Codex app setting to open external links without switching focus
Feature request
Please add a Codex app setting for how external http/https links are opened, especially an option like:
- Open external links in browser without switching focus
- Open external links in the background
Problem
When reading a Codex thread in the desktop app, clicking a hyperlink opens the user's browser and shifts focus away from Codex. That interrupts the thread-reading workflow, especially when Codex provides several reference links that the user wants to queue up and read later.
Desired behavior
In Codex app settings, let users choose whether clicked external links should:
- Open normally and switch focus to the browser.
- Open in the default browser without taking focus from Codex.
The second behavior is useful when the user wants links opened in browser tabs in the background while continuing the Codex conversation.
Environment
- Surface: Codex desktop app
- OS: macOS 15.7.7
- Browser observed: Brave
Workarounds tried
I tried a local macOS URL-handler helper that forwards links to Brave using several approaches:
NSWorkspace.open(..., activates = false)/usr/bin/open -g -b com.brave.browser <url>- Brave AppleScript tab creation
- detached delayed opener process
Brave still usually takes focus when links originate from Codex. The only stable workaround was to let Brave open and then immediately reactivate Codex, but that causes a visible focus flash.
Why this belongs in Codex
Codex controls the original hyperlink click and could provide a first-class preference or native handling path before the OS/browser activation behavior takes over. A built-in setting would be cleaner and more reliable than a user-maintained URL-handler workaround.