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

OpenAI released a virtual pet feature inside its Codex desktop app in early May, which a user initially employed to create a "Lil Finder Guy" for fun. Within a month, the same user built two Mac apps using Codex, with the pet feature serving as a gateway to understanding the tool's capabilities.

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.