: status history

[ "in_progress", "completed" ]

Result: manager summary

theme: Shipping delays dominate, especially West Coast distribution lane. risk: Rising dissatisfaction from delays, replacements, and return exceptions. next action: Escalate West Coast lane issues and review holiday return policy.

Response summary

field	value
id	resp_lmmtsvgk3ntolh5ci5vxccmsa6uxcgrsq7v54jpz7oewmociyesa
model	openai.gpt-5.4
status	completed
output_item_types	['message']
input_tokens	246
cached_input_tokens	0
output_tokens	45
total_tokens	291
reasoning_output_tokens	0
service_tier	default

Key takeaway: Background mode starts work asynchronously and lets the application poll by response ID.