Allow configuring Codex app artifact/output directory instead of defaulting to ~/Documents/Codex

What variant of Codex are you using?

Codex desktop app, macOS

What feature would you like to see?

Feature request: allow users to configure the default Codex artifact/work/output directory.

Current behavior:
On macOS Codex app, when using non-project chats, file-import chats, or artifact-generating tasks, Codex creates visible working/output folders under:

~/Documents/Codex

Examples include folders such as:

• new-chat
• files-mentioned-by-the-user-...
• applications-mentioned-by-the-user-...
• zotero-pdf
• plugin-computer-use-...

These folders can contain work/ and outputs/ subdirectories with generated intermediate files and final artifacts.

Problem:
On many Macs, the Documents folder is synced by iCloud Drive. This means Codex-generated files under ~/Documents/Codex may be uploaded to iCloud automatically.

This can be risky because:

• intermediate files can become very large, especially for PDF, video, image, spreadsheet, or data-processing tasks;
• generated files are often temporary and not worth syncing;
• artifacts may contain sensitive personal, academic, or project context;
• users may not realize these files are being synced through iCloud;
• there is currently no obvious setting to move this default folder to a local non-iCloud path.

Clarification:
This is especially relevant for chats that are not attached to a normal local project directory, or tasks involving uploaded files / generated artifacts. For regular code projects opened under a local repo, Codex can work inside the project or worktree, but non-project artifact workflows currently appear to use ~/Documents/Codex.

Suggested improvements:

1. Add a setting in Codex app to configure the default artifact/work/output directory.
2. Allow users to choose a local non-iCloud path, such as:

~/.codex/artifacts
~/AppData/Codex
~/Dev/Codex-Artifacts

1. Warn users if the selected path is inside iCloud-synced Documents/Desktop.
2. Provide a storage management panel to view, clean up, or auto-delete old work/output folders.
3. Optionally separate:

• session transcripts
• temporary work files
• final user-facing outputs

so users can decide what should be retained or synced.

Why this matters:
For users with iCloud Drive enabled for Documents, the current default can unexpectedly sync large or sensitive Codex-generated files. A configurable local artifact directory would make Codex safer and more predictable for local workflows.

Platform:
macOS Codex app.

Additional information

_No response_