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:

  1. build a separate local Codex Desktop GUI app from source, or
  2. 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.app or my default support directories
  • explicit rollback / cleanup steps

Context:

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.

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