Lesson 1 / 7 · ~10 minutes
Setup: the new ChatGPT app
What you'll need
- A ChatGPT account with a subscription — Plus is plenty (Codex is included; no API keys, no per-token billing).
- 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 —
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 — the agent sets it up for you when you ask.)
The first task, live
This is what the very first delegation looks like — in the terminal, unedited, including the moment Codex refused to work without git. Click through with Next.
Checklist: do it now
Tick items off — your progress is saved.
Summary
- Codex lives in the ChatGPT desktop app — one install, one sign-in.
- A Plus subscription is enough, no API keys.
- One project = one folder with git (the agent sets it up itself).