Using Codex Desktop
Open the official Codex Desktop through ReCodex, see what it changes and how it affects the whole computer, and restore everything afterwards.
Before you start: the official Codex Desktop is installed (macOS or Windows), you've signed in with gcodex login, and gcodex status shows the subscription as 有效 (active).
Open Desktop
Quit Codex Desktop completely
If Desktop is running, quit it completely: press ⌘Q on macOS, or quit from the system tray on Windows. Closing the window is not enough.
Run gcodex desktop run
The first run asks for administrator authorization (your password on macOS, a UAC prompt on Windows) to install a background network component. You won't be asked again for the same version; the first run after upgrading gcodex, and uninstalling, ask once more. Desktop starts in the background, so you can close the terminal.
Always open it with this command
Open Desktop with gcodex desktop run every time. Opening it from the Dock or Start menu, or letting Desktop restart itself after an auto-update, doesn't go through ReCodex. Conversations, MCP servers, skills and history are shared with the CLI.
What it changes
To route Desktop through your subscription, ReCodex makes the following changes:
| Change | Details |
|---|---|
Configuration in ~/.codex | Shares ReCodex's managed settings and placeholder sign-in with the CLI; the original files are fully backed up before the first change |
| Certificate trust for the current user | Adds a certificate generated on this computer that is never uploaded; it only applies to the current user |
| Background network component | Installed once and stays installed; it handles OpenAI / ChatGPT domains only while a Desktop opened with gcodex desktop run is running, and lets go automatically when Desktop quits or crashes |
ReCodex does not modify the Desktop app itself, and does not turn off certificate verification.
While active, it affects OpenAI access for the whole computer
While Desktop is running, the domain handling applies to the whole computer, whichever app makes the request: every program on this computer that reaches OpenAI / ChatGPT domains goes through ReCodex. Calling api.openai.com with your own API key is rejected, and ChatGPT in your browser may be affected too. Quit Desktop completely when you need normal access; the handling is released automatically.
Restore everything
When you no longer want to use Desktop through ReCodex:
This restores your ~/.codex configuration (MCP servers and skills you added in the meantime are kept), turns off the network handling and removes the added certificate. The background network component stops handling traffic but stays installed until you run gcodex uninstall. If you keep opening the CLI with gcodex afterwards, ~/.codex gets the managed settings again. To uninstall ReCodex completely, see Disable & uninstall.
Other commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
gcodex desktop status | Show whether Desktop is currently managed by ReCodex |
gcodex desktop run --foreground | Run in the foreground with a live log; closing the terminal also closes Desktop |
The Desktop log is at ~/.recodex/logs/desktop.log.
Web chat works on one device at a time
The web chat inside Desktop can only be used on one device at a time, and each use on the original device extends its hold. If another device reports a conflict, go back to the original device, or switch about 30 minutes after it stops using web chat.