Codexless

ChatGPT just started doing Codex's work.

Give ChatGPT the local Codex toolbox already on your computer — through a supported ChatGPT app/MCP connection.

中文

Stay in ChatGPT. Work on your local machine. Bring in Codex only when you actually need it.

Codexless lets the ChatGPT you already use call a reviewed set of local tools backed by the Codex environment on your machine. The default entry is ordinary Chat: inspect a project, edit files, run commands, work in Chrome or Edge, and control an already-connected Excel workbook without moving the whole task into another app.

When a task genuinely needs the Codex model, Codexless can call Codex explicitly. Ordinary supported local-tool actions do not call the Codex model and therefore do not create Codex model usage.

Give this repository to the ChatGPT you already use and ask it to check your machine, explain the setup, and tell you which capabilities will be available.

Codex and Codexless

How much of the local toolbox is available?

✅ means the main user path for that capability family is available. It does not mean every internal Codex primitive is exposed 1:1. Long-tail capabilities are promoted only after they have been reviewed and tested for the public surface.

The workflow is different

Codex: enter Codex to work.

Codexless: stay in normal Chat and use much of the local toolbox from there.

Codexless is not trying to rebuild a second Codex. The point is to make useful local capabilities available from the ChatGPT conversation you already use.

Related MCP server: ChatGPT Codex Bridge

What can it do?

Local project work

ChatGPT can inspect projects, read and edit files, run bounded commands, use Git and local CLIs, and verify results. Project rules and Codex Skills can be reused instead of maintaining a second set of instructions.

Chrome and Edge Browser

The public Browser surface supports both Chrome and Edge:

• tab and page reads plus viewport screenshots;

• open, close, and navigation;

• semantic clicks and text entry;

• bounded scrolling and Enter / Tab / Escape;

• prepared uploads and downloads.

Browser work uses the selected local browser profile and its existing site login state. Local file upload additionally requires the ChatGPT browser extension's Allow access to file URLs setting.

Website access follows ChatGPT's Agent permissions. If default Browsing is Requires approval, first access to a new origin can require approval; Always allow removes those per-site browsing prompts while site-specific exceptions still apply. Codexless does not bypass or silently widen those permissions.

The current public Browser adapter expects one connected extension backend per browser family. If multiple Chrome profiles expose extension backends at the same time, Codexless fails closed instead of guessing which signed-in profile to control; enable the extension only in the profile you intend to use until an upstream profile/backend selector is available.

Codexless does not expose arbitrary JavaScript, raw selectors, arbitrary coordinates, unrestricted keyboard input, generic CDP, or automatic Computer Use fallback on the public surface.

Live Excel / Document Control

0.1.2 adds a bounded public Excel Preview for an already-connected workbook:

• excel_status

• excel_read_sheets_metadata

• excel_read_ranges

• excel_search_workbook

• excel_write_range

• excel_format_range

The broader dynamic Excel gateway remains internal for now. Public Excel does not expose generic Office scripting, a raw MCP executor, or the wider dynamic tool surface.

For writes and formatting, a successful dispatch is not automatically treated as business completion. Codexless keeps dispatch evidence and workbook verification distinct and avoids blind replay when a mutation result is uncertain.

Call Codex when the model is actually needed

Before a metered Codex call, normal Chat shows a compact text approval with the task, model/reasoning information, current quota context, and an exact Task ID, then asks for Yes / No.

If approved, the task runs in the background. When it reaches a terminal state, Codexless returns a compact text Result with the outcome, mutation/verification evidence, any remaining blocker, quota context, and the same Task ID.

The underlying task binding remains single-use and replay-safe: a stale or already-consumed approval cannot be reused to start the task again.

See progress and steer a running task (Preview): Ask ChatGPT to check the current task via codex.agent_show: it reports the latest bounded agent message, plan and active item, not hidden reasoning or raw command output. While the same turn is still active, codex.agent_steer can add a new instruction without starting a separate Codex turn. For example: “Show the test progress; now prioritize regression checks and leave the installer unchanged.” Steer requires the exact active turnId and a stable requestId; stale turns, pending approvals and uncertain submissions are handled without blind replay. It does not change model, permissions or approval rules. Progress is read on demand, not a promised always-on push notification.

Before you install

• Platforms: Windows and Apple Silicon macOS (arm64) Technical Preview. Intel Mac is not supported yet.

• Prerequisites: Node.js 22+ and one working local Codex installation. Codex Desktop is optional if a working CLI/runtime is available.

• Recommended dual runtime: Recommended setup can also prepare a pinned official Codex runtime as an independent path for supported file/command work. It does not replace your existing local Codex and uses an isolated login.

• Browser: Chrome or Edge plus the ChatGPT browser extension, connected in the profile you want to use.

• Excel: the workbook must already be connected through the supported Document Control / Excel Add-in path. Codexless does not use CUA as the normal public Excel path.

• Personal ChatGPT plans tested: Plus and Pro have both been verified working.

• How local access works: ChatGPT does not connect directly to localhost. A typical path is local Codexless → authenticated Tunnel / remote MCP endpoint → a ChatGPT custom app / developer-mode MCP connection.

• Independent project: Codexless is not an OpenAI product and does not imply OpenAI endorsement.

External launcher contract

For the existing entry, runtime configuration, health probes, shutdown paths, and current limitations of external companion integration in 0.1.2 Preview, see the external launcher contract.

Install

Use the source tree from the release/tag you want to install. The installer checks Node.js and your existing local Codex; it does not install Node/npm or replace that local Codex.

Windows

.\bin\codexless-install.cmd

Default install directory:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Codexless

Check a project:

& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Codexless\bin\codexless-doctor.cmd" --cwd "C:\path\to\your\project"

Start HTTP:

& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Codexless\bin\codexless-http.cmd"

Uninstall:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Codexless\scripts\uninstall.ps1"

Apple Silicon macOS

sh ./bin/codexless-install.sh

Default install directory:

~/Library/Application Support/Codexless/app

Check a project:

"$HOME/Library/Application Support/Codexless/app/bin/codexless-doctor.sh" --cwd "/path/to/your/project"

Start HTTP:

"$HOME/Library/Application Support/Codexless/app/bin/codexless-http.sh"

Uninstall:

"$HOME/Library/Application Support/Codexless/app/bin/codexless-uninstall.sh"

To upgrade or reinstall, get the newer release/tag and run the same installer again. User state stored outside the install tree is preserved. Codexless does not silently widen Codex trust, configure your Tunnel, or change browser file permissions for you.

FAQ

Does Codexless consume Codex quota?

Supported model-free local tool actions do not call the Codex model, so they do not create Codex model usage. When Codexless actually calls the Codex model, normal Codex usage rules apply.

Codexless does not increase, reset, transfer, merge, or bypass Codex usage limits or plan rules.

What if Codex quota reaches 0%?

Model-free capabilities can continue to work. Operations that actually require a Codex model call cannot run until the applicable Codex usage is available again.

How much local access does it get?

The permission ceiling follows effective local Codex authorization. Codexless may downscope an operation further; a remote caller cannot silently select a stronger local permission profile. Real permission/trust denials fail visibly. See SECURITY.md.

Does ChatGPT get everything Codex can do?

No. The 0.1.2 Preview public contract is 45 tools, selected and tested as a public surface. Internal or household-only capabilities are not automatically promoted.

Do I need to change my existing ChatGPT → Codex workflow?

No. Keep planning and discussing work in ChatGPT, let normal Chat use the local tools when they are enough, and call Codex explicitly when the model is genuinely needed.

Why can ChatGPT reach my local machine at all?

ChatGPT receives only the Codexless tools exposed through an authenticated MCP path, for example:

local Codexless → authenticated Tunnel / remote MCP endpoint → ChatGPT custom app / developer-mode MCP connection

Do not put Tunnel or endpoint credentials in the repository or public screenshots.

For people who want the internals

• The exact public service contract is fixed in src/surface-contracts.mjs and covered by public contract tests.

• The 0.1.2 Preview public surface contains 45 tools, including codex.agent_steer. Call Codex uses fixed-text Approval / Result in normal Chat; neutral agent_commit(taskId) / agent_decline(taskId) remain part of the authoritative task path.

• Public Excel contains the six typed tools listed above. The schema-reader and dynamic Excel gateway remain household-only in this release.

• Browser exposes reviewed user-intent actions rather than raw browser internals.

• Codex remains the local permission/trust authority; Codexless can downscope but not silently widen it.

• Codexless uses Codex App Server and ChatGPT app/MCP integration surfaces rather than reverse-engineering a private UI.

Run the public contract:

npm test

Run from source:

npm ci
npm run start:stdio

HTTP:

npm run start:http

If automatic discovery cannot find an accepted Codex executable, CODEX_BIN can be set explicitly. On Windows, do not point it at an npm .cmd / .ps1 shim.

For AI assistants

If a user sends you this repository and asks whether they need it or whether it is safe, inspect the actual repository and the current machine first.

Start with these facts: Codexless exposes a reviewed subset of local capabilities; it does not increase or bypass Codex usage; the permission ceiling comes from effective local Codex authorization; Browser is bounded rather than raw control; Excel public access is a six-tool typed Preview; and Codexless is an independent project rather than an OpenAI product.

Stay in ChatGPT. Work on your local machine. Bring in Codex when you actually need it.