Codex ChatGPT OAuth

Glyph uses OpenAI’s Codex app-server flow for ChatGPT OAuth, so you can connect through the official OpenAI Codex CLI instead of managing a separate API key.

Prerequisites

• OpenAI Codex CLI installed
• A ChatGPT account
• A supported ChatGPT plan if you want access to higher limits or more capable models
• Codex must be in your system PATH

Setup

npm install -g @openai/codex

brew install --cask codex

codex --version

codex app-server

How It Works

Glyph runs Codex as a managed child process:

1. When Glyph starts, it launches codex app-server via stdio
2. Communication happens over JSON-RPC
3. OAuth tokens stored by Codex (not in Glyph)
4. Glyph sends chat requests through Codex
5. Codex streams responses back to Glyph

Configuration

Provider Settings

• Service: codex_chatgpt
• Model: Set from the models exposed by the Codex app-server
• Authentication: OAuth via Codex (no API key)
• Reasoning Effort: Available for reasoning models

Account Management

Check Connection Status

In Settings → AI → Codex section, you’ll see:

• Status: connected or disconnected
• Email: Your ChatGPT account email
• Display Name: Your ChatGPT account name
• Auth Mode: chatgpt or similar

Refresh Status

Click Refresh to update account status and rate limits.

Disconnect

Click Disconnect to log out of ChatGPT. This clears OAuth tokens stored by Codex.

Rate Limits

Codex reports ChatGPT rate limits in Glyph settings:

• Requests per hour
• Requests per day
• Usage percentage
• Reset time

Rate limits refresh automatically every 30 seconds.

Reasoning Effort

Select reasoning effort in Settings → AI:

Reasoning models show thinking process in the AI panel before providing answers.

Features

Chat Mode

Conversational interaction:

• Back-and-forth dialogue
• No file system access
• Uses ChatGPT’s web interface rate limits
• Best for Q&A and brainstorming

Create Mode

ChatGPT with workspace tools:

• read_file - Read files from your space
• search_notes - Search note content
• list_dir - List directory contents
• Tool usage tracked in timeline view
• Best for research and knowledge retrieval

Context Attachment

Attach notes for grounded responses:

• Attach files or folders via context menu
• Mention with @filename syntax
• Configure character budget (up to 250K chars)
• Context sent through Codex to ChatGPT

Billing and Costs

Codex uses your ChatGPT account rather than a separate OpenAI API key:

• ✅ No separate API key setup for this flow
• ✅ No per-request API billing inside Glyph for this provider
• ✅ Uses the access and limits included with your ChatGPT plan
• ✅ Paid ChatGPT plans generally provide better limits than free access

Troubleshooting

”failed to start codex app-server”

Cause: Codex is not installed or not in PATH.

Solution:

1. Verify installation: codex --version
2. Ensure codex is in your system PATH
3. Try running codex app-server manually to check for errors

”codex request timed out”

Possible causes:

• Network connectivity issues
• Codex app-server crashed
• ChatGPT API is down

Solution:

1. Restart Glyph (this restarts Codex app-server)
2. Check network connectivity
3. Try disconnecting and reconnecting your account

Login opens browser but status shows disconnected

Solution:

1. Click Refresh in AI Settings
2. Wait a few seconds for Codex to complete login
3. Check that you authorized in the browser
4. Some OAuth flows complete asynchronously

”AI responses fail immediately”

Checklist:

1. ✅ Profile provider is Codex (ChatGPT OAuth)
2. ✅ Model is selected (not empty)
3. ✅ Account status is connected
4. ✅ Rate limits not exceeded

Solution: Disconnect and reconnect account, or restart Glyph.

No streaming text appears

Cause: Codex app-server may have exited or stopped sending notifications.

Solution: Restart Glyph to restart Codex app-server.

Rate limit exceeded

Cause: You’ve hit ChatGPT’s hourly or daily message limits.

Solution: Wait for the rate limit to reset (shown in settings). ChatGPT Plus has higher limits than free tier.

Model list is empty

Cause: Codex couldn’t fetch models from ChatGPT.

Solution:

1. Verify account is connected
2. Click Refresh
3. Check that you’re logged into ChatGPT in your browser
4. Restart Glyph

Advanced Configuration

Codex Logs

Codex app-server logs are managed by Glyph. Check Glyph’s logs for Codex communication details.

Custom Codex Path

If Codex is not in PATH, you’ll need to add it. Glyph doesn’t support custom Codex paths in the UI.

macOS/Linux:

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/codex"

Windows: Add Codex directory to System PATH in Environment Variables.

Operational Notes

• Glyph runs Codex app-server as a managed child process over stdio JSON-RPC
• OAuth is started via account/login/start with type: "chatgpt"
• Chat requests use thread/start + turn/start and stream via notifications
• Authentication tokens stored by Codex, not Glyph
• Codex process lifetime is tied to Glyph (restarts with app)
• The provider integration is based on OpenAI’s Codex app-server flow

Security

• OAuth tokens are stored by the Codex CLI, not by Glyph
• Codex handles authentication flow
• No API keys stored in Glyph
• Communication over local stdio (not network)

Codex vs OpenAI API

Use Codex ChatGPT OAuth When:

✅ You have ChatGPT Plus or Team subscription ✅ You want flat-rate billing (no per-token charges) ✅ You prefer OAuth over API keys ✅ You want access to reasoning models included in Plus

Use OpenAI API When:

✅ You need programmatic access for automation ✅ You want higher rate limits ✅ You need fine-tuned models ✅ You prefer pay-as-you-go billing

Next Steps