Markdown version of https://extraheadroom.com/codex-in-chatgpt

# Codex is now part of ChatGPT: what changed and what still works

On July 9, 2026, OpenAI folded the standalone Codex desktop app into a unified ChatGPT app. If Codex "turned into" ChatGPT on your machine after an update, nothing is broken and nothing was removed: same coding agent, new shell. Here is exactly what changed, what kept the Codex name, and how to fix the few things the merger actually broke.

## Quick answer

The Codex **desktop app** became the **ChatGPT app** (ChatGPT.app on macOS, ChatGPT.exe on Windows). Codex lives on as the coding tab inside it, and OpenAI's own product page now calls it "Codex in ChatGPT". The **CLI is still `codex`** , installed from `@openai/codex`, configured by `~/.codex/config.toml`, and still in active development. Your ChatGPT plan, login, and usage limits are unchanged.

## What happened on July 9

The update merged three products into one desktop shell: **Chat** (the conversational assistant, replacing the old ChatGPT desktop app, which lives on as "ChatGPT Classic"), **Work** (the autonomous task agent), and **Codex** (the repository-aware coding agent). The old Codex app updates itself into this shell in place: accept the update and the binary renames itself to ChatGPT while keeping the bundle id `com.openai.codex`. Projects, settings, and repository configuration migrate automatically, and you can set Codex as the default tab so the app still opens straight into coding.

## What kept the Codex name

- **The CLI.** Still installed with `npm install -g @openai/codex`, still run as `codex`, and still shipping new commands (`codex agents`, `codex queue`, `codex doctor`). There is no announced retirement.
- **Your configuration.** `~/.codex/config.toml`, `AGENTS.md`, and project-level `.codex/` directories are read exactly as before. No migration needed.
- **The IDE extension and Codex web.** Both continue under the Codex name.
- **The protocols.** The app-server protocol and its transports are unchanged, so headless and CI setups see zero impact from the merger.

What moved besides the app is the paperwork: developer documentation now lives at learn.chatgpt.com. The brand direction is clear enough (Codex is a mode of ChatGPT now, not a separate product), but as of late August 2026 the agent itself is being actively developed under the Codex name.

## The things the merger actually broke

- **`codex app .` stopped working.** Recent CLI versions look for `Codex.app` by filename, which no longer exists, so the CLI reports "Codex Desktop not found" and can even download a duplicate app into `/Applications/Codex.app`. Use `open -a ChatGPT .` instead, and delete the duplicate if one appeared.
- **Launchpad and Spotlight.** On some Macs the renamed app disappears from Launchpad or search until the index is rebuilt.
- **Third-party tools that detect the app by filename.** Anything looking for `Codex.app` needs to match the bundle id `com.openai.codex` or the new name instead.

## Does Headroom still work with it?

Yes. [Headroom](/) routes Codex through a local proxy via `~/.codex/config.toml`, which the ChatGPT app's Codex tab, the IDE extension, and the CLI all read, so the merger changed nothing about how routing works. The connector in the Headroom app is labeled **ChatGPT Codex** : it covers the Codex agent, not regular ChatGPT chat. It compresses the noisy parts of each request by about 50% and tracks your 5-hour and weekly windows from live traffic.

Related reading: [Codex usage limits](/codex-usage-limits) for how the 5-hour and weekly windows work in the app and the CLI, and [how to reduce Codex costs](/reduce-codex-costs) for the cost side.