Support first-class Windows-to-Windows Codex App pairing and remote control
What variant of Codex are you using?
Codex App on Windows / Windows-to-Windows usage
What feature would you like to see?
Please add first-class support for connecting two Codex desktop apps on Windows, so one Windows machine can act as the Codex host and another Windows machine can control it through the official Codex App experience.
Desired behavior:
- Pair two Windows Codex Apps through a supported flow, for example QR code, device code, or signed account-based pairing.
- Let the control machine browse the host machine's projects, threads, plans, command output, diffs, approvals, and file changes.
- Keep the host machine as the only real execution environment: files, credentials, plugins,
.codexstate, git worktrees, and tool execution stay on the host. - Do not require users to copy
.codex, auth files, SQLite/WAL state, or tokens between machines. - Avoid requiring users to manually build a custom web gateway around
codex app-server. - Support Windows-native environments, including cases where RDP/SSH setup is unavailable, unreliable, or too much overhead.
- Include reliable reconnect, host naming, stale host cleanup, and clear status/error messages.
- Provide a safe transport model: private relay, account-mediated pairing, or documented VPN/mesh-network mode, without exposing
codex app-serverdirectly to LAN/public networks.
Additional information
The current workaround is operationally heavy. In my case, I had to build a custom Windows remote console project:
- A Node gateway runs on the real Codex host.
- The gateway launches
codex app-serverover stdio. - A browser on the second machine talks to that gateway.
- Tailscale Serve is used for cross-machine access.
- Extra care is required not to expose
.codex/auth.json, SQLite/WAL files, tokens, or app-server internals.
This works as a workaround, but it is too much infrastructure for a normal user who simply wants to use one Windows Codex environment from another Windows computer.
There are already many Windows remote/app-server issues, but this request is specifically for a polished first-party Windows-to-Windows Codex App connection flow rather than asking users to assemble their own app-server gateway, RDP fallback, SSH setup, or Tailscale wrapper.
3 Comments
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My primary use case is Windows laptop → Windows workstation.
I have a powerful Windows development/AI workstation that I want to leave running, and I want to use the Codex Windows desktop client on another Windows PC to continue and control the same Codex sessions remotely.
Windows can already act as a Codex remote host, and macOS/iOS/Android can act as controllers. The missing piece is simply allowing the Windows Codex client to “Control other devices” as well.
This is particularly important for developers using Windows workstations with GPUs, WSL2, Docker, local models, and other development infrastructure. Requiring a Mac or mobile device as the controller makes the remote functionality much less useful for an otherwise all-Windows development environment.
Ideally the Windows Codex app should expose the same Settings → Connections → Control other devices capability available on macOS.
This is exactly the gap I hit. While waiting for first-class pairing, I built an open-source workaround that enables Windows-to-Windows / remote control with the existing app: https://github.com/naipi11/Codex-Control-other-devices-Windows
It re-enables the hidden Windows remote-control entry, stores the device key via DPAPI, and runs as a tray supervisor so it keeps working after Codex restarts and updates. It's a local patch — no gateway, no SSH/RDP, no Tailscale required. README: https://github.com/naipi11/Codex-Control-other-devices-Windows