OpenAI Codex alternative

Looking for an OpenAI Codex app alternative?

Codex is OpenAI's coding agent: in the ChatGPT desktop app, in your terminal and in the cloud. AgentsRoom does not replace it, it runs the official Codex CLI in its own terminal, next to the other agents you use: Claude, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI, Cursor and 15 other agent CLIs.

AgentsRoom runs onmacOSWindowsLinuxiOSAndroid

Below: what Codex does best, checked on OpenAI's documentation and its GitHub repository on 11 November 2026, where each tool is ahead, and how to use the two together.

The short answer

Keep the Codex app if you work with OpenAI models only and want everything in one place: chats, cloud tasks, pull request reviews and your ChatGPT plan. Add AgentsRoom when Codex is one agent among several, and you need to run it next to Claude Code or other CLIs, plan their work and follow it from your phone.

Keep the Codex app if

You use OpenAI models only and your ChatGPT plan covers your usage.
You want cloud tasks that keep working while your computer sleeps.
You want Codex to review your pull requests on GitHub.
You work inside VS Code, Cursor or Windsurf with the Codex extension.

Add AgentsRoom if

Codex, plus the others

You run Codex next to Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI or other agent CLIs.
You use several Codex accounts, or want another CLI to take over near a limit.
You plan the work on a Kanban backlog whose tickets start agents, with roles.
You want native iOS and Android apps to follow and answer every agent.

We make AgentsRoom, so read this page with that in mind. Every Codex fact below is dated and its sources are linked.

Try the real interface

This is not a video: it is AgentsRoom running in your browser, with several coding agents in one window, each with its terminal, its status and its input box.

The desktop app, in Simple mode

On a phone the demo runs the real desktop app in its Simple interface mode: one project, its agents, one prompt. The full cockpit is on your computer.

See all features

What Codex does best

Checked on 11 November 2026 on learn.chatgpt.com and on GitHub. Codex is made by OpenAI.

An open-source CLI

The Codex CLI is public under the Apache-2.0 license, at github.com/openai/codex, with about 135,000 stars. It runs in your terminal and is the agent AgentsRoom launches.

One app for everything

Since 9 July 2026 the Codex app is part of the ChatGPT desktop app, on macOS, Windows and Linux (in preview). Parallel chats get their own git worktrees, managed by the app.

Cloud tasks

A cloud task gets its own workspace and keeps working while your computer is asleep. Local messages and cloud tasks share the usage of your ChatGPT plan.

Reviews on GitHub

Mention @codex review on a pull request, or turn on automatic reviews: Codex flags only P0 and P1 issues. It also takes work from Linear issues and Slack.

Automations

Schedule recurring tasks that run in the background. On the web and on mobile, they can also start from a Gmail, Slack or GitHub event.

An agent command center

Codex CLI 0.167.0, released on 6 November 2026, adds codex agents: one view of the CLI's tasks, grouped by status, with unread results marked.

Sources:Codex in the ChatGPT app Changelog Pricing GitHub repository

Feature-by-feature comparison

Codex as described on OpenAI's documentation and GitHub on 11 November 2026, AgentsRoom as it ships today. "Not found" means absent from what we read, not proof that it does not exist. The first rows are where Codex is ahead, then what both do, then where AgentsRoom is ahead.

Feature	AgentsRoom	Codex
Source code	AgentsRoomDesktop source not published	CodexCLI public, Apache-2.0Ahead
Price	AgentsRoomFree for 2 projects, 6 agents in parallel	CodexIncluded in ChatGPT plans, Free includedAhead
Pull request review	AgentsRoomReview each agent's diff before commit	Codex@codex review on GitHub, automatic reviewsAhead
Control of other apps	AgentsRoomBrowser control	CodexComputer Use on macOS and WindowsAhead
Inside your code editor	AgentsRoomStandalone desktop app	CodexVS Code, Cursor and Windsurf extensionAhead
macOS, Windows and Linux	AgentsRoom✓	CodexLinux app in preview
Agents in parallel	AgentsRoom✓	Codex✓
Git worktree per agent	AgentsRoomOptional, per agent	CodexManaged by the app
One view of every agent	AgentsRoomEvery agent of every project, with its status	Codexcodex agents in the CLI, Codex tasks only
Hosted cloud runs	AgentsRoomClaude Code and Codex (Plus and Pro plans)	CodexCodex cloud, in your ChatGPT plan
Scheduled agent runs	AgentsRoomClock, quota window or on demand	CodexRecurring, or on Gmail, Slack and GitHub events
MCP servers	AgentsRoom✓	Codex✓
Skills	AgentsRoom✓	Codex✓
Agents supported	AgentsRoom19 agent CLIs, Codex includedAhead	CodexCodex, with OpenAI or local models
Phone app	AgentsRoomNative iOS and Android appsAhead	CodexChatGPT app on iPhone, Android not documented
Same task on two vendors, side by side	AgentsRoom✓Ahead	CodexOpenAI agent only
Another CLI takes over near a limit	AgentsRoom✓Ahead	CodexOpenAI agent only
Several accounts per CLI	AgentsRoom✓Ahead	CodexNot found
Kanban backlog that starts agents	AgentsRoom✓Ahead	CodexNot found
Built-in agent roles and team workflows	AgentsRoom✓Ahead	CodexNot found
Databases and Kubernetes in the app	AgentsRoom✓Ahead	CodexNot found

Codex inside AgentsRoom

Most AgentsRoom users who run Codex keep their ChatGPT plan. This is what running the Codex CLI from AgentsRoom adds.

You already pay for ChatGPT

AgentsRoom starts the official Codex CLI in a real terminal, signed in with your own ChatGPT account or API key. Your prompts go from the CLI to OpenAI, never through us.

One Codex account is not enough

Codex runs low before the week ends

A quota rule sends new launches to Claude Code or another CLI when Codex reaches the threshold you chose. Or give the same task to Codex and Claude Code, and keep the better result.

Codex waits for you while you are away

When Codex shows a plan or asks a question, the card opens in its pane and on the iOS and Android apps, and your answer is typed into its terminal.

When the Codex app is the better choice

An honest comparison says when to stay. These are the cases where the Codex app alone is the right tool.

You only use OpenAI models

If every agent you run is Codex, the ChatGPT app gives you chats, worktrees, cloud tasks and reviews in one place. AgentsRoom pays off when you mix several CLIs.

You live in pull requests

Codex reviews pull requests directly on GitHub, on demand or automatically. AgentsRoom reviews each agent's diff on your computer, before the commit.

Your computer is often off

Codex cloud tasks keep working while your machine sleeps, inside your ChatGPT plan. AgentsRoom cloud runs exist on its Plus and Pro plans.

You want one subscription

Codex comes with every ChatGPT plan, Free included. AgentsRoom is free for 2 projects, with paid plans above that, on top of your AI plans.

You never leave your editor

The Codex extension works inside VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf. AgentsRoom is a separate window built around the agents, not around the file you edit.

You need Computer Use

Codex can operate other apps on macOS and Windows. AgentsRoom agents control a browser, not your whole desktop.

Adding AgentsRoom to Codex

Nothing to move: your ChatGPT plan, your Codex login and your repositories stay as they are.

Install AgentsRoom

Download it for macOS, Windows or Linux. It finds the Codex CLI if it is already installed, and its guided installer adds it if it is not.

Open your repositories

Add the same project folders. Branches and worktrees created by Codex are ordinary git, so they stay where they are.

Create a Codex agent

Pick Codex as the CLI, a role and a model, then add a Claude Code agent next to it if you want. Chats from the ChatGPT app stay in the ChatGPT app.

Questions

Short answers about price, platforms, phones and how Codex works inside AgentsRoom.

Ask us something else

What is the best OpenAI Codex app alternative?

It depends on what you need. If you use OpenAI models only, the Codex app in ChatGPT is hard to beat. If Codex is one agent among several and you want them in one window with a backlog, roles and phone apps, AgentsRoom runs the Codex CLI next to 18 other agent CLIs.

Codex vs AgentsRoom: what is the difference?

Codex is a coding agent: OpenAI's model, its CLI, the ChatGPT app and the cloud. AgentsRoom is not an agent, it is the room where you run agents: it launches the official Codex CLI, Claude Code and other CLIs side by side, and organizes their work.

Can I use Codex inside AgentsRoom?

Yes. AgentsRoom runs the official Codex CLI in its own terminal, signed in with your ChatGPT account or an API key. You can type into it as usual, and AgentsRoom adds status, notifications, plan cards and the phone apps around it.

Is Codex free?

OpenAI says Codex is included in the ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise plans, and that local messages and cloud tasks share the plan's usage. You can also pay with an API key. AgentsRoom is free for 2 projects and 6 agents in parallel.

Is Codex open source?

The Codex CLI is, under the Apache-2.0 license, at github.com/openai/codex. The ChatGPT desktop app that now holds the Codex app is not. The AgentsRoom desktop source is not published either.

Does the Codex app work on Windows and Linux?

Since 9 July 2026 the Codex app is part of the ChatGPT desktop app, available for macOS and Windows, and for Linux in preview (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Arch). AgentsRoom runs on macOS, Windows and Linux.

What is the codex agents command center?

A view added to the Codex CLI in version 0.167.0, on 6 November 2026. It lists the CLI's tasks grouped by status and marks unread results. It shows Codex tasks only; AgentsRoom shows every agent of every project, whatever its CLI.

Can Codex run Claude Code or other agents?

We found no way to run another agent CLI in the Codex app. The Codex CLI can use local open-source models through Ollama or LM Studio, and providers such as Amazon Bedrock. AgentsRoom runs 19 agent CLIs, each in its own terminal.

Does Codex have a phone app?

OpenAI documents following Codex, approving actions and sending instructions from the ChatGPT app on iPhone. We found no Android instructions on 11 November 2026. AgentsRoom has native iOS and Android apps, over an end-to-end encrypted link.

Can I use several Codex accounts?

Not in Codex itself, as far as we found. In AgentsRoom you sign in several Codex accounts, pin one per project or per agent, and a quota rule can move new launches to another account or another CLI near a limit.