MXterm vs Codex app: the ChatGPT desktop app with Codex or a pane workspace
People search for the "Codex app". OpenAI's help article says an updated Codex app becomes the new ChatGPT desktop app, with Chat, Work and Codex. This page says "the Codex app" for the earlier name and "the ChatGPT desktop app with Codex" for today's app. MXterm Pro is a different kind of tool: it runs the Codex CLI you install, in a real terminal pane, next to other agents and shells. This comparison puts OpenAI's own words next to MXterm's, then shows when to stay with OpenAI's app.
What OpenAI says it is
OpenAI's announcement of the Codex app says: "The Codex app provides a focused space for multi-tasking with agents." (openai.com/index/introducing-the-codex-app, read 28 October 2026.) OpenAI's help article on the move says: "After the update, it becomes the new ChatGPT desktop app with Chat, Work, and Codex." (help.openai.com/en/articles/20001276-moving-to-the-new-chatgpt-desktop-app, read 28 October 2026.) The docs for the current app say: "Choose ChatGPT or Codex." (learn.chatgpt.com/docs/app, read 28 October 2026.)
On platforms, the docs say: "Download ChatGPT for macOS, Windows, or Linux." (learn.chatgpt.com/docs/app, read 28 October 2026).
On how it keeps work apart, OpenAI's worktrees documentation says: "By default, chats use a Codex-managed worktree." It also says: "Worktrees only work in projects that are part of a Git repository" (learn.chatgpt.com/docs/environments/git-worktrees, read 28 October 2026).
What MXterm is
MXterm Pro is a native desktop app for macOS and Windows that puts your real terminals, your AI coding agents and your SSH servers in one workspace. It runs the CLIs you install, such as Claude Code and Codex. Each agent can work on its own branch in its own worktree. For a walkthrough, see running Claude Code in MXterm and isolating AI agents with git worktrees.
Side by side
| ChatGPT desktop app with Codex (OpenAI's words, read 28 Oct 2026) | MXterm | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | "After the update, it becomes the new ChatGPT desktop app with Chat, Work, and Codex." (help article); the earlier Codex app: "a focused space for multi-tasking with agents" (announcement) | "One command center for terminals, agents and servers." |
| Which agents | Codex, chosen inside the ChatGPT desktop app: "Choose ChatGPT or Codex." (docs) | Runs the CLIs you install, such as Claude Code and Codex. |
| Keeping agents apart | "By default, chats use a Codex-managed worktree." (docs) | Each agent can work on its own branch in its own worktree. |
| Platforms | "Download ChatGPT for macOS, Windows, or Linux." (docs) | A native desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows support is new); Linux is an early build (a .deb for Ubuntu 22.04 or later). We have not run this build on a real Linux desktop. |
| Around the agent | The announcement describes parallel work with agents and reviewable changes. | With Claude Code and Codex, see which agent is working, waiting or done, and a question from either appears on a card on your desktop. Put your agents in one room and stay in charge. |
| Licence | The openai/codex repository, for Codex CLI, is licensed under Apache-2.0; the sources read give no separate licence for the desktop app. | See the note under the table. |
On the licence row: it covers the Codex CLI repository only, and MXterm's own licence terms are on its pages and are not covered here; this page makes no claim about them. The two columns describe different things, so they are not feature-for-feature. A blank or short cell in one column does not mean the other tool lacks the thing; it means that page of that tool was not read for it.
Stay with the ChatGPT desktop app if
- You want Codex inside OpenAI's own desktop app, next to Chat and Work, as its help article describes.
- You want Codex-managed worktrees as the default for your chats, as its docs describe.
- You want the local environments the docs describe, which they say are "available only in Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app".
Choose MXterm if
- You want the Codex CLI in a real terminal pane, with a plain shell in a split pane beside it.
- You want other agents next to it in the same workspace, such as Claude Code.
- You want SSH hosts and an SFTP panel in the same window as your agents.
- You want to see, for Claude Code and Codex, which agent is working, waiting or done, and to answer their questions from a card on your desktop.
- You want agents in one room: in the Control Room they message each other and you are the Moderator. Messages wait while you type.
To try MXterm, use the download page. To compare with another tool, see MXterm vs Claude Desktop and MXterm vs Orca. For more coding agents, see best AI coding agents in 2026.
Multi-pane SSH, Command Recipes (Cmd+J), and a multi-agent Control Room (formerly War Room): free to start.
Already have MXterm Pro? Read the setup guide →
New to MXterm Pro? See pricing →
Frequently Asked Questions
OpenAI's help article says an updated Codex app "becomes the new ChatGPT desktop app with Chat, Work, and Codex", and that Codex history stays separate. So today's app is the ChatGPT desktop app with Codex as one of its views, and "Codex app" is the earlier name. (help.openai.com, read 28 October 2026.)
No. MXterm runs the CLIs you install, such as Claude Code and Codex, in real terminal panes. It does not include a model or sign you in.
OpenAI's docs say "By default, chats use a Codex-managed worktree", and that worktrees need a Git repository. In MXterm, each agent can work on its own branch in its own worktree. A worktree reduces collisions; agents can still edit the same file. (learn.chatgpt.com/docs/environments/git-worktrees, read 28 October 2026.)
In MXterm, yes: it runs the CLIs you install, such as Claude Code and Codex, in separate panes of the same workspace. What OpenAI's app does for other agents is not covered here.
If you want Codex inside OpenAI's own desktop app, start with the ChatGPT desktop app with Codex. If you want the Codex CLI in a real terminal pane, other agents beside it, SSH and an SFTP panel, and a Control Room where agents message each other, try MXterm.