Codex Installation and Usage

Codex can be used in multiple ways. Based on developer preferences, it can be roughly divided into five methods:

Installation Method	Usage Scenario	Recommendation Level
Codex App	Directly download the Codex app	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Codex CLI	Use in the terminal	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
IDE Plugin	Use in VS Code / Cursor	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Homebrew Installation	Mac users	⭐⭐⭐⭐
GitHub Release Binary	Manual Installation	⭐⭐⭐

The following sections introduce each method separately.

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1. Codex App

The simplest way isto directly use the Codex app, which requires a good network connection.

Visit:https://chatgpt.com/zh-Hans-CN/download/

Download the app:

Log in with your ChatGPT account to use it.

ChatGPT interface description:

Codex mode:

Then you can enter your requirements in the input box:

If you encounter difficulties accessing or using Codex, domestic alternatives such as Alibaba's Qoder Quest and ByteDance's Trae Solo are similar products.

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2、Codex CLI

The most commonly used method by developers isCodex CLI。

CLI is an AI coding agent that runs in the terminal. It can:

• Read code
• Modify code
• Execute shell commands
• Automatically fix bugs

Codex CLI runs locally, so your code is not uploaded to the cloud; only the prompt and necessary context are sent to the model.

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Install Codex CLI

One-click installation and update for macOS/Linux:

curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh

One-click installation and update for Windows:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.ps1 | iex"

Install and update using npm:

npm install -g @openai/codex

# 使用国内镜像安装更快
npm install -g @openai/codex --registry=https://registry.npmmirror.com

After installation, run:

codex

to start Codex.

Log in to Codex

You need to log in on first run.

There are two ways:

Method 1: ChatGPT login (recommended)

codex

Choose:

Sign in with ChatGPT

Then the browser will open the login page. Once logged in, you can use it.

Method 2: API Key login

If you are in developer mode, you can use an API Key:

# macOS / Linux - 临时设置（仅当前终端会话有效）
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-你的API密钥"

# 永久配置（添加到 ~/.bashrc 或 ~/.zshrc）
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-你的API密钥"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Windows PowerShell
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-你的API密钥"

# 配置后启动（指定模型）
codex --model gpt-5-codex

Then run:

codex

Method 3: auth.json file configuration

Manually edit the authentication file. Create the directory:

mkdir -p ~/.codex

Write the API key:

cat > ~/.codex/auth.json << 'EOF'
{
  "OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-你的API密钥"
}
EOF

First Run of Codex

Enter the project directory:

cd my-project

Start Codex:

codex

Then enter:

Analyze the current project structure.

Codex will automatically:

1. Scan the codebase
2. Analyze the project structure
3. Output a description of the system architecture

For example, create a directory:

mkdir codex-example-test

Enter the directory:

cd codex-example-test

Create a new test.py file with the following code:

print("Hello Example!")

Start Codex:

codex

Select the first optionYes, continuePress Enter, and now you can start using Codex CLI to write code:

Three Running Modes of Codex

Codex CLI provides three safe modes.

Mode	Feature
Suggest	Only recommended to modify
Auto Edit	Automatically modify files
Full Auto	Automatically execute all operations

Default mode:

Suggest

Switch mode:

codex --auto-edit

Or:

codex --full-auto

Full Auto mode can automatically execute code fixes and tasks.

Update and Uninstall

# 更新到最新版本
npm update -g @openai/codex

# 或强制重装最新版
npm install -g @openai/codex@latest

# 卸载
npm uninstall -g @openai/codex

# Homebrew 卸载
brew uninstall --cask codex

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3. Homebrew Installation (Recommended for Mac)

Mac users can install using Homebrew.

brew install --cask codex

After installation, run:

codex

You can start it.

This method is suitable for:

• Mac developers
• Users who do not want to install Node.js.

---

GitHub Release Installation (Binary)

If you don't want to use npm, you can also download the binary version directly.

Download URL:https://github.com/openai/codex/releases

Common versions:

Mac Apple Silicon：

codex-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz

Mac Intel：

codex-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz

Linux：

codex-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz

After downloading, extract:

tar -xzf codex-xxx.tar.gz

Rename:

mv codex-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl codex

Add to PATH:

sudo mv codex /usr/local/bin

Then run:

codex

You can use it.

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5. IDE Plugin Installation

Codex can also be used in IDEs, for example:

• VS Code
• Cursor
• Windsurf
• VS Code forks

Installation method:

• 1. Open the IDE plugin marketplace
• 2. SearchCodex
• 3. Install plugins
• 4. Log in to your ChatGPT account

This way, Codex can be used directly within the IDE.

For example:

• Automatically fix code
• Automatically generate functions
• Automatically refactor code

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6. Update Codex

Codex CLI updates are very simple:

codex --upgrade

Or:

npm update -g @openai/codex

codex --version

Codex CLI currently supports:

System	Support status
macOS	Full Support
Linux	Full Support
Windows	Experimental support (WSL recommended)

Other Extensions