termdeck
You kicked off codex on a long task and walked away. Now it wants approval for a command and you are on your phone. Here is how to answer it, and everything after it, without going back to the desk.
The official option, and where it stops
Since May 2026 the ChatGPT mobile app can remote control Codex. You scan a QR code and the phone becomes a second screen for Codex running on your computer. It is a good feature with a narrow starting point: the pairing flow begins in the Codex desktop app on macOS or Windows. If your work happens in Codex CLI on a Linux box, a headless server or a machine you SSH into, there is no documented CLI path yet.
Codex CLI remote control with Termdeck
Termdeck drives Codex CLI itself. A small agent on your machine runs one Codex app server and dials out to Termdeck, so there is no port to open and no tunnel to keep alive. From any browser, or the Termdeck app on your phone, you can:
- Follow the live Codex transcript, tool calls and command output.
- Approve or deny commands and file edits, including straight from a push notification.
- Send a follow up while Codex is working. It picks the message up mid turn and keeps going.
- Change model and reasoning effort for the next turn.
- Read the diff of every changed file.
- Stop the run.
Codex keeps writing its own rollout files under $CODEX_HOME/sessions, and Termdeck renders from those. Back at the desk, codex resume picks the same thread up in your terminal. See resuming a Codex CLI session.
Every machine, not one
Codex Remote pairs one computer. Termdeck puts every machine on one board: a laptop, a desktop, a build server, a cloud VM. Each one installs the agent once, on Windows, macOS or Linux, and its Codex chats show up in the same sidebar, grouped by project.
Codex and Claude Code in one place
Most Codex users also run Claude Code. In Termdeck they are the same kind of chat: same transcript, same approval card, same diff view. When one hits a usage limit, open the other in the same folder and keep going. When you keep more than one ChatGPT login, switch accounts in one click and watch each account's limits side by side. More on Codex usage limits.
Set it up
- Start a free trial.
- Run the one line install on the machine where Codex CLI lives. Instructions are in install.
- Add the project folder, open a Codex chat, and install Termdeck on your phone from the browser.
- Turn on push for approvals in notifications.
Codex remote control, answered
Can I remote control Codex CLI, not just the Codex app?
Yes. Termdeck runs Codex CLI's app server on your machine and drives it from the browser.
Does it work on Linux and Windows?
Yes. The agent runs on Linux, macOS and Windows.
Do I need a ChatGPT Pro plan?
Termdeck uses whatever ChatGPT plan or API key your Codex CLI is already signed in with.
Can I approve Codex commands from my lock screen?
Yes. Approval notifications carry Allow and Deny buttons, valid for five minutes.
What about Claude Code and Grok?
Same app, same screen. See one remote control for Claude Code, Codex and Grok.