Feature request: support isolated local Codex Desktop dev builds / backend override on macOS
Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 18, 2026 by vozer Closed Jun 18, 2026
I'm trying to validate Codex fixes in the GUI on macOS without touching my installed Codex.app.
Right now I can build the open-source source tree for the CLI/TUI and app-server path, but I couldn't find a supported way to do either of these cleanly:
- build a separate local Codex Desktop GUI app from source, or
- point the installed GUI at a source-built backend/app-server in an isolated, reversible way.
I'd like a documented developer workflow for this.
What would help:
- a supported way to run a separate local Codex Desktop dev instance on macOS
- or a supported backend/app-server override for the GUI
- a way to use separate app data /
CODEX_HOME/ support directories - no mutation of
/Applications/Codex.appor my default support directories - explicit rollback / cleanup steps
Context:
- I prototyped the backend side of #21019 in my fork here: https://github.com/vozer/codex/commit/6d76668f032cd9823d0184f32a3a1e2dc4e84ab6
- I'm also leaving a note on #21019 with the prototype link instead of opening an unsolicited PR.
Even if a full local GUI build is not meant to be public, a documented "use the installed GUI with a separate local backend in dev mode" path would already help a lot.
2 Comments
Closing this because it went in the wrong direction.
My actual goal is not local desktop dev ergonomics. My goal is that MCP apps should actually work in the Codex GUI.
The relevant bug/context is #21019.
Wrong direction; superseded by #21019 + a focused MCP apps feature request.