openai / openai/codex

Feature request: Allow ChatGPT and Codex to be installed and launched separately

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#40,536 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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app enhancement
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
125k
Forks
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PR merge metrics
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Description

Feature request

Please provide an option to keep ChatGPT and Codex as two separate desktop applications or independent launchers.

Why this would help

ChatGPT and Codex serve very different purposes:

  • ChatGPT is mainly used for everyday conversations, questions, voice, and general assistance.
  • Codex is mainly used for coding, computer operations, files, projects, and longer technical tasks.

Combining them in one application can make the interface more confusing, especially for non-technical users. It can also make the application feel heavier and make it harder to distinguish ChatGPT conversations from Codex tasks.

Suggested solution

Please allow users to:

  1. Install or launch ChatGPT and Codex separately.
  2. Keep their histories, settings, and recent-task lists separate.
  3. Choose whether they want a combined experience or two independent applications.
  4. Continue using the same OpenAI account in both applications.

Even if ChatGPT and Codex share the same underlying account and services, separate launchers would make the experience clearer and easier to use.

Thank you for considering this request.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue does not name files, tests, or entry points. Start by mapping how this terminal-based Codex project handles launching, account access, histories, settings, and recent tasks; done would require a decided design for separate or combined applications while preserving shared account access.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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