This is a brief guide for obtaining the no-cost ChatGPT - Duke Standard license through Duke's Software Manager and signing in with Duke Shibboleth.
The license provides a Duke-managed ChatGPT Edu account with capabilities comparable to a personal ChatGPT Plus account. These include:
- ChatGPT with advanced reasoning models, expanded messages and file uploads, image creation, voice, memory, and Deep Research.
- Projects, scheduled tasks, and custom GPTs.
- Codex for software-development tasks.
- ChatGPT Work on the web, desktop, and mobile applications.
Usage limits apply. OpenAI does not use data entered in the Duke workspace to train its models. The service may be used with Duke sensitive and protected data, but not Protected Health Information (PHI). It is not available for Duke Health or Duke Kunshan University. See the Duke ChatGPT Edu service page for current restrictions.
The license does not include API access. For programmatic access to models, use Duke's AI Gateway.
Duke OIT now offers discounted ChatGPT Pro licenses for users who need more capacity for Duke-affiliated work. The Duke Pro license costs $100 per month and is equivalent to OpenAI's commercial ChatGPT Pro plan, which is normally $200 per month. It is ordered through Duke Software Manager in the same way as the Standard license (see below), except that the order requires a Duke fund code.
Pro accounts live in a separate workspace from the Standard account. After signing in, switch between the two workspaces from the ChatGPT profile menu or account settings. See the Duke ChatGPT Edu service page for current details.
Faculty can pay for Pro licenses for graduate students or other members of their group using Software Manager's Purchase for Others option:
-
Log in to Duke Software Manager and open the Purchase for Others tab (or select Order software for someone else).
-
Select the ChatGPT Pro product and choose Start Bulk Order.
-
Enter the NetID of each person who should receive a license and select Validate NetIDs to confirm that they are eligible.
-
Enter the fund code to be charged, accept the terms, and complete the order.
Each recipient's license then appears under their own My Licenses page, and
they sign in with their own netid@duke.edu address as described below. The
Pro workspace is separate from the recipient's Standard workspace. Recipients
must be at least 18 years old and must follow the same data restrictions as
Standard users. The purchaser is responsible for the monthly charge, so cancel
licenses that are no longer needed, for example when a student graduates or
leaves the group. See Duke's Software Manager ordering
instructions for more on bulk
orders and cancellations.
You will need an eligible Duke NetID, access to multi-factor authentication, and must be at least 18 years old.
-
Open Duke Software Manager and log in with your NetID using Duke Shibboleth.
-
On the Search for Software page, select ChatGPT - Duke Standard. It should be listed as Free.
-
Review the product description and select Order Software.
-
Accept the terms, including the age and usage confirmations, and complete the order. The Standard license does not require a fund code; the Pro license does.
-
Open My Licenses and confirm that ChatGPT - Duke Standard appears under Current Licenses.
If Order Software is disabled and the page says that you are already licensed, no further order is needed. New licenses may take a few minutes to appear. See Duke's general Software Manager ordering instructions for more details.
Once the license appears under My Licenses:
-
Go to chatgpt.com and select Log in.
-
Enter
netid@duke.edu, replacingnetidwith your NetID. Use this address even if you normally use a different Duke email alias. -
Select Continue with SSO. ChatGPT will redirect you to Duke's Shibboleth login page. Enter your NetID credentials and complete multi-factor authentication.
-
Complete any onboarding prompts, then use the profile menu to confirm that you are in the Duke-managed workspace.
Codex is included with the Duke Standard license and can be used from the
desktop app, command line, or an editor. In each client, choose Sign in with
ChatGPT rather than an API key. The client will open a browser; enter
netid@duke.edu, select Continue with SSO, complete Duke Shibboleth
authentication, and confirm that the Duke workspace is selected.
Download the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS, Windows, or Linux. Open it, select Continue to sign in, and complete the SSO flow in your browser. Choose Codex, open a project folder, and start a new chat.
Install the Codex CLI, then run:
codex loginChoose Sign in with ChatGPT and complete Duke SSO in the browser. You can then open a project directory and start Codex with:
codexInstall the Codex IDE extension in VS Code, Cursor, or Windsurf. Open the Codex sidebar and select Sign in with ChatGPT. If the sidebar is hidden, open the Command Palette and run Codex: Open Codex Sidebar. Xcode and JetBrains IDEs provide their own Codex integrations; select Codex as the agent and use the same Duke SSO account.
The CLI and IDE extension share cached login information. See OpenAI's authentication documentation if the wrong account or workspace is selected.
If you already have a personal ChatGPT account registered as
netid@duke.edu, OpenAI may ask you either to transfer its chats and GPTs into
the Duke workspace or to export its data and begin with an empty Duke
workspace. This migration cannot be undone, so export and verify your
data
before proceeding. OpenAI should cancel an associated paid personal
subscription, but confirm its status and any app-store billing after migration.
A personal ChatGPT account registered to a non-Duke address remains separate and does not need to be migrated.
- If the license does not appear, refresh My Licenses after a few minutes.
- If ChatGPT does not redirect to Duke Shibboleth, sign out and begin again with
the exact
netid@duke.eduaddress. A private browser window may help. - If the Duke workspace or existing history is missing, check the selected account and workspace in the profile menu. Do not create another account to work around an SSO mismatch.
- For continued problems, contact the Duke OIT Service Desk or call 919-684-2200.
Access remains tied to your eligible Duke affiliation. Save any material you are permitted to retain before leaving Duke; student access ends when student affiliation is removed.