Styx vs the Codex app
OpenAI’s Codex app, now part of the ChatGPT desktop app, runs several Codex agents at once across your projects, locally or in OpenAI’s cloud. Styx runs Codex too, under the same ChatGPT login, next to Claude Code, Gemini CLI and Cursor’s agent, with a gate in front of production.
Side by side
| Styx | the Codex app | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Mac (Apple silicon); Windows coming | Mac (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor | Codex only |
| Price | Free | Included with ChatGPT, from the free and $8 plans up |
| Each agent isolated | Own git worktree and branch | Built-in git worktrees with setup scripts; cloud environments |
| Scope of one window | Every project you work on | Projects and threads across many repositories |
| Review | Diff with per-hunk accept and reject; checks before landing | Diff with inline comments; stage, revert, commit, pull requests |
| Your editor | Imports recents, keybindings and theme; opens files back in it | Opens changes in your editor |
| Secrets | In the macOS Keychain; agents get scoped, expiring access | Cloud secrets hidden from the agent after setup |
| Production access | Agents ask; you approve for a set time; Touch ID for live systems | Sandbox and approval modes; no internet by default in the cloud |
| Audit log | Every request, approval and use, append-only | Compliance API on Business and Enterprise |
| Deploy targets | Vercel, AWS, Google Cloud, Supabase, GitHub, SSH | Not part of its docs |
| Cloud workspaces | No: everything runs on your Mac | Cloud tasks, within your plan’s allowance |
| Team collaboration | No | Shared project config; admin tools on Business and Enterprise |
| Issue tracker | No | GitHub, Slack and Linear through plugins |
“Not part of its docs” means we could not find it in the Codex app's own material on 29 September 2026, not that it can never be done with it. Tell us at hello@heystyx.com if something here is wrong and we will fix it.
Where the Codex app is ahead
- Cloud tasks. Agents can run in OpenAI’s cloud with controlled internet access.
- Automations. Scheduled tasks drop their results into a review queue.
- Cloud secrets. Secrets reach setup scripts only and are removed before the agent runs.
- Comes with ChatGPT. It is included even on ChatGPT’s free and $8 plans.
Where Styx is different
Every agent, side by side
Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and Cursor’s agent run next to each other in one board, on the subscriptions you already pay for, so you can pick the right agent per task instead of per tool.
Agents never hold your keys
Useful agents need real things: a deploy, a database, a server. In Styx the credentials stay in your Mac’s Keychain. When an agent wants production, it stops and asks; you approve it for a set time, with Touch ID for anything live, and the access ends on its own. Every request, approval and use goes into a log nobody can edit.
Every project, one window
Styx is built around switching between everything you work on: each project, its agents and the ones waiting on you, one keystroke apart. Nothing is organised around a single repository.
One honest limit: this is a guardrail, not a sandbox. Agents run as you, on your Mac, and an agent that deliberately goes around Styx’s tools is not stopped by them.
Which to choose
Choose the Codex app if Codex is the only agent you use and you want OpenAI’s cloud tasks and automations. Choose Styx if you run Codex alongside Claude Code, Gemini or Cursor, or want production kept behind an approval with a record.
Download Styx for Mac. It is free. See every comparison.
Questions
Does Styx use my ChatGPT subscription for Codex?
Yes. Styx runs the Codex CLI under your own ChatGPT login, so there is nothing extra to pay.
Is the Codex app the same as the ChatGPT desktop app?
Codex now lives inside the ChatGPT desktop app; OpenAI’s older Codex app pages redirect there.
What is an agentic development environment (ADE)?
An app for managing AI agents that write code, rather than for writing code yourself: several agents in parallel, each isolated on its own branch, with a place to see who needs you and to review what they did. Warp coined the term in June 2025.