OpenAI has pushed Codex beyond a cloud coding agent and into a broader desktop operator. The new release adds background computer use, so Codex can see, click, and type on a Mac with its own cursor, plus an in-app browser where developers can comment directly on pages while iterating on frontend work, apps, and games. It also gains image generation through GPT-image-1.5, support for more than 90 new plugins, multiple terminal tabs, SSH access to remote devboxes, richer file previews, and a summary pane for plans, sources, and artifacts.
Codex for (almost) everything.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) April 16, 2026
It can now use apps on your Mac, connect to more of your tools, create images, learn from previous actions, remember how you like to work, and take on ongoing and repeatable tasks. pic.twitter.com/UEEsYBDYfo
When OpenAI first introduced Codex in 2025, it was framed as a cloud-based software engineering agent that could work on parallel tasks inside sandboxed environments tied to a repository. The Codex app that arrived in February 2026 turned that into a desktop command center for parallel agents, worktrees, built-in Git tooling, automations, and long-running threads. This latest step turns that app into something closer to a full workflow layer around software development, where coding, testing, browser checks, visual generation, and follow-up tasks happen in one place instead of being split across separate tools.
The rollout starts with Codex desktop users signed in with ChatGPT. Computer use is initially limited to macOS, while personalization features such as memory and context-aware suggestions are still on the way for Enterprise, Edu, and users in the EU and UK. That creates an unusual split in availability because the Codex app itself is already available on Windows, but some of the headline features remain staged by platform and region. Under the hood, OpenAI has already positioned GPT-5.4 as the recommended Codex model, calling it the first general-purpose model in Codex with native computer-use capabilities and experimental support for a 1 million token context window.
The biggest shift: Codex can now use your computer alongside you.
— Andrew Ambrosino (@ajambrosino) April 16, 2026
With background computer use, multiple agents can operate desktop apps in parallel while you keep doing other work. pic.twitter.com/cGaLa9zmrR
This matters because OpenAI is no longer pitching Codex as just another coding assistant. It is building it into a broader agent workspace for individual developers and teams, at a moment when Codex usage inside Business and Enterprise has grown sharply. OpenAI said more than 3 million developers use Codex every week in the new announcement, while a separate April update said more than 2 million builders use Codex weekly and Codex usage inside ChatGPT Business and Enterprise has grown 6x since January.
The company has also widened access and monetization around the product, with Codex included across ChatGPT plans and new pay-as-you-go Codex-only seats for Business and Enterprise customers. That positions this release as part product update, part distribution push, and part signal that OpenAI wants Codex to compete as a daily operating surface for software work rather than a side tool inside the terminal.
