OpenAI brings Codex to ChatGPT on iPhone and Android

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OpenAI has added Codex remote access to the ChatGPT mobile app, giving iPhone, iPad, and Android users a way to follow and steer coding tasks while Codex keeps running on a connected Mac or remote development environment.

According to OpenAI’s May 14 announcement, the feature is rolling out in preview across all supported regions and plans, including Free and Go. Users need the latest ChatGPT mobile app and the Codex app on macOS to try it. Support for connecting a phone to Codex on Windows is coming later.

Codex now works from inside ChatGPT mobile

OpenAI is not launching a separate Codex app for iPhone. Instead, it is placing Codex controls inside ChatGPT, so users can connect to a machine where Codex is already running and pick up active work from the phone.

Once connected, the mobile app can show active threads, approvals, plugins, and project context. Users can review outputs, approve commands, change models, send follow-up instructions, or start a new task without returning to their desk.

The actual work still happens on the connected host. OpenAI says repository files, credentials, permissions, and local setup stay on the machine where Codex is operating, while the phone receives live updates such as screenshots, terminal output, diffs, test results, and approval prompts.

Setup starts from the Codex app on Mac

The connection begins in the Codex app on macOS. OpenAI’s ChatGPT release notes say users scan a QR code from the ChatGPT mobile app to pair the phone with the host machine.

There is one important limitation: the host must stay awake, online, and running Codex for remote access to continue. That means the iPhone is acting more like a live control surface for a Mac or remote environment, not as the place where Codex runs locally.

OpenAI says it uses a secure relay layer to keep trusted machines reachable across authorized ChatGPT devices without exposing them directly to the public internet. For teams using remote devboxes or SSH hosts, the phone still connects through the Codex app host while Codex works in the remote environment.

This confirms OpenAI’s mobile Codex direction

Earlier signs had pointed to OpenAI preparing a broader Codex app strategy, including role-based Codex prompts that hinted beyond the desktop.

The final version is more integrated than a simple companion app. Codex now sits alongside other ChatGPT mobile surfaces, which makes sense for quick approval moments: checking a diff, choosing between two approaches, unblocking a command, or starting an investigation while away from the Mac.

OpenAI says more than 4 million people now use Codex every week. The mobile launch shows where the company thinks AI coding agents are headed: longer-running work that needs occasional human judgment, even when the user is not at the main machine.

Enterprise users get more Codex controls

OpenAI is also expanding Codex for teams. Remote SSH and Hooks are now available across all plans, while programmatic access tokens are available for Business and Enterprise users. Eligible ChatGPT Enterprise workspaces can also use Codex in HIPAA-compliant local environments.

For iPhone users, the immediate change is simpler: Codex can now keep working on the Mac while ChatGPT on mobile becomes the place to check progress and make the next call.

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