Three Ways Codex Can Use a Computer

OpenAI's Codex now offers three ways to interact with computers—Computer Use for native apps, Chrome for signed-in sites, and an in-app browser for pages—enabling tasks like getting a refund from Amazon after a stolen package. The Computer Use feature can operate apps like Spotify and System Settings, and users have applied it to tasks such as applying for a Schengen visa and paying Airbnb taxes.

Three Ways Codex Can Use a Computer ¶ three-ways-codex-can-use-a-computer Recently I had a package stolen. Amazon told me it would take about 25 minutes to connect me to a person, so I gave the thread Computer Use and told it to check every five minutes. Once someone joined, check every minute and do its best to get me a refund. I went to take a shower. When I came back, the refund was done. That was when Computer Use clicked for me. Codex is not just a coding agent. Most of my work is messages, forms, browser tabs, and apps that do not connect neatly to anything else. Codex now has three ways to work there: | Use | Best for | Start with | |---|---|---| | Computer Use | Native apps and work across apps | @Computer , @AppName , an Appshot, or Remote Control | | Chrome | Signed-in sites and multiple tabs | @Chrome | | In-app browser | Pages, artifacts, and visual review | @Browser | My rule is to use the narrowest tool that can finish the job. If a plugin works, use it. If the task needs a screen, choose among these three. 1. Computer Use: almost any app ¶ 1-computer-use-almost-any-app Computer Use https://developers.openai.com/codex/app/computer-use is the most powerful option and usually the slowest. It can operate Spotify, finance apps, System Settings, or iPhone Mirroring. But it has to look at the screen, click, wait, and look again. On a Mac, it can work in the background while you keep using your computer. On Windows, it takes over the active desktop. Install it from Settings Computer Use . On macOS, grant Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions. Then mention @Computer , mention an app directly with @AppName , or just ask Codex to use Computer Use. The stolen-package example also shows the difference between a Goal and a thread automation. The Goal was to get the refund. The automation woke the thread every five minutes, then every minute when the agent appeared. One supplied the finish line; the other let Codex wait without forgetting the job. People are already using it for stranger things ¶ people-are-already-using-it-for-stranger-things I asked people for the most ambitious things they had done with Computer Use https://x.com/jxnlco/status/2066547199983473013 . Someone applied for a Schengen visa https://x.com/thevedlabs/status/2066577349273874617 . Someone else paid monthly Airbnb taxes through a county website https://x.com/GabGarrett/status/2066584487161467090 . One person repaired a virus-filled PC through a reboot loop https://x.com/craigsdennis/status/2066550916158009401 . Another used iPhone Mirroring for iOS Screen Time https://x.com/ChristianInProd/status/2066682841249796481 . I immediately wondered whether the same setup could operate a dating app https://x.com/jxnlco/status/2066618356958896428 . I have also used Computer Use as the last mile when another tool stopped short. One thread read feedback from Slack, changed a video, and rendered a new version. The Slack integration could not upload files, so Computer Use clicked Add file and posted it. Appshots let me point ¶ appshots-let-me-point An Appshot https://developers.openai.com/codex/appshots sends the frontmost Mac window to a Codex thread. Press both Command keys, then say what you want. I use this for emails, Slack messages, errors, designs, settings panels, and forms. Sometimes the Appshot is enough. If Codex needs to act, I tell the same thread to continue with Computer Use. Appshots are how I point. Computer Use is how Codex acts. Remote Control lets me leave ¶ remote-control-lets-me-leave Remote Control https://developers.openai.com/codex/remote-connections lets me start or steer the same work from my phone. In the Codex app, click Set up Codex mobile , scan the QR code, and connect ChatGPT mobile. The host stays awake and online; the work still runs there with its projects, plugins, Chrome setup, and Computer Use permissions. Thomas Ricouard https://x.com/Dimillian has been pushing this part of Codex forward. He started with Codex Monitor https://x.com/Dimillian/status/2010330190510273016 , where every active and past session was visible so you could jump back into the work. Codex Mobile now has notifications when work finishes and better reconnection https://x.com/Dimillian/status/2057452433777807486 , followed by /side conversations https://x.com/Dimillian/status/2060215793971786098 . Remote Control is becoming less like a status screen and more like Codex in your pocket. I let Computer Use research and draft. I stay present for payments, credentials, account changes, and security settings. Follow Ari Weinstein https://x.com/AriX for Computer Use and Appshots, and Thomas https://x.com/Dimillian for Codex Mobile and Remote Control. 2. Chrome: your signed-in browser ¶ 2-chrome-your-signed-in-browser Use the Chrome extension https://developers.openai.com/codex/app/chrome-extension when Codex needs your Chrome profile, cookies, extensions, or an authenticated site. It can control several tabs in a thread and keep working in its tab group while you use Chrome elsewhere. Open Plugins , add Chrome , and install the Codex Chrome extension https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/codex/hehggadaopoacecdllhhajmbjkdcmajg . Once it says Connected , mention @Chrome . Make the music more interesting ¶ make-the-music-more-interesting In one thread, I gave Codex an open Strudel Composer tab and told it to make the music more interesting. It rewrote the harmony and arrangement, changed the tempo, saved the track, and left it playing. A thread that watches Twitter ¶ a-thread-that-watches-twitter I also keep a Twitter thread that uses Chrome to check DMs, read news, and collect product feedback. It writes anything durable to my vault but does not post or send messages. That is my default boundary for Chrome: research and draft freely; ask before sending, publishing, purchasing, or submitting. 3. The in-app browser: review and annotate ¶ 3-the-in-app-browser-review-and-annotate The in-app browser https://developers.openai.com/codex/app/browser lives inside a Codex thread. I use it for public pages and visual artifacts I want to review with Codex. It does not carry your Chrome profile or login state. Open Plugins , add Browser , and mention @Browser . The page becomes the specification ¶ the-page-becomes-the-specification The annotation tools are my favorite part. I often ask Codex to create a single index.html , open it in the browser, and wait for comments. Then I can click an element and say “this hierarchy is backwards,” “make this less card-heavy,” or “these controls need more room.” The comment includes the screenshot and element context, so I do not have to describe the whole page again. Hand the work to another tool ¶ hand-the-work-to-another-tool The browser can also establish context and hand the job to another tool. I once opened an X post and asked Codex to investigate it. The page showed which post I meant; the Twitter CLI then retrieved 38 replies, including nested replies that were not visible on the page. The Atlas browser team is working to make the in-app browser more powerful: not just a preview, but a place where you and Codex can work on the same thing together. They are cooking. Follow James Sun https://x.com/JamesZmSun to see what they are working on. Put the routing rule in AGENTS.md ¶ put-the-routing-rule-in-agentsmd I do not want to remember this routing every time, so I put it in AGENTS.md : Browser and desktop routing - Prefer a plugin when one can finish the task. - Use an Appshot when showing the frontmost Mac window is easier than describing it. - Use @Browser for public pages, visual review, and annotations. - Use @Chrome for signed-in sites, existing tabs, extensions, or multiple tabs. - Use @Computer for native apps or work across apps. - Use Remote Control to start or steer work from my phone. - Ask before sending, publishing, purchasing, submitting, or changing account settings. Follow the work ¶ follow-the-work Follow me @jxnlco https://x.com/jxnlco for the ways I am using these tools, Ari Weinstein https://x.com/AriX for Computer Use, Thomas Ricouard https://x.com/Dimillian for Codex Mobile, James Sun https://x.com/JamesZmSun for browser work, Andrew Ambrosino https://x.com/ajambrosino for Codex app updates, and OpenAI Developers https://x.com/OpenAIDevs for broader news. The interesting part is not that Codex can click buttons. A thread can start with an Appshot, move across apps and browsers, wait for someone else, and keep working after I leave. What should I write about next? ¶ what-should-i-write-about-next If you want me to go deeper on Goals, thread automations, Appshots, Remote Control, or how I route work between these tools, leave a comment. Tell me what you are trying to do; I will use the best questions for the next post.