macOS Computer Use permission setup is too complex and should have guided onboarding
What variant of Codex are you using?
Codex / ChatGPT desktop app on macOS.
What feature would you like to see?
The current setup process for granting the permissions required by Computer Use on macOS feels unnecessarily complicated and cumbersome.
Enabling Computer Use may require users to understand and manually navigate multiple macOS privacy/security permission areas. For a user who simply wants to enable Computer Use safely, the flow is not very intuitive and it is easy to be unsure which permissions are still missing or whether the setup is complete.
I would like to see a first-class guided permission setup flow in the Codex desktop app.
Suggested improvements:
- Show all required Computer Use permissions in one place.
- Clearly indicate which permissions are already granted and which are still missing.
- Provide a direct action to open the relevant macOS Privacy & Security page for each permission.
- Explain briefly why each permission is required before asking the user to grant it.
- Detect permission changes automatically when the user returns to Codex.
- Show a clear final state such as Computer Use is ready once everything is configured.
- Provide a simple repair/recheck flow if Computer Use later stops working because a permission was revoked or changed.
The goal is not to weaken macOS security or reduce user consent. The goal is to make the existing permission process easier to understand and complete safely.
Why this matters
Computer Use is a powerful feature, but the initial authorization experience creates unnecessary friction. A guided onboarding/checklist would make the feature much more approachable, especially for users who are not familiar with macOS Accessibility, Screen Recording, and related privacy controls.
I am happy to provide screenshots, describe the current permission flow in more detail, or test an improved onboarding experience if useful.