Codex Desktop App

Install and configure Codex CLI on your computer using environment-variable-style configuration files, then connect it to the Codex App.

Codex Desktop App Configuration

1. Configure Codex in Terminal

Why configure Terminal first? After the complete terminal configuration files are set up successfully, use the same API key to sign in to the Codex App.

Windows

1. Install Node.js

Go to the Node.js official website, then download and install the LTS version. If Node.js is already installed, you can skip this step.

Verify the installation:

If a version number is displayed, Node.js has been installed successfully.

Please note that the Node.js version must be 18 or later.

If your version is lower than this, you can ask an AI assistant how to upgrade Node.js. Ask it to give you commands for collecting system information first, and then it can provide the fastest and most accurate guidance.

2. Install Codex CLI

Open PowerShell and run:

If you see an error saying that scripts are disabled on this system, run PowerShell as administrator, then execute:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

3. Create Configuration Files

First, create your API key: Create an API Key

Run the following in PowerShell:

# Target directory
$dir = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ".codex"

# Create the directory. No error is reported if it already exists.
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $dir -Force | Out-Null

# Write auth.json in UTF-8 without BOM. Existing file will be overwritten.
$auth = @'
{
  "OPENAI_API_KEY": "replace_with_your_API_KEY_here"
}
'@
[System.IO.File]::WriteAllText(
  (Join-Path $dir "auth.json"),
  $auth,
  (New-Object System.Text.UTF8Encoding($false))
)

# Write config.toml in UTF-8 without BOM. Existing file will be overwritten.
$config = @'
model_provider = "moteapi"
model = "gpt-5.5"
model_reasoning_effort = "high"
disable_response_storage = true
preferred_auth_method = "apikey"
requires_openai_auth = true

enableRouteSelection = true

[model_providers.moteapi]
name = "moteapi"
base_url = "https://api.moteapi.com/chatgpt/v1"
wire_api = "responses"
'@
[System.IO.File]::WriteAllText(
  (Join-Path $dir "config.toml"),
  $config,
  (New-Object System.Text.UTF8Encoding($false))
)

Verify that the configuration was created successfully:

Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\auth.json"
Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\config.toml"

4. Verify the Installation

Enter codex in PowerShell to start Codex:

Then type the following in the dialog:

Hello!

Say hello to it. If Codex replies normally and you can see the request record on the platform, the installation was successful.

macOS

1. Install Node.js

First, make sure Homebrew is installed on your computer. If it is not installed, open the Homebrew website and copy the installation command from the page to install it with one command.

Some resources required during Homebrew installation are hosted overseas, so you may need to enable a TUN proxy.

After Homebrew is installed, use it to install Node.js. If Node.js is already installed, you can skip this step.

Use the following command to verify the installation:

If a version number is displayed, Node.js has been installed successfully.

Please note that the Node.js version must be 18 or later.

2. Install Codex CLI

Install it with npm:

3. Create Configuration Files

First, create your API key: Create an API Key

Run the following in Terminal:

Verify that the configuration was created successfully:

4. Verify the Installation

Enter codex in Terminal to start Codex, then type the following in the dialog:

Hello!

If Codex replies normally and you can see the request record on the platform, the configuration was successful.

Linux

1. Install Node.js

Use the following commands to install Node.js. If Node.js is already installed, you can skip this step.

Verify the installation:

Please note that the Node.js version must be 18 or later.

2. Install Codex CLI

Install it with npm:

If the output looks like the screenshot below, the installation was successful.

3. Create Configuration Files

First, create your API key: Create an API Key

Run the following in Terminal:

Verify that the configuration was created successfully:

4. Verify the Installation

Enter codex in Terminal to start Codex, then type the following in the dialog:

Hello!

If Codex replies normally and you can see the request record on the platform, the configuration was successful.

2. Download the Codex App

The download page requires access to the international internet.

Open https://developers.openai.com/codex/app, then choose and install the version for your computer system.

Use the same API key that you configured for terminal Codex to sign in to the Codex App. Select Sign in another way, enter the key, then select Continue.

4. Test

Type Hello to test it. If Codex replies normally, everything is ready.

Codex App

Codex Desktop App#