ChatGPT Community for Linux

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codex-desktop is an unofficial, community-maintained distribution of OpenAI's official Linux ChatGPT desktop application. It verifies and repackages the signed upstream Linux payload, adds disabled-by-default Linux features, and produces deb, RPM, pacman, AppImage, and Nix outputs.

The custom application appears in desktop menus as ChatGPT Community and uses an icon marked with a blue C. Its package, command, and installation identity remain codex-desktop and /opt/codex-desktop, so it is easy to distinguish from OpenAI's separate ChatGPT package.

OpenAI's signed Linux .deb is the only upstream source. The official Electron runtime, native modules, bundled codex and rg, code-mode host, plugins, libraries, locales, and Owl metadata are reused directly. With no ASAR-changing feature enabled, resources/app.asar remains byte-for-byte identical to the official package.

Install · Uninstall · Features · Updates · Build · Troubleshooting · Docs · Discord

Before contributing, read CONTRIBUTING.md. Maintainers and coding agents should also read AGENTS.md.

Install

Clone the repository before building a native package or AppImage:

git clone https://github.com/ilysenko/codex-desktop-linux.git
cd codex-desktop-linux

Platform	Recommended command	Result
Debian, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Mint, Elementary	make bootstrap-native	Builds and installs a .deb
Raspberry Pi 5, 64-bit OS	make bootstrap-native	Builds the official arm64 payload; see Pi notes
Fedora	make bootstrap-native	Builds and installs an RPM
openSUSE	make bootstrap-native	Builds and installs an RPM
Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS	make bootstrap-native	Builds and installs a pacman package
NixOS or another Nix system	nix run github:ilysenko/codex-desktop-linux	Builds and runs the flake output; see Nix
Atomic desktops or another distribution	make build-app && make appimage	Produces a local AppImage without the native updater

The recommended native installation is:

make bootstrap-native

This installs build dependencies, resolves the current package through OpenAI's signed stable APT metadata, builds codex-app/, creates the native package for the detected distribution, and installs the newest artifact from dist/.

If the dependencies are already installed, use:

make install-native

To choose optional features before installing:

make setup-native
make install-native

make setup-native only writes the local feature selection. It does not build or install the application. See Native setup for the guided flow, non-interactive settings, updater selection, and cleanup.

Use an already downloaded official package

Normally the build resolves amd64 or arm64 from the signed stable index. You can instead provide a local package that you already trust:

UPSTREAM_DEB=/path/to/chatgpt_<version>_<arch>.deb make build-app

The local package is still checked for package name, architecture, control metadata, payload completeness, and SHA-256 recording. Because signed repository discovery is skipped, the caller is responsible for its origin. Old .dmg, DMG=, and CODEX_DMG_* inputs are intentionally unsupported.

Before you install

• Only the latest signed stable OpenAI Linux package is supported, on amd64 and arm64.
• Build tools require Node.js 20 or newer, npm, Python 3, curl, gpgv, dpkg-deb, tar, make, and a C/C++ toolchain. Rust is used for the updater and enabled native feature helpers. make bootstrap-native installs or guides you through these requirements.
• The official chatgpt and custom codex-desktop packages may coexist, but both intentionally use the upstream Codex user profile. Do not run them at the same time; the upstream single-instance lock may route the second launch into the process that is already running.
• AppImage never adds --no-sandbox automatically. If your distribution disables unprivileged user namespaces, use the native package or follow the sandbox guidance in Troubleshooting.

Anonymous daily usage count

To help the community decide whether maintaining this distribution is useful, the launcher sends at most one anonymous usage event per UTC day to the public GoatCounter dashboard. The event contains only the fixed path /app-launch. GoatCounter derives an aggregate country from the network request; no application activity, account or machine identifier, version, architecture, package format, language, screen size, or referrer is sent. Every installation sends the same fixed, non-identifying User-Agent so GoatCounter does not discard the request as a bot.

The request runs silently in the background. A missing curl, a blocked request, or any other error never delays the application and produces no output. Disable the usage count with the single environment variable:

CODEX_LINUX_DISABLE_USAGE_REPORTING=1 codex-desktop

Uninstall

First close both ChatGPT Community and the official ChatGPT application. Then remove the native package with the package manager that installed it:

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt remove codex-desktop

# Fedora
sudo dnf remove codex-desktop

# openSUSE
sudo zypper remove codex-desktop

# Arch / Manjaro
sudo pacman -R codex-desktop

Native package removal disables the user update service. If a service from an older or manual installation remains, remove it explicitly:

systemctl --user disable --now codex-update-manager.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload

For AppImage, delete the AppImage file you built. For a repository-only app, delete only the generated tree inside the checkout:

rm -rf -- ./codex-app

For Nix, remove the package from your profile, Home Manager configuration, or NixOS module and rebuild that profile or system.

Package removal preserves user data. To remove only Community wrapper and updater state, inspect and then delete the following directories:

~/.config/codex-desktop
~/.local/state/codex-desktop
~/.cache/codex-desktop
~/.config/codex-update-manager
~/.local/state/codex-update-manager
~/.cache/codex-update-manager

If remote-mobile-control was enabled, revoke paired devices before removing its private device keys. Do not remove ~/.codex unless you intentionally want to delete the shared Codex profile, configuration, plugins, and project state used by both official and Community applications.

Feature matrix

Core distribution

Capability	Default	How it is provided
Official ChatGPT Linux runtime	Always	Copied from the verified official .deb data payload
Signed source verification	Always	Pinned repository key → InRelease → Packages SHA-256 → package SHA-256
Byte-identical baseline ASAR	Always	The ASAR is not unpacked when no enabled feature needs it
Native deb, RPM, and pacman packages	Manual build	make deb, make rpm, or make pacman
AppImage	Manual build	make appimage; no automatic sandbox bypass or bundled updater
Nix flake	Manual build	nix run github:ilysenko/codex-desktop-linux
Transactional update manager	Native packages	Included unless built with PACKAGE_WITH_UPDATER=0
Official Browser and Chrome integrations	Upstream	Reused from the official Linux package; no legacy port layer
Optional Linux feature framework	Disabled	Configure with make setup-native
Distinct desktop identity	Always	ChatGPT Community, blue C icon, codex-desktop package identity

Optional Linux features

Every feature below is disabled by default. Its adjacent README describes requirements, known limitations, configuration, and tests.

Feature ID	Purpose	Documentation
agent-workspace	Agent-workspace settings and bridge for hidden desktop environments	Docs
api-key-model-visibility	Show models reported by API-key authenticated compatible providers	Docs
api-key-service-tier	Fast/service-tier UI for API-key authenticated compatible providers	Docs
appshots	Capture and crop the focused Linux window from the composer	Docs
authenticated-proxy	Username/password support for HTTP proxies	Docs
automation-extensions	Multi-time schedules and eager automation_update exposure	Docs
browser-proxy	Pass explicit proxy settings to Browser Use network helpers	Docs
chronicle-skysight	Opt-in Linux desktop activity memory and restricted Skysight MCP tools	Docs
codex-micro	Work Louder Codex Micro hotplug and hidraw policy using upstream node-hid	Docs
computer-use-linux	Linux desktop-control UI and native MCP backend	Docs
copilot-reasoning-effort	Persistent reasoning-effort defaults for Copilot-auth sessions	Docs
directory-only-working-tree-watch	Bounded Watchbound working-tree watching	Docs
flatpak-chrome-native-messaging	Bridge the official Chrome extension into Flatpak Google Chrome	Docs
frameless-titlebar	Hide official Linux overlay buttons for compositor-managed decorations	Docs
global-dictation	X11 and XDG portal global dictation hotkeys	Docs
linux-performance-workarounds	Measured renderer workarounds for affected systems	Docs
mcp-helper-reaper	Reap orphaned MCP helpers without touching live sessions	Docs
node-repl-reaper	Reap Browser Use node_repl helpers leaked after owner exit	Docs
omarchy-theme	Load CSS generated from the current Omarchy theme	Docs
persistent-status-panel	Keep the /status panel across thread switches and restarts	Docs
pet-overlay	Linux avatar-overlay placement and compositor hints	Docs
project-group-last-updated-sort	Apply Last updated ordering to project groups and tasks	Docs
project-task-sort	Restore Created ordering for alternate Projects tasks	Docs
read-aloud	Add Linux read-aloud controls to assistant responses	Docs
read-aloud-mcp	Let the agent speak through the Linux Read Aloud backend	Docs
record-and-replay	Record a Linux demonstration and turn it into a reusable skill	Docs
remote-control-ui	Expose experimental remote-control settings on Linux	Docs
remote-mobile-control	Experimental Linux remote-host and outbound-control flows	Docs
shallow-repository-watches	Avoid recursive main-thread walks for transient repository previews	Docs
shared-app-server-socket	Share one protocol-transparent Unix app-server socket	Docs
thorium-chrome-plugin	Add Thorium to the official bundled Chrome integration	Docs
tray-usage	Show usage remaining in the Linux system-tray menu	Docs
ui-tweaks	Optional visual and interaction customizations	Docs

Account rollouts and server-side ChatGPT features remain controlled by OpenAI. Rebuilding this project does not unlock an account rollout.

Configure optional features

The recommended editor is the setup wizard:

make setup-native

For manual configuration, copy the example to the gitignored local file:

cp linux-features/features.example.json linux-features/features.json

{
  "enabled": [
    "read-aloud",
    "ui-tweaks"
  ]
}

Then rebuild and install:

make install-native

Private features may live under the gitignored linux-features/local/<feature-id>/ tree and use the same manifest contract. Known retired IDs are ignored to migrate old local configs; arbitrary unknown IDs and misspellings remain errors. See the feature framework README and feature architecture.

Updates

Native packages include codex-update-manager by default. Its user service polls the same signed APT metadata, caches official packages by version/architecture/SHA-256, reconstructs the selected native package with the currently enabled features, and waits for the application to exit before promotion. The immediately previous managed package remains available for rollback.

codex-update-manager status
codex-update-manager status --json
codex-update-manager check-now
codex-update-manager diagnose
codex-update-manager install-ready
codex-update-manager rollback

systemctl --user enable --now codex-update-manager.service
systemctl --user status codex-update-manager.service
journalctl --user -u codex-update-manager.service

Build a manual-update package without the service:

PACKAGE_WITH_UPDATER=0 make package
make install

AppImage and repository-only generated apps do not include the native package updater. Full behavior and recovery steps are documented in Updater.

Build, package, and run

# Build the local application tree and run it without installing a package
make build-app
make run-app

# Build and install the package format detected for this distribution
make package
make install

# Build a specific output
make deb
make rpm
make pacman
make appimage

Builds are transactional: a candidate is verified before it replaces the working tree. Enabled ASAR-feature drift rejects a candidate; disabled features are not probed. Package scripts consume the generated codex-app/ tree. See Build and packaging for prerequisites, variables, output layout, parallelism, and payload inspection.

Troubleshooting

Problem	First check
Official and Community launches interfere	Fully exit every ChatGPT process; both apps share the upstream profile
AppImage opens from Flatpak Chrome, but the extension says Native transport disconnected	Enable flatpak-chrome-native-messaging; see Flatpak Chrome setup
Browser/Chrome extension cannot connect after migration	Exit ChatGPT and Chrome completely, then follow the narrow cache repair in Troubleshooting
Signature or package verification fails	Do not bypass it; check time, network, gpgv, architecture, and disk space
App does not launch	Run /opt/codex-desktop/start.sh --diagnose
App uses XWayland or needs persistent Electron flags	A confirmed Wayland session selects the native backend automatically; pin one with CODEX_OZONE_PLATFORM=x11|wayland, or put one flag per line in ~/.config/codex-desktop/electron-flags.conf, for example --ozone-platform=x11
AppImage reports a sandbox error	Enable user namespaces or install a native package; --no-sandbox is not added automatically
Enabled feature drifts after an upstream release	Disable that feature to confirm the clean baseline and attach its patch report to an issue
Updater waits for application exit	Close official and Community processes, then inspect codex-update-manager status --json
Old codex-app.backup-* reports permission errors	Inspect the exact path and follow the root-owned backup procedure; never delete a wildcard blindly

Full guide: Troubleshooting.

Project documentation

• Getting started: Native setup, Build and packaging, Nix, Raspberry Pi 5
• Runtime and maintenance: Architecture, Updater, Troubleshooting
• Extensions: Feature framework, Feature architecture, Linux Computer Use, Record and Replay, Chronicle / Skysight
• Contributors: Contributing, Agent instructions, Repository map, Validation playbook, Generated/runtime notes
• Project operations: GitHub CLI auth, Label governance

Historical macOS DMG conversion, downloaded Electron replacement, native-module rebuild, local webview server, and custom warm-start documents are intentionally not active documentation: the official Linux package now owns those runtime responsibilities.

Disclaimer

This is an unofficial community project and is not affiliated with OpenAI. ChatGPT, OpenAI services, trademarks, upstream application code, binaries, and assets remain the property of OpenAI or their respective owners.

The repository downloads and repackages the official Linux payload locally; it does not grant rights to OpenAI software or services. Use of ChatGPT remains subject to OpenAI's applicable terms and server-side feature availability.

The MIT license applies only to this repository's wrapper source, packaging, documentation, and community-owned extensions.

License

MIT