engineering / agent
Codex CLI
A coding agent from OpenAI that runs locally on your computer, started from the terminal with the codex command.
At a glance
- Purpose
- A coding agent from OpenAI that runs locally on your computer, started from the terminal with the codex command.
- Runs in
- Local agent with shell, Web service
- Operating systems
- macOS, Linux, Windows
- Needs
- Runtime: Not stated; Needs internet: Not stated; Needs accounts or API keys beyond your agent: Not stated
- Files and data
- Reads files: Not stated; Writes files: Not stated; Sends data to other services: Not stated
- Tool type
- Agent
- Delivery
- From GitHub
- Version
- Latest on the main branch
- Access
- Code on GitHub
- Compatibility
- According to the README, install scripts exist for Mac, Linux and Windows, and the package managers named are npm and Homebrew. Release binaries are named for macOS on Apple Silicon (arm64) and x86_64, and for Linux on x86_64 and arm64. The editors named for the separate IDE install are VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf. Sign-in options are a ChatGPT plan or an API key.
- External costs
- The README says to sign in with a ChatGPT account to use Codex as part of a Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise plan, and it links a page on what the plan includes. It says you can also use an API key, which needs additional setup. It states no prices.
- Permissions
- The README says Codex CLI runs locally on your computer. The README offers a downloaded shell installer piped into sh on Mac and Linux, and a downloaded PowerShell installer executed with irm and iex using ExecutionPolicy ByPass on Windows. The README also offers a global npm installation, a Homebrew cask and downloaded release binaries. The README says the standalone installers download from OpenAI's releases location by default and fall back to GitHub Releases; CODEX_INSTALLER_USE_RELEASES_OPENAI_COM=false forces GitHub Releases. The README describes authentication with a ChatGPT account or an API key requiring additional setup. The top-level inventory includes scripts/, but the README does not describe that folder's contents or detail filesystem, command or approval permissions.
- Usage terms
- Apache License 2.0, as stated in the repository. See its LICENSE file for the exact terms.
Code on GitHub
openai/codex
Apache-2.0Lightweight coding agent that runs in your terminal
Public GitHub data fetched · 0 days old
View on GitHub ↗What it does
According to the README, Codex CLI is a coding agent from OpenAI that runs locally on your computer. The README offers installation through standalone scripts, npm, Homebrew or a release binary, followed by the codex command.The README links a separate IDE installation for VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf. The README also points to a desktop app opened with codex app and to Codex Web, described as OpenAI's cloud-based agent.
The README recommends signing in with a ChatGPT account to use Codex as part of a Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise plan. The README says an API key can also be used with additional setup.
Who it is for
Developers who want a coding agent that runs locally on their own computer from the terminal.Example tasks
Install Codex CLI with the install script, npm or Homebrew.Run codex and choose Sign in with ChatGPT.
Use an API key instead of a ChatGPT sign-in, after the extra setup the README links.
Download a release binary for macOS or Linux from the latest GitHub Release.
Open the desktop app with codex app.
Getting started
On Mac or Linux the README gives an install script, and on Windows a PowerShell command. It also gives:npm install -g @openai/codex
brew install --cask codex
Then run:
codex
The README says to select Sign in with ChatGPT, and that you can also use an API key after additional setup. It also says you can download a binary from the latest GitHub Release and rename it to codex after extracting it. To force GitHub Releases for the standalone installers, it says to set CODEX_INSTALLER_USE_RELEASES_OPENAI_COM to false.
The README has the exact commands.
Limitations
The README says to sign in with a ChatGPT account to use Codex as part of a Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise plan, or to use an API key with additional setup. This README covers Codex CLI. The IDE install, the desktop app and Codex Web are other ways to use Codex that it only points to. It names install scripts for Mac, Linux and Windows and release binaries for macOS and Linux. It says the standalone installers download from OpenAI's releases location by default and fall back to GitHub Releases if a download is unavailable.The repository can change at any time; check its README before you install.