Summary
Codex mobile is very useful as a control layer, but it is currently limited when the active Codex environment depends on a personal desktop machine staying online. Many development workflows run primarily on always-on Linux servers accessed through SSH, while the desktop app is only a local access point.
It would be valuable to support a headless or remote-host mode where Codex mobile can connect to an always-on Linux host directly, without requiring the Windows desktop app to remain powered on, awake, and running.
This is related to #23082, but this request is specifically about not requiring a desktop host to remain online once the real working environment is an always-on remote Linux host.
Problem
For users whose projects live on remote Linux servers, the desktop machine is not always the most reliable host for long-running Codex work. A personal workstation may be shut down, asleep, restarted, or unavailable, while the actual development servers remain online continuously.
This creates friction in workflows such as:
- Starting a long-running Codex task on a remote server.
- Leaving the desktop machine.
- Continuing approvals, follow-ups, checks, and reviews from mobile.
- Keeping the task alive even if the local desktop is turned off.
Today, if the desktop app is the required bridge, the user may need to keep a personal machine running only so an existing Codex conversation can continue.
Feature request
Add support for Codex mobile to connect to an always-on remote Linux host, ideally through a secure headless Codex host, daemon, or remote-host registration flow.
Suggested design
- Allow a Linux server to be registered as a Codex host.
- Let the ChatGPT mobile app show registered hosts independently from desktop app availability.
- Allow users to start, resume, monitor, and approve Codex work from mobile on that remote host.
- Keep credentials, files, shell access, and project context on the remote host.
- Clearly show the active host, project path, and permission boundary before every command approval.
- Support long-running tasks even when the desktop app is offline.
- Optionally allow a desktop app to remain a convenience UI, but not the only bridge.
Security and UX safeguards
- Mobile should act as a secure control and approval layer, not as a place where SSH keys or tokens are copied.
- Every approval should clearly identify the remote host and project context.
- Host status should be explicit: online, offline, disconnected, waiting for approval, or task running.
- Admins should be able to revoke mobile access to a host.
- Sensitive hostnames, usernames, IPs, and paths should not be required in the UI or issue reports.
Expected benefit
This would make Codex mobile much more useful for developers, DevOps users, infrastructure teams, and anyone whose real work happens on remote Linux environments rather than on a personal desktop machine.
Suggested labels, if available: enhancement, mobile, remote, ssh, headless, linux
Redaction check
This request intentionally uses only generic examples. It does not include real hostnames, IP addresses, usernames, private repository names, internal project names, credentials, or environment-specific paths.
Summary
Codex mobile is very useful as a control layer, but it is currently limited when the active Codex environment depends on a personal desktop machine staying online. Many development workflows run primarily on always-on Linux servers accessed through SSH, while the desktop app is only a local access point.
It would be valuable to support a headless or remote-host mode where Codex mobile can connect to an always-on Linux host directly, without requiring the Windows desktop app to remain powered on, awake, and running.
This is related to #23082, but this request is specifically about not requiring a desktop host to remain online once the real working environment is an always-on remote Linux host.
Problem
For users whose projects live on remote Linux servers, the desktop machine is not always the most reliable host for long-running Codex work. A personal workstation may be shut down, asleep, restarted, or unavailable, while the actual development servers remain online continuously.
This creates friction in workflows such as:
Today, if the desktop app is the required bridge, the user may need to keep a personal machine running only so an existing Codex conversation can continue.
Feature request
Add support for Codex mobile to connect to an always-on remote Linux host, ideally through a secure headless Codex host, daemon, or remote-host registration flow.
Suggested design
Security and UX safeguards
Expected benefit
This would make Codex mobile much more useful for developers, DevOps users, infrastructure teams, and anyone whose real work happens on remote Linux environments rather than on a personal desktop machine.
Suggested labels, if available:
enhancement,mobile,remote,ssh,headless,linuxRedaction check
This request intentionally uses only generic examples. It does not include real hostnames, IP addresses, usernames, private repository names, internal project names, credentials, or environment-specific paths.