Feature request: Linux Codex Desktop app with Chrome plugin support
Summary
Please add first-class Linux support for the Codex Desktop app and the Codex Chrome plugin/extension so Linux users have the same browser-enabled Codex workflow currently available on other desktop platforms.
Problem
Linux users can run the Codex CLI, but there is no first-class Linux Codex Desktop app experience with the bundled Chrome plugin/extension workflow. This creates a platform gap for web developers who use Linux as their primary desktop OS and need Codex to work with a real browser session.
Today, Linux users often have to piece together CLI, MCP, Playwright, DevTools, or remote-control workarounds. Those paths are useful, but they are not equivalent to a supported desktop app + browser plugin flow with predictable setup, permissions, session management, and troubleshooting.
Requested capabilities
- A supported Codex Desktop app build for Linux, ideally distributed as common Linux packages such as AppImage, deb, rpm, and/or Flatpak.
- A supported Codex Chrome plugin/extension flow on Linux.
- Native messaging host installation/registration for Chrome/Chromium on Linux.
- Clear setup and repair diagnostics for the Linux Chrome native messaging host.
- Support for common Linux Chrome variants where feasible, such as Google Chrome, Chromium, Brave, and other Chromium-based browsers.
- Browser session reuse where the user explicitly authorizes it, so Codex can work with an existing logged-in browser profile when appropriate.
- Security controls comparable to other platforms: explicit enablement, clear browser access boundaries, revocation, and domain/session visibility.
Why this matters
Linux is a primary development environment for many web and backend developers. A Linux Codex app with Chrome plugin support would make Codex much more useful for:
- frontend development and visual debugging,
- browser-based QA and regression checks,
- testing logged-in web app flows,
- inspecting DOM, console, network, storage, and page state from the same environment where code is built and run,
- avoiding platform switching or remote desktop workarounds just to use browser-enabled Codex features.
Acceptance criteria
- Linux users can install the Codex Desktop app through at least one official Linux package format.
- From the Linux app, users can enable/install the Codex Chrome plugin without manual native-host file creation.
- Codex can detect the Chrome/Chromium native messaging host status and provide actionable diagnostics/repair steps.
- Codex can list/open/control authorized Chrome tabs through the plugin on Linux.
- The setup works on at least one mainstream distro family initially, with documented support targets and known limitations.
Related existing issues
This request is related to, but more specifically Linux-focused than:
- #11023
- #8953
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