# Lil Finder Guy pet was the gateway to building my own Mac apps with Codex

> Source: <https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/05/lil-finder-guy-pet-was-the-gateway-to-building-my-own-mac-apps-with-codex/>
> Published: 2026-06-05 18:37:31+00:00

At the start of May, OpenAI released a playful feature inside its Codex desktop app for creating a virtual pet.

This silly little addition solved my biggest challenge with Codex: what should I do with it? My first real task with Codex was putting together a [virtual Lil Finder Guy](https://9to5mac.com/2026/05/01/i-think-i-just-vibe-coded-lil-finder-guy-onto-my-mac/) for fun.

A month later, I’m using two Mac apps that Codex built at my direction. Toying around with Codex Pets was the gateway for me to better understand its capabilities.