Codex on mobile: continue from your phone

Start with where the work runs

Ask one question first: does this work need the computer on your desk, or can its repository and tools run elsewhere? That tells you whether mobile access should connect back to that computer or open a cloud workspace.

A phone can be a good interface for reading progress, answering a question and approving the next action. For a large diff, you may prefer returning to a larger screen while keeping the same task.

Continue work on a connected computer

OpenAI documents pairing from the desktop app through Settings → Connections → Control this Mac or PC. Scan its QR code with your phone and use the same account and workspace. The host must be awake, online and running the app. Mobile labels and availability can vary by rollout. Follow the current official remote setup.

Before leaving the desk, check that you can identify the original conversation from the phone. Read its latest reply and confirm which host is selected. This small check catches the difference between reaching an account and reaching the work you intended.

Continue a cloud task from mobile

Create and publish a cloud environment on desktop or web. Choose Work in → Cloud and select that environment. On mobile, open Codex and choose an available environment. To continue existing work, reopen the same task. See the official cloud instructions.

A published environment is a reusable starting setup; a task is the particular piece of work you are continuing. Keeping those two identities separate helps prevent accidentally opening fresh work when you meant to return to an unfinished change.

Cloud availability alone does not recreate resources that exist only on an unavailable local machine. If a project relies on a local database or signed-in application, determine how that dependency will be provided before expecting the cloud task to take over.

Other mobile and browser options

CloudCLI describes a persistent cloud container reached through mobile web, an IDE or SSH. Its devices return to one environment rather than synchronize independent copies.

HAPI’s shared Codex sessions connect terminal and web or native clients to one App Server. Its documentation distinguishes resuming durable history from restoring a previous process’s memory. Happier also provides phone access through its Codex integration, with backend and platform requirements.

These options differ in hosting, setup and how much native session state they preserve. A mobile interface is not evidence that an existing local conversation can be imported, or that work can migrate between execution machines.

Check continuity before relying on it

• Conversation: can you see the latest reply and answer the pending question?
• Files: does the displayed diff include the work you have not committed?
• Host: can you tell where commands will execute?
• Reconnect: after refreshing the page, can you return without resending a prompt?
• Return: when you open your computer again, is it clear which task to continue?

This is a suggested evaluation checklist, not a claim that we have tested every product. If you need execution to move onto another computer, read the Codex session sync and handoff guide.