CodexForWorkflow

A Windows desktop command center for Codex-guided screen observation, isolated browser automation, visible action planning, and human-approved workflow control.

This project is independently built by Andrew Rainsberger. It is not an official OpenAI product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI.

What It Is

CodexForWorkflow gives Codex a controlled place to help you work across screens. It opens into a guided workspace: connect Codex auth, choose a mode/source, describe the task, then follow the current step, Mouse Plan, approval queue, and verification loop.

What It Is Not

• It is not live desktop control. Screen Share mode is observe-only.
• It is not an official OpenAI product.
• It is not a hosted service. The app runs locally and uses your local Codex/ChatGPT auth path.
• It does not bypass approvals for sensitive browser actions.

Capabilities

• Multi-screen workspace: refresh, pin, focus, and observe multiple screens or windows.
• Live Work Surface: a primary screen/browser canvas with secondary context strips.
• Screen Share mode: observe-only guidance for the live desktop.
• Isolated Browser mode: Playwright Chromium automation with approval gates.
• Mouse Plan: visible target overlays with manual guidance in Screen Share or approved execution in Isolated Browser.
• Interactive Plan Board: one active step at a time with ask, observe, done, skip, and blocked controls.
• Ask Codex bar: quick follow-ups for what it sees, next step, where to click, and verification.
• Workflow presets: guide a screen, automate a browser, compare research windows, or debug with an assistant.
• Safety controls: pause, resume, stop, approvals, blocked domains, and credential/download gates.

Install

Download the latest Windows build from GitHub Releases.

• setup-win-x64.exe installs the app.
• portable-win-x64.exe runs without installation.
• Builds are currently unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen may warn on first launch.

See docs/INSTALL.md for prerequisites and first-run notes.

Quick Start

1. Install Node.js 22+ and the Codex CLI.

2. Sign in with Codex:

   codex login status

3. Install dependencies and Playwright Chromium:

   npm install
   npm run prepare:browsers

4. Start development mode:

   npm run dev

Development

npm run check
npm run screenshots
npm run package:win

Build output is written to release/. Packaging starts from a clean dist/ and release/ directory so stale product names do not ship.

Safety And Privacy

CodexForWorkflow intentionally separates observation from control:

• Live desktop screen sharing is observe-only.
• Automated clicking/typing is only allowed inside the isolated Playwright browser.
• Sensitive browser flows require approval.
• The local MCP bridge is loopback-only and uses a per-session token.
• Demo screenshots are generated from synthetic ?demo state and do not include real screen content.

See docs/SAFETY.md and docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for implementation details.

Scripts

• npm run dev starts Vite and Electron.
• npm run check runs typecheck, tests, production build, and renderer smoke checks.
• npm run screenshots regenerates README screenshots from deterministic demo mode.
• npm run package:win builds Windows installer/portable artifacts and validates release names.
• npm run clean removes dist/ and release/.

Contributing

Public contributions are welcome under the MIT License. Read CONTRIBUTING.md and use the pull request template so UI, safety, and test impact are clear.

License

CodexForWorkflow is open source under the MIT License.

You can use, copy, modify, publish, distribute, sublicense, and sell copies of the software, as long as the copyright and license notice stay with the software.