Enable Codex Desktop Control other devices on Windows at runtime without modifying Codex binary

A developer created a runtime tool that enables the hidden 'Control other devices' feature in Codex Desktop for Windows without modifying the installed binary. The tool overrides a Statsig gate and spoofs the platform to macOS to unlock the remote-control UI and device-key operations, using an in-memory P-256 signing implementation and Windows DPAPI for key storage.

Enable Settings Connections Control other devices in Codex Desktop for Windows without modifying ChatGPT.exe , app.asar , or any file under C:\Program Files\WindowsApps . Tested with Codex Desktop 26.715.7063.0 on Windows 11. Important Enable multi-factor authentication MFA on your OpenAI/ChatGPT account before linking the account or adding a device. Remote-control enrollment requires MFA to already be active. Warning This is an unofficial, version-sensitive runtime experiment. It launches Codex with localhost debugging ports that can execute code inside the Codex process. Use it only on a trusted machine, and launch Codex normally when you are finished. - Shows the shipped Control other devices tab on Windows. - Authorizes and stores a Windows controller device key. - Lists signed-in Codex devices available to control. - Opens projects on a connected remote host. - Leaves the installed Codex package unchanged. - Windows 10 or Windows 11. - Codex Desktop installed from the Microsoft Store/MSIX package. - Node.js 22 or newer available as node.exe on PATH . - MFA enabled on the OpenAI/ChatGPT account before device enrollment. - Another signed-in Codex host available on the same account. - Download this gist or clone it with GitHub CLI: gh gist clone dc4b74bda0e045e33f308099182b4f80 codex-windows-remote-control-runtime cd codex-windows-remote-control-runtime - Quit Codex Desktop. - Run the launcher: powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\launch-codex-remote-control.ps1 - In Codex, open Settings Connections Control other devices . - Select Add and complete authorization with the MFA-enabled account. - Create a project and choose the connected device under New remote project . The launcher writes diagnostics to %TEMP%\codex-remote-control-runtime.log . Codex Desktop 26.715 ships the Windows remote-controller UI and backend client, but two checks prevent the controller flow from working: - Statsig gate 782640499 is inverted in the renderer. A value of true hides showControlOtherDevices , so the runtime override forces this one gate to false . - The main process rejects device-key operations unless process.platform is darwin , then tries to load remote-control-device-key.node , which is not shipped in the Windows package. The launcher starts Codex with renderer DevTools on 127.0.0.1:9322 and the Electron main-process inspector on 127.0.0.1:9333 . It then: - Overrides only Statsig gate 782640499 in renderer Statsig clients. - Reports darwin only while the shipped getAddon device-key method is on the call stack. - Intercepts only requests for remote-control-device-key.node . - Supplies an in-memory P-256 signing implementation. - Encrypts private keys with Windows DPAPI using CurrentUser scope. - Stores encrypted keys in ~\.codex\remote-control-device-keys.windows.json . The approach was derived from zdaar/codex-hacks https://github.com/zdaar/codex-hacks/blob/main/patch codex remote control.py , but performs equivalent hooks at runtime rather than patching a copied app.asar . The renderer injection pattern was adapted from brunolemos' Codex feature-override gist https://gist.github.com/brunolemos/7466058059eae140a57a7c6a42f235ae . To disable the runtime hooks, quit Codex and launch it normally. The hooks and debugging ports exist only in the specially launched process. After revoking remote-control access in Codex, you can optionally remove the encrypted Windows key store: Remove-Item -LiteralPath "$HOME\.codex\remote-control-device-keys.windows.json" You can then delete this gist folder. No installed Codex files need restoration. The tab is missing: Confirm Codex was launched by launch-codex-remote-control.ps1 , then inspect %TEMP%\codex-remote-control-runtime.log . Authorization fails before linking: Confirm MFA was enabled before starting device enrollment, then retry Add . No devices appear: Confirm the other Codex host is signed in to the same account, online, and configured to allow remote control. A Codex update breaks the launcher: Launch Codex normally and stop using the override until the relevant gate and device-key code are reviewed for the new build.