Lesson 1 / 7 · ~10 minutes
Setup: the new ChatGPT app
What you'll need
- A ChatGPT account. Codex is part of the regular ChatGPT plans (no API keys, no per-token billing), and higher plans handle more tasks.
- A computer: Windows or Mac for the desktop app.
- 10 minutes. Seriously, that's all.
Path 1: the desktop app (recommended)
- Download the ChatGPT app for your system from the official page openai.com/chatgpt/download. Since July 2026, Codex is built right in, no second app needed.
- Sign in with your ChatGPT account.
- Open the Codex section, pick (or create) a project folder, and you can brief your first task.
Path 2: the terminal (CLI)
For command-line friends: npm install -g @openai/codex, then run
codex in the project folder. Sign-in happens through the browser
with your ChatGPT account. You'll see the CLI in this course's replays, and
it behaves just like the app, minus the mouse.
A habit that pays off from day one: every project in its own
folder, ideally with git. Codex outright requires git for most tasks. It wants
the certainty that every change can be undone. (Don't know what git is? No
problem. A single
git init command sets it up, and you'll see
that exact moment in the replay below.)
The first task, live
This is what the very first delegation looks like, in the terminal, as a condensed replay, including the moment Codex refused to work without git. Click through with Next.
Checklist: do it now
Tick items off and your progress is saved.
Summary
- Codex lives in the ChatGPT desktop app: one install, one sign-in.
- It runs on a regular ChatGPT subscription, no API keys.
- One project = one folder with git (a one-time
git init).