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Support Windows Codex Desktop as a remote-control client for a macOS Codex host #35504

Description

@jonathanmwatson

Feature request

Allow Codex Desktop on Windows to connect through Codex's remote-control/relay infrastructure to a Mac running Codex, and use the Windows app as a thin client for the Mac-hosted projects and threads.

Use case

I run long-lived coding sessions on an always-on Mac Studio. I can connect to that environment satisfactorily from another Mac, but I also need to work from a Windows laptop whose network connection is sometimes interrupted or changes between networks.

The desired behavior is similar to Claude's remote-session experience: the agent runtime, repository, credentials, terminals, permissions, and authoritative thread state remain on the Mac Studio. The Windows app connects to that state, can disconnect at any time, and later reconnects without terminating or reconstructing the work.

This is not

  • Remote Desktop or screen streaming
  • Remote SSH or a persistent terminal
  • Repository synchronization
  • Copying/migrating a thread so it executes on Windows
  • Mobile remote control

Remote SSH is not an equivalent solution on unreliable or roaming networks, and it does not provide the reconnecting application/session model described here.

Expected experience

  1. In Codex Desktop on Windows, open Connections and authorize the Windows machine as a controller.
  2. Discover eligible Codex hosts associated with the same ChatGPT account/workspace.
  3. Select the Mac Studio host.
  4. See its existing projects and active/recent threads.
  5. Read progress, send follow-up prompts, answer questions, and approve or reject actions from Windows.
  6. If the Windows connection disappears, work continues on the Mac.
  7. When Windows reconnects, the app reloads the authoritative thread state and resumes streaming updates.
  8. Support explicit host switching and revocation when multiple hosts are registered.

Why the desktop-to-desktop distinction matters

The existing mobile Remote Control work demonstrates much of the required host/relay model, but a phone is not a substitute for a desktop coding interface. Conversely, Remote SSH makes the Windows app the initiator of an SSH-backed remote project; it does not let Windows act as a durable controller for the existing Codex environment and sessions hosted by the Mac app.

This request is specifically for Windows desktop client → macOS Codex host using the reconnectable relay/session model.

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    appIssues related to the Codex desktop appenhancementNew feature or requestremotewindows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems

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