OpenAI Expands Codex

OpenAI has turned Codex from a coding assistant into a desktop app that can click through tasks, browse the web inside the app, and remember user preferences. (openai.com) OpenAI announced the update on April 16, 2026, saying the Codex app for macOS and Windows now adds computer use, in-app browsing, image generation, memory, and plugins. The company said the app can also review pull requests, view multiple files and terminals, and connect to remote development boxes over Secure Shell. (openai.com) OpenAI’s developer docs say computer use lets Codex see and operate graphical interfaces on macOS for tasks that command-line tools cannot handle, including checking a desktop app, changing settings, or reproducing a bug that only appears in a windowed interface. The current browser-control workflow is aimed at testing browser and simulator flows rather than general web automation. (developers.openai.com 1) (developers.openai.com 2) The plugin system is the other big shift. OpenAI’s docs describe plugins as packaged workflows built from apps and skills, with a directory inside Codex for browsing and installing them, and outside reports put the launch catalog at more than 90 plugins. (developers.openai.com) (venturebeat.com) That moves Codex closer to an “agent” product: software that does multi-step work across tools instead of only generating code in a chat box. When OpenAI introduced the Codex app in February 2026, it pitched the product as a command center for parallel coding agents and long-running tasks; this week’s release extends that idea into browser, desktop, and app control. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) The update also shows how OpenAI is trying to keep Codex inside developers’ daily workflow instead of leaving it as a separate assistant. OpenAI says ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, and Enterprise plans include Codex, and its help pages show administrators can control access to the app and plugins across workplace accounts. (developers.openai.com) (help.openai.com) Platform support remains uneven. OpenAI’s app docs say the desktop app is available on macOS and Windows, the Windows version runs either natively with PowerShell and Windows Sandbox or through Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, and the command-line interface still treats Windows support as experimental. (developers.openai.com 1) (developers.openai.com 2) (help.openai.com) OpenAI is also putting guardrails around the new control features. Its computer-use documentation warns that desktop actions can change app and system state outside a project workspace and tells users to keep tasks narrow and review permission prompts before continuing. (developers.openai.com) The result is a Codex app that now looks less like a code generator and more like a developer workbench with an AI operator inside it. OpenAI is betting that writing code, testing it, browsing it, and fixing it will happen in one window. (openai.com)