Codex iOS: Desktop Remote Access and App Setup

Direct answer

Codex desktop now runs as a separate Codex view inside the current ChatGPT desktop app on macOS and Windows. There is no separate official Codex iOS app to select. On iPhone, iPad, and Android, open the ChatGPT mobile app and use its Remote tab to access supported Codex chats running on a connected computer. The phone is a control surface; the repository, credentials, tools, and permissions stay on the host machine.

Summary

Desktop: install or update the official ChatGPT desktop app, then select Codex from the top-left menu.
iOS and Android: use Remote inside the ChatGPT mobile app; do not search for a separate official Codex phone app.
Host: Codex continues running against files, terminals, tools, credentials, and permissions on the connected computer or remote environment.
History: remote Codex chats stay separate from normal ChatGPT web and mobile chat history.
Best fit: use desktop for setup and detailed review, mobile for check-ins and decisions, and CLI or IDE for terminal- or editor-first work.
Safety: use official downloads, grant the smallest useful access, review commands and diffs, and test before merge or deployment.

Understand the current Codex app names

Search results describe a Codex app, Codex desktop, Codex mobile, and a new ChatGPT app. The current OpenAI Help Center resolves the naming. ChatGPT desktop on macOS and Windows includes Chat and Work under ChatGPT, plus a separate Codex view. Codex is dedicated to software development and can work with local folders, repositories, terminals, and developer tools. It is not selectable as a normal experience on the ChatGPT website or mobile app.

The mobile experience is Remote inside the official ChatGPT app. It exposes supported desktop Codex chats without converting them into normal mobile chats. That distinction sets the right expectation. Your phone can steer a live session, but it is not a repository copy or a standalone phone IDE.

Check OpenAI's current ChatGPT Work and Codex availability and navigation.

What happened to the standalone Codex desktop app?

If you already use the Codex desktop app, update it normally. OpenAI says the update becomes the new ChatGPT desktop app with Chat, Work, and Codex. Existing Codex chats and projects should remain. Existing Codex users open in Codex by default. Settings can keep Codex as the starting view and app icon.

People upgrading from the previous ChatGPT desktop app may see two apps. ChatGPT is the new app with Chat, Work, and Codex. ChatGPT Classic is the earlier desktop app and may remain installed alongside it. OpenAI says Classic continues to receive support for its existing capabilities, while some newer agent features may appear only in the new app.

Follow OpenAI's current migration guidance for Codex, ChatGPT, and ChatGPT Classic.

Choose the right Codex surface

All four surfaces can contribute to one development workflow, but they are not interchangeable. Choose by where the code runs, how much context you need to inspect, and which approvals you can review safely.

ChatGPT desktop, Codex view: open local projects, supervise threads, review diffs, use worktrees, manage skills, and inspect terminal or visual output.
ChatGPT mobile, Remote tab: check progress, answer questions, approve bounded actions, change direction, review output, or start work away from the host.
Codex CLI: best for a terminal-first workflow, scripts, remote shells, and teams that want configuration close to the repository.
Codex IDE extension: best when the editor, selected code, diagnostics, and a manual edit loop are central to the task.
Remote SSH through desktop: useful when the approved code and compute live on a devbox. Treat that host as the execution environment and apply its access policy.

Choose mobile when timely guidance matters, not merely for convenience. A small screen makes a long command, large diff, security prompt, or visual regression harder to inspect. Use Remote for bounded approvals, then return to desktop or your code-review tools for detailed verification.

What Codex desktop is designed to do

OpenAI introduced the desktop app as a command center for agents. Threads are organized by project, and the app supports reviewing changes, commenting on a diff, and handing work to an editor. Built-in worktrees isolate concurrent tasks so one agent can explore a change without altering another thread's working copy. The app also shares session history and configuration with Codex CLI and IDE use.

Skills package reusable instructions, resources, and scripts. Automations run scheduled work and place results in a review queue. These features expand what an agent can do, but they also expand the review surface. A scheduled or parallel task still needs clear limits, an owner, and evidence that the final repository state is correct.

Review OpenAI's Codex desktop feature and sandbox description.

How Codex iOS and Android Remote access works

Remote loads the live state from a machine where Codex is running. From the phone, OpenAI says you can work across threads, review output, approve commands, change models, and start new work. Updates can include screenshots, terminal output, diffs, test results, and approval requests. The files, credentials, permissions, and local setup stay on the host.

OpenAI describes a secure relay that connects trusted machines across signed-in devices without exposing the host directly to the public internet. A relay reduces one network risk, but it does not remove account, endpoint, repository, credential, or approval risk. Protect both devices, keep their software current, and remove connections you no longer need.

OpenAI announced mobile Remote in preview for iOS and Android across supported regions and plans in May 2026. That announcement initially connected phones to the macOS app and said Windows-host support was coming later. The newer Help Center now uses the broader phrase 'supported desktop Codex chats.' Check the current setup screen and Help Center instead of assuming every host, account, or workspace has the same rollout.

Read OpenAI's mobile Remote architecture, capabilities, and availability announcement.

Set up Codex desktop before mobile access

Install or update the current ChatGPT desktop app from OpenAI's official download page or its in-app updater. Sign in with the intended ChatGPT account and workspace.
Select Codex from the top-left menu. Confirm that your plan, workspace role, security settings, and local Codex permission allow the experience.
Open a small test repository or folder. Use version control, start from a clean state, and grant only the files and tools needed for the task.
Describe one reversible outcome, acceptance criteria, forbidden actions, required checks, and when Codex must ask for approval.
Review the proposed plan, commands, file changes, sources, and test results. Run independent checks before accepting the work.
Update the official ChatGPT mobile app and sign in with the same authorized account. Open Remote and follow the current connection flow for the supported desktop session.
Use the phone for a bounded check-in: answer a question, redirect the task, or review a short result. Confirm the desktop still shows the same thread and repository state.
Disconnect unused devices or sessions, close completed work, and keep high-impact approvals for a screen and environment where you can inspect them fully.

Use a small first task

A safe first request has one file boundary and a clear verification step. Ask Codex to inspect a failing unit test and explain the cause. Allow a change only in the relevant module after approval. Then rerun that test and stop before installation, network access, commit, push, or deployment. This reveals how the app asks questions, displays commands, presents diffs, and reports checks without placing a release at risk.

Review every result outside the conversation

Repository state: inspect the actual diff, untracked files, branch, worktree, and recent commits.
Correctness: rerun focused tests, then the relevant type check, lint, build, and integration checks.
Security: inspect new dependencies, install scripts, permissions, secrets, network access, authentication, and data handling.
Product quality: verify the real user flow, error states, accessibility, responsive behavior, content, and visual output.
Operations: confirm no unwanted process, scheduled task, remote connection, deployment, message, purchase, or publication remains active.
Ownership: record what changed, what was verified, what remains uncertain, and who can approve the next step.

Know what the sandbox does and does not protect

OpenAI says Codex uses configurable system-level sandboxing. Default agent access covers the working folder or branch and cached web search. Codex requests approval for elevated actions such as network access. Teams can configure rules for approved commands. Those controls reduce accidental reach, but an allowed command, misleading repository instruction, unsafe dependency, incorrect approval, or flawed generated change can still cause harm.

Treat mobile approval as the same authority as desktop approval. Read the full command and target. Avoid approving deletion, credential access, deployment, publication, purchases, or broad network use merely because a notification feels urgent. Require a separate human or automated gate for high-impact changes.

Download Codex apps only from OpenAI

OpenAI rotated application signing after a 2026 supply-chain incident and required macOS users to update affected apps. Its guidance remains useful: update in the app or download from an official OpenAI page. Avoid installers delivered through email, messages, ads, file-sharing links, or third-party download sites. An unrelated App Store product containing 'Codex' is not OpenAI's Remote experience inside ChatGPT.

Read OpenAI's current signing, update, and official-download guidance.

Troubleshoot Codex desktop and Remote

No Codex option on phone: look for Remote rather than a selectable Codex experience. Update ChatGPT, confirm the same account and workspace, and check current rollout and admin controls.
Desktop shows ChatGPT Classic: install or open the new ChatGPT app. Classic and the new app can coexist, so confirm the app name and top-left experience menu.
Old Codex app changed names: a normal update can migrate it into the new ChatGPT desktop app while preserving Codex projects and chats.
Remote thread missing: confirm the desktop session is supported, online, signed in, and connected. Remember that Remote does not place Codex chats in ordinary mobile or web history.
Connection works but tools fail: inspect the host's file permissions, repository state, terminal, workspace policy, network rules, credentials, and approval queue.
Windows behavior differs from a guide: prefer the latest OpenAI Help Center and in-app instructions. Older launch articles may still describe macOS-only mobile hosting.
Unexpected installer or sign-in prompt: stop, close it, navigate to OpenAI directly, and verify the official app and account before proceeding.

Frequently asked questions about Codex apps

OpenAI's current route is the Remote tab in the official ChatGPT mobile app for iOS. Codex is not a separate selectable mobile experience, and Remote chats do not become ordinary ChatGPT mobile history.

Install the current ChatGPT desktop app for macOS or Windows and select Codex from the top-left menu. An existing Codex app updates into this new combined app.

The phone provides the Remote control surface. The connected computer or remote environment holds the files, credentials, permissions, tools, and local setup where Codex operates.

No, according to the current OpenAI Help Center. Codex remains a separate desktop view and is not selectable on web or mobile. Use mobile Remote for supported desktop chats.

Continue with the Codex workflow

Use our Codex CLI guide for a terminal-first installation and safety workflow.

Read what Codex is before choosing an app, CLI, IDE, or remote workflow.

Sources and verification

OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Work and Codex: current navigation, local capabilities, Remote access, history separation, permissions, and availability.
OpenAI Help Center, Moving to the new ChatGPT desktop app: Codex migration, preserved projects, default view, ChatGPT Classic coexistence, and first-time installation.
OpenAI, Work with Codex from anywhere, 14 May 2026: mobile Remote host model, relay, live state, capabilities, initial rollout, and Remote SSH.
OpenAI, Introducing the Codex app, 2 February 2026 with later updates: threads, diffs, worktrees, CLI and IDE continuity, skills, automations, and sandboxing.
OpenAI, response to the TanStack npm supply-chain attack, amended May and June 2026: signing rotation, update requirement, and official-download warning.
Independent guides from Daniel Vaughan, TechFinitive, and TechRadar: competitor structure, setup questions, reader confusion, and mobile-use framing; not proof of OpenAI product claims.

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