Codex Installation

Codex installs through package managers or as a standalone binary. The CLI is written in Rust, enabling zero-dependency native binaries across all platforms.

Prerequisites

Codex requirements vary by installation method:

Operating system macOS 10.15+, Linux (x86_64 or ARM64), or Windows 10+ with WSL
Node.js Version 22+ (only required for npm installation)
Internet Required for authentication and API access

Native binaries and Homebrew cask installations have no runtime dependencies.

Installation methods

Homebrew (Recommended)

brew install --cask codex

The cask installs a native binary without Node.js dependencies. Works on macOS and Linux.

npm

npm install -g @openai/codex

This method requires Node.js 22 or later earlier versions fail during installation.

Native Binary

Pre-compiled binaries are available from the GitHub releases page for:

macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon)
Linux (x86_64 and ARM64)
Windows

Download the appropriate archive, extract, and add to PATH.

Windows considerations

Native Windows support includes an experimental sandbox. WSL provides a more predictable environment matching Linux tooling.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run wsl --install

Within WSL, install Node.js 22 via nvm:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh | bash
nvm install 22

Install Codex: npm install -g @openai/codex

Store repositories in the Linux filesystem (~/code/) rather than /mnt/c/ for better performance.

Verifying installation

After installation, launch Codex:

codex

The first run prompts for authentication. To update, run npm install -g @openai/codex@latest or brew upgrade --cask codex.