Codex app - AI Agent Command Center

The Codex app for macOS has officially launched, introducing a powerful new interface designed to help developers manage multiple AI agents simultaneously, run parallel tasks, and collaborate on long-running projects. OpenAI announced the release on February 4, 2026, marking a significant evolution in how software development is approached with artificial intelligence.

For a limited time, OpenAI is making Codex available to ChatGPT Free and Go users, while doubling rate limits for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plan subscribers. These enhanced limits apply across all Codex interfaces including the app, CLI, IDE extensions, and cloud environments.

What Makes the Codex App Revolutionary

Since its initial launch in April 2025, Codex has fundamentally transformed developer workflows. The new desktop application serves as a command center where developers can orchestrate multiple agents across entire project lifecycles—from design and development to deployment and maintenance. The app addresses the core challenge of directing and supervising AI agents at scale, something traditional IDEs and terminal tools weren’t built to handle.

The application provides dedicated threads for each agent organized by project, allowing seamless task switching without losing context. Developers can review agent changes, comment on code differences, and open files in their preferred editor for manual adjustments. Built-in worktree support enables multiple agents to work on the same repository simultaneously without conflicts, as each operates on an isolated code copy.

Skills: Extending Beyond Code Generation

A standout feature is the skills system, which transforms Codex from a code-writing tool into a comprehensive work assistant. Skills bundle instructions, resources, and scripts that enable Codex to connect with external tools, execute workflows, and complete complex tasks according to team preferences. The Codex app includes a dedicated interface for creating and managing these skills.

OpenAI demonstrated this capability by asking Codex to create a complete racing game with multiple characters, eight maps, and interactive items. Using image generation and web development skills, the agent independently consumed over 7 million tokens from a single prompt, taking on roles as designer, developer, and QA tester.

The app ships with a library of pre-built skills including Figma design implementation, Linear project management, cloud deployment to platforms like Cloudflare and Vercel, GPT Image-powered image generation, OpenAI API integration, and document creation for PDFs, spreadsheets, and Word files.

Automations for Background Tasks

Developers can configure Automations that run Codex tasks on scheduled intervals in the background. When completed, results appear in a review queue for developer oversight. OpenAI teams use Automations for daily issue triage, CI failure summaries, release briefs, and bug detection.

Security and Availability

The application implements system-level sandboxing with open-source, configurable security controls. By default, agents are restricted to editing files within their working folder or branch and require permission for elevated operations like network access. Teams can configure custom rules for automatic command execution.

The Codex app is available now for macOS, with Windows support planned. ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu subscribers can access it immediately using their existing credentials. Since the GPT-5.2-Codex model launch in December, overall usage has doubled, with over one million developers using the platform in the past month alone.