Master Codex Desktop in 30 Minutes
You will have Codex desktop set up in a local project with the right model, fast mode and your apps connected, and you will have tried App Shot, computer use, skills, subagents, AGENTS.md, goals and a scheduled task.
Was Sie brauchen
The Codex desktop app (optimized for macOS)
A ChatGPT plan (I mention the $20 and $100 plans)
The apps you already use, such as Gmail, Slack, Notion or Supabase, to connect as plugins
Schritt für Schritt
Create a local project and pick your model
Click New project, then Start from scratch, and name it (I use "Codex YouTube"). This creates a real folder on your computer. In the model selector on the right, pick the latest model (GPT 5.5 in the video), then turn on fast mode for quicker replies.
Connect your everyday tools with plugins
Open Plugins, the app store for Codex. Some come preinstalled. Search for and install the tools you already use: Gmail, Slack, Notion, Canva, Figma, or Supabase if you build software.
Chat, save files and generate images
Ask a simple question in the chat box, then ask Codex to save a report in your project folder. Click the file to open it. Next, ask for an image: Codex can search the web first, then use its native image generation. Start another chat while one runs; a blue marker means a chat finished.
Simple questionHey, Codex, can you tell me how the weather is looking like for tomorrow in Paris?
Save a local reportCan you please leave a report inside of this folder regarding the weather?
Image from researchHey, Codex, I need you to fetch the results of the last three football matches for the World Cup. Then I need you to generate an image using your native image generation capacities, not a skill nor anything, and generate a board with the three results.
Send your screen to Codex with App Shot
While you are in any app (a presentation, a report, a web page), press both Command keys at the same time. Codex takes a screenshot of that app and adds it to the chat. Go back to Codex and ask about it.
Ask about the screenshotHey, what's in this page?
Let Codex use your computer
Open Plugins, search for computer use and install it. Click Try in chat and pick an example, like playing a Spotify playlist. Use it for apps you cannot connect through an API, such as checking LinkedIn messages and updating your CRM.
Computer use testPlay a playlist to lock me in.
Turn a good result into a skill
When you like an output, ask Codex to turn it into a skill: a reusable, step-by-step workflow. Open the generated skill file to check its steps. You can share skills with colleagues and they will get the same result.
Create a skillCan you please turn this into a skill? I want it to be a skill that actually checks the results for the World Cup matches of the day, and then generates an image with the results like this.
Run work in parallel with subagents
Ask Codex explicitly to use subagents, one per piece of work. Open the Subagents tab (top right) to watch each one. Each subagent reports back to your main chat, which presents the combined result. Use this for research per geography, per company, or many documents at once.
Three subagentsHey, Codex, can you please use three subagents to check for the weather in Sweden, Spain, and Portugal tomorrow? Each location gets one subagent.
Personalize Codex with AGENTS.md
In a new chat inside your project, ask Codex to help you create an AGENTS.md file. Answer its questions. New conversations in that folder will then remember what you wrote. Add details about your business, your clients and how you work.
Start your AGENTS.mdHey, can you help me create an agents.md file to personalize how we actually interact? It's gonna be simple. Just ask me for my name.
Automate with /goal and scheduled tasks
For a long task, open a new chat, type /goal, then your task: Codex keeps working until it finishes. For recurring work, open scheduled tasks, click Create via Chat or pick a template, check the prompt, frequency and model, then click Create Scheduled Task.
Long-running goal (after /goal)Hey Codex, I need you to check the weather for tomorrow for every single European country, one at a time, and then I need you to generate an image of the entire European continent with the predicted weather for tomorrow.
Worauf Sie achten sollten
Scheduled tasks only run if your computer is on at the trigger time, so they suit personal automations.
Computer use is slow. Use it for apps you cannot connect any other way.
While regular subagents work, you cannot talk to Codex. Ask for a background subagent if you want to keep chatting.
AI sometimes stops before reaching the objective. Use /goal for long tasks and give it an output it can verify.
