Codex Desktop Windows Port (Proof of Concept)

Unofficial educational proof of concept for running the current macOS Codex desktop app payload on Windows using Electron.

Scope

• Goal: launch app, connect backend, run basic agent task on Windows.
• This is a reverse-engineering and compatibility exercise, not an official release.
• No OpenAI proprietary app payload or binaries are redistributed here.

Status

• Checkpoint C0: app launches on Windows.
• Checkpoint C1: renderer UI loads.
• Checkpoint C2: backend connects and executes a basic task.
• Next: C3/C4 worktree and file operation validation.

Tested Target

• App version: 260205.1301
• Build number: 554
• Electron runtime: 40.0.0
• Backend source: @openai/codex vendored codex.exe

What This Repo Contains

• Sanitized setup and launch instructions.
• Reusable scripts (launch, compare, leakage scan).
• Technical notes and troubleshooting.

What This Repo Does Not Contain

• Extracted Codex desktop application files.
• app.asar contents from OpenAI distribution.
• Vendored backend binaries.
• Personal machine-specific logs or identity data.

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11 x64
• Node.js + npm
• 7-Zip
• Local Electron 40 runtime
• A legal local copy of the Codex macOS app payload (for your own extraction)
• npm i -g @openai/codex

Quick Start

1. Prepare your extracted app payload in your own workspace.
2. Use scripts/launch_codex_windows.ps1 with your paths.
3. Confirm startup and run a smoke prompt: List files in this directory.

See HOWTO.md for full steps.

Legal and Safety

• Unofficial and not affiliated with OpenAI.
• Respect OpenAI terms and local law.
• Publish only scripts/docs/patch notes, never proprietary payload files.

License

• MIT for original content in this repository (docs, scripts, and notes).
• This license does not apply to third-party or proprietary software referenced by this workflow (including OpenAI app payloads and binaries).