OpenAI Codex is a coding agent that lives everywhere you work. A native macOS app for parallel tasks and worktrees. A CLI for terminal-first developers. A VS Code extension for staying inside your editor. A cloud surface for delegating long-running jobs and reviewing PRs from your browser. Every surface shares the same configuration, the same AGENTS.md instructions, and the same MCP servers — so you pick the interface that fits the moment without repeating setup.
This guide takes you from zero to productive across all four surfaces, then into the workflows that actually ship code.
Quick Start
Install every surface, authenticate, configure approval modes, write your first AGENTS.md, connect MCP servers, hook up GitHub, run your first real task, review the output, and recover when things break. Everything you need to be dangerous in an afternoon.
App (macOS)
The Codex desktop app gives you parallel threads, worktrees, built-in Git tools, automations, skills, and an integrated terminal — all in a focused window separate from your editor.
CLI
The Codex CLI is open-source, built in Rust, and runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Interactive TUI sessions, non-interactive scripting, approval modes, image input, web search, and local code review — all from your terminal.
IDE Extension
The Codex extension for VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and JetBrains IDEs puts the agent right in your sidebar. Agent mode reads files, runs commands, and writes changes. Cloud delegation offloads heavy tasks without blocking your editor.
Most coding agents lock you into a single interface. Codex takes the opposite approach: four surfaces that share one brain. Start a task in the App, check its diff in the IDE extension, script a follow-up from the CLI, and let Cloud run the long tail overnight. The shared configuration layer means your approval policies, MCP servers, AGENTS.md files, and model preferences apply everywhere without duplication.
codex exec for scripting, piping output, CI/CD integration, and headless automation on remote machines@file references, cloud delegation, and auto-context syncing with the App@codex mentions, environment configuration, and long-running background tasks| Need | Go to |
|---|---|
| Install all surfaces | Installation |
| Set up authentication | Authentication |
| Configure models and approvals | Configuration |
| Write project instructions | AGENTS.md Setup |
| Connect MCP servers | MCP Setup |
| Integrate with GitHub | GitHub Integration |
| Run your first task | First Task |
| Review agent output | Review Workflow |
| Recover from failures | Error Recovery |