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ChatGPT Web accounts

A ChatGPT Web account answers Codex tasks from your own ChatGPT session instead of from the Codex models. It has its own Codex window and Codex home, and it uses the ChatGPT session already open in your regular Google Chrome profile.

Read this before you add one. CodexUse answers each turn by reading the ChatGPT page, typing the turn, and sending it. This is not an official OpenAI integration. Automating ChatGPT may not be permitted under your agreement with OpenAI, and you are responsible for how you use it. The connection form states this. Choosing Connect account acknowledges it without another checkbox or page. There is no mode in which CodexUse only watches.

What it costs you

Turns draw on the Chat allowance of the ChatGPT account you sign in with. They do not spend the Codex allowance of any OpenAI account, and no provider bills you. CodexUse charges nothing per turn.

ChatGPT does not expose an authoritative remaining percentage for this route, so the account page shows no percentage and CodexUse never combines it with Codex usage. That is also why Web accounts stay out of percentage-based auto-roll and out of Account Pool routing.

What you need first

  • macOS 13 or newer on Apple Silicon.
  • A ChatGPT subscription that carries the Web models you want to use. CodexUse publishes only the model routes it observes in your own session.
  • One signed-in OpenAI account on the same Mac. CodexUse publishes Web models to Codex using the shape of a native Codex model, and that shape comes from a real Codex model catalog. Setup checks this first and stops with a specific message if no OpenAI account exists yet.
  • An OpenAI Tunnel and a regular secret API key with Tunnels Read + Use. Create them at OpenAI Tunnels and OpenAI API keys. The key and the tunnel must belong to the same API organization. Paste the sk-… value shown once when the key is created, not an Admin key or a URL.
  • Google Chrome 116 or newer. Load the companion bundled inside CodexUse once. The app keeps it in one stable local folder, opens Chrome Extensions, reveals that folder, and copies its path. See Signing in.

Add the account

Choose Accounts → Add account → ChatGPT Web. Setup has three steps:

  1. Chrome. Choose Open Chrome setup. CodexUse opens Chrome Extensions and copies the local extension folder path. Turn on Developer mode, choose Load unpacked, and paste the path in the folder picker with Command-Shift-G. If the extension is already installed, continue directly.
  2. Connection. Create or select an OpenAI tunnel, then paste its ID and a secret API key with Tunnels Read and Use permissions from the same organization. The links open in Chrome. CodexUse suggests an account name. Choose Connect account; CodexUse checks the connection and available models automatically. Sign in to ChatGPT in Chrome if asked.
  3. Finish in ChatGPT. Open ChatGPT settings and create the connector using the tunnel and settings shown in CodexUse. Return and choose Check connection. A successful check shows ChatGPT Web is ready.

Going back or switching views keeps your entries in memory. Failed connection attempts return to the fields so you can correct them without starting over. The form clears the API key after account creation or cancellation. Chrome remains signed in.

The connector step

Only the account owner can create the connector, so this happens in ChatGPT:

  1. Enable ChatGPT Developer Mode.
  2. Create a Tunnel connector and select the tunnel you configured.
  3. Name the connector exactly CodexUse. An inexact name is the most common reason verification fails, so the wizard keeps the name copyable.
  4. Set Authentication: None and Permissions: Allow all actions.
  5. Return to CodexUse and choose Check connection.

Verification does not stop at the handshake. CodexUse runs one real turn through the whole path and requires ChatGPT to call a CodexUse tool and use its result. A connector that exists but cannot reach CodexUse fails here instead of failing on your first task. The account page reports what that turn did and how long it took.

Signing in

CodexUse uses your active regular Chrome profile through the companion bundled inside the app. Choose Open Chrome setup once. CodexUse refreshes the bundled companion in one stable local folder, opens Chrome Extensions, reveals that folder in Finder, and copies its path. Turn on Developer mode, choose Load unpacked, press Command-Shift-G in the folder chooser, paste the copied path, and select the folder. Sign in at ChatGPT in Chrome if needed. Password, Google, passkey, and Touch ID all work through Chrome itself.

Click the CodexUse Companion icon in Chrome to check the connection or open ChatGPT. The extension uses the same version as the app and reconnects after app restarts. When an app update replaces its files, it waits for active tasks to finish before applying the update automatically.

What a turn does

Each Codex task keeps and reuses one hidden Temporary Chat tab for its follow-up turns while the Chrome connection is active. Different Codex tasks use different tabs. After a browser-runtime restart, the next turn opens a new Temporary Chat and reconstructs the task from the stored Codex history or compaction summary.

Temporary Chats do not normally appear in your ChatGPT history unless saved. OpenAI says it may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes, and your workspace and account controls still apply. See OpenAI’s Temporary Chat FAQ.

Interrupting a turn revokes both sides: CodexUse stops the Codex turn and tells the runtime to abandon the browser turn. A turn that fails after its answer has started streaming still ends with a stated reason rather than a dropped connection.

Using it for work

Once the connector is verified, regular Codex tasks and Work runs can use the browser-backed model routes. A Web account can be the worker in a run. Codex still applies the task’s normal sandbox and approval policy when it runs a tool.

A task that reaches the model’s context limit is compacted in place, using Codex’s own compaction over the managed route.

Account actions

  • Open ChatGPT in Chrome opens the regular ChatGPT page in Chrome.
  • Recheck login and models verifies the sign-in, the runtime, the exact CodexUse connector, and the model capability data.
  • Repair connection restarts the sidecar, helper, and managed tunnel, reconnects to Chrome, then repeats verification.
  • Disconnect ChatGPT Web stops CodexUse’s browser access and leaves Chrome signed in.
  • Remove account removes the Web account, helper state, Codex home, and local route. Chrome stays signed in, and a linked OpenAI account is left alone.

Recheck, Repair, and Disconnect all drive Chrome, so any of them can take minutes. Each reports progress and finishes on its own; navigating away while one runs does not stop it.

Where the credentials live

Chrome owns its cookies and browser storage; CodexUse never exports or copies them. The secret API key stays in the account’s private runtime directory with owner-only permissions. CodexUse app state stores bounded capability and status data only.

No ChatGPT cookie, local capability, prompt, or response enters Cloud Sync, an account export, analytics, or logs. The secret API key is treated as a credential by the shared redaction rules, so it cannot appear in a diagnostics bundle.

Related

Guide: use your ChatGPT session as a Codex account Is driving ChatGPT from a desktop app allowed? Codex weekly limit reached: your options Docs: Accounts Docs: Custom model providers Docs: Troubleshooting