Getting Started with the Codex Desktop App

The Codex desktop app gives you a visual place to hand an AI coding agent a folder, a repository, and a task. You can watch it read files, run commands, and propose edits without beginning in a terminal.

I use Codex as a second coding agent, and the desktop view is the easiest place to see what each task is doing.

Your first hour should end with one small, reviewed task inside a folder you can restore.

What the App Is

Codex is a dedicated coding view inside the ChatGPT desktop app. OpenAI's current app places Chat and Work under ChatGPT, with Codex beside them in the main switcher. Codex keeps its coding chats and history separate, and it can work with local folders, repositories, terminals, and developer tools.

If you used the earlier standalone Codex app, updating it moves you into the new ChatGPT desktop app. Your existing Codex chats and projects should remain. A first-time user downloads the same ChatGPT app for macOS or Windows, signs in, and selects Codex from the top-left menu.

The desktop interface lets you start before you memorize terminal commands. You still need to understand the result. Codex acts on files and may run shell commands, so a readable plan, narrow access, and a clean review matter from the first task.

Create Your Account

Codex uses your ChatGPT account. You do not create a second Codex identity or copy an API credential into the desktop app.

1. Open chatgpt.com in a browser.
2. Select Sign up and finish the account flow.
3. Use the same account when the desktop app asks you to sign in.
4. If this is a work account, choose the workspace that has Codex access.

A Business, Enterprise, or Edu workspace can control Codex through permissions and roles. If Codex is visible but unavailable, ask the workspace owner to check Codex Local access. Creating another personal account will not fix a policy set by the work workspace.

Pick a Plan

Start with the ChatGPT plan you already have. OpenAI changes included Codex usage, model access, and extra-credit rules, so the live Codex pricing page is the source to check before paying. Any dollar figure copied here would age faster than the workflow.

On a new account, try the included access and check the usage shown in the app. If you reach a limit, inspect the task usage before comparing plan allowances or extra credits. Work accounts also need the administrator to confirm workspace access. Several parallel agents should each have a named task so shared usage remains explainable at review time.

Give extra credits a named owner and a spending alert before parallel work begins.

A larger allowance does not make an unclear task better. Run one job you can check yourself, then look at its usage and result. Upgrade only when the current limit blocks work that has already proved useful.

Install and Open Codex

1. Download the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS or Windows.
2. Open the installer and follow the operating system prompts.
3. Launch ChatGPT and sign in with the account you set up.
4. Select Codex from the switcher in the top-left corner.
5. Select New chat when the Codex workspace opens.

You may still see ChatGPT Classic if the new app installed beside an older copy. OpenAI says Classic will continue to receive fixes, but new agent features may appear only in the new app. Use the app whose switcher shows ChatGPT and Codex if you want to follow this guide.

The operating system may ask whether the app can reach the selected folder or run a local command. Read the request against the task in front of you.

Access to one tutorial repository is a useful first grant; access to a home directory, cloud-sync root, or folder containing several clients is not. Broader access can wait until a real task needs it.

If the Codex switcher is missing, check the simple causes in order. Confirm that you opened the new ChatGPT app, install the current update, and verify the signed-in account and workspace. Then ask a workspace owner whether Codex Local is enabled.

Reinstalling the same app will not override an organization policy, and opening a larger folder will not reveal a feature the account cannot use.

Set Up Your First Project

Choose a folder you can afford to inspect and replace. A small tutorial repository, a new branch, or an empty folder is better than the production checkout that holds today's release. The folder sets the starting boundary for what Codex can read and change.

If the folder is a Git repository, begin with a clean status. Git then shows every tracked change Codex makes. Keep unrelated personal files outside the project, and do not place credentials in a file just because the first task might need them.

• Good first project: one small app with a working test command.
• Good first branch: a short-lived branch with no unrelated edits.
• Poor first project: a monorepo you do not yet know how to build.
• Poor first boundary: your home folder or a directory full of client projects.

Give Codex Its First Task

Give the first task four parts: the outcome, the files or area in scope, the check to run, and anything it must not change. This is more useful than a long role prompt. It tells Codex what a finished result looks like and gives you the same checklist for review.

Read Codex's proposed approach before you approve an action. If it names unrelated directories or wants to install a package for a small fix, stop and narrow the task. A mistaken plan is cheaper to correct than a large diff built on the wrong assumption.

Review Before You Keep the Work

Review starts with the changed-file list. Every file should connect to the task you gave. Then read the diff, inspect any command Codex ran, and check the complete test output. A green summary is not enough if the agent changed the test so the bug could no longer fail.

Run the required project check yourself after the task stops. For a web change, open the result in the project's approved visible browser flow. For a data migration, inspect the generated SQL or migration file before it reaches a shared database.

• Confirm the requested behavior changed.
• Confirm unrelated behavior did not change.
• Check for new packages, scripts, and configuration.
• Read warnings as well as the final exit code.
• Commit only after the diff matches the task.

Use Parallel Projects Carefully

The app keeps several projects and long-running chats in one workspace. Codex also supports Git worktrees, which place an isolated branch in another folder so one task does not overwrite another task's files. OpenAI's worktree guide warns that each worktree is still part of the same repository.

Parallel work multiplies review. Two agents can finish at the same time, but you still need to understand two diffs and any overlap between them. Learn the single-task loop first. Add another task only when each branch has a separate purpose, owner, and test.

The Codex mobile guide covers remote steering when a task keeps running away from your desk. The main Codex guide covers the CLI, code review, models, and the broader choice between Codex and other coding agents.

FAQ

Is Codex a separate desktop app?

Codex is now a dedicated coding view inside the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS and Windows. It keeps its own projects, chats, and coding workflow, even though Chat, Work, and Codex share one installed app. Existing Codex app users can update into the new ChatGPT desktop app.

Do I need to know terminal commands?

No. You can open a folder, describe a task, approve actions, inspect files, and review changes through the desktop interface. Terminal knowledge becomes useful when you want to understand commands or move into the Codex CLI, but it is not required for your first desktop task.

Can Codex work on more than one task?

Yes. The desktop app keeps chats and projects in one workspace, and Codex can isolate work in Git worktrees when you choose that environment. Parallel tasks still create parallel review work, so begin with one task until you can check its files, commands, and test results with confidence.

Does Codex keep every change it makes?

You decide what to keep. Codex shows its work for review, and Git gives you a record of file changes when the project is a repository. Start with a clean branch or test folder, inspect the full diff, and run the project's checks before you commit or merge anything.

A Practical First Project

The Codex desktop app is the right starting point when you want an agent to work on a local project but do not want your first step to be a command-line install. Its project list, visible actions, diffs, and test output make the work easier to follow than a stream of terminal text.

Begin with one small repository and one task you already know how to check. Once that review loop feels routine, add the CLI, Remote, skills, or parallel work for a specific need rather than switching on every feature at once.

Product details were checked against official OpenAI pages on July 28, 2026.