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To use Codex with your ChatGPT account, open a Codex client, sign in with that ChatGPT account, and follow the setup steps the client shows you. There is no separate “planning brain” switch to turn on. The phrase is a useful metaphor for how you might think about the two products, but the sign-in path does not depend on ChatGPT Work. Codex is the tool for software development and technical work. Your plan determines how much usage you get, and cloud access has its own conditions.
Connecting your ChatGPT account to Codex
OpenAI’s Help Center lists four places where you can use Codex with a ChatGPT sign-in:
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- The ChatGPT desktop app, in Codex mode
- The Codex CLI
- The Codex IDE extension
- Codex web
Pick the one that fits your work. The steps are the same in principle for each: sign in with your ChatGPT account, then complete whatever setup the client displays. OpenAI’s setup guidance is written as account sign-in, and it does not describe a separate toggle that links a ChatGPT subscription as a planning layer. The full instructions are in OpenAI’s Help Center article on using Codex with your ChatGPT plan.
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- Sign in with the ChatGPT account whose plan you want Codex to use.
- Follow the setup steps the client shows. Those prompts are client-specific, so check the screen rather than looking for a fixed menu path.
- Confirm that the account you signed in with is the one whose plan and usage you expect. If you have more than one ChatGPT account, this is the step most often missed.
What the “planning brain” metaphor does and does not mean
OpenAI separates two experiences. ChatGPT Work is presented as the experience for longer research and deliverables. Codex is presented as the experience for software development and technical work. Thinking of one as the place where you plan and the other as the place where you build is a reasonable way to organize your own workflow. It is not a configuration that Codex requires.
| Item | ChatGPT Work | Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Intended job | Longer research and deliverables | Software development and technical work |
| Needed to sign in to Codex | No. The sign-in path does not require enabling Work | Sign in with your ChatGPT account in a Codex client |
| Where it fits in your workflow | Any planning or writing you do outside the codebase | The code, the terminal, and the repository |
If you use both, they remain separate products. Work does not feed into Codex automatically because you are signed in to the same account.
Which plans include Codex
According to the same Help Center article, Codex is included across ChatGPT plans, including Free and Go. Usage limits differ by plan, so the same sign-in can give you different amounts of work depending on the subscription behind it. Confirm the current limits for your plan in your account, because the amounts are set by OpenAI and can change.
Cloud access is a separate question. OpenAI lists separate eligibility conditions, rollout details, and workspace settings for Codex cloud. Having a ChatGPT plan that includes Codex does not by itself guarantee cloud access or the same limits as other plans. If your cloud option is missing or greyed out, check the eligibility rules in the Help Center article before assuming the sign-in failed.
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When you compare your options, these are the practical axes to check:
- Client: desktop app in Codex mode, CLI, IDE extension, or web. OpenAI does not identify a single best client.
- Plan usage limits: the allowance attached to your ChatGPT plan.
- Cloud eligibility: whether your plan and account qualify for cloud access.
- Workspace controls: whether your organization’s settings or administrator policies restrict features.
How usage is billed
How you sign in determines how you pay:
- Signing in with ChatGPT uses your ChatGPT plan’s usage and billing.
- Using an API key is priced through the API, not through your ChatGPT subscription.
Depending on your plan and which features are available to you, Codex can share allowances or credits with other OpenAI products. Treat your plan’s usage and billing details as the authority for what you can run in a given month. Codex is not unlimited, and the sign-in does not change that.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Data handling, terms, and workspace controls
When you sign in to Codex with a ChatGPT account, OpenAI says that the ChatGPT Terms of Use and Privacy Policy apply to data shared between Codex and ChatGPT. If your account belongs to an enterprise, the corresponding enterprise agreement applies instead. Those documents determine how your data is handled, so read them before you connect a repository that contains sensitive material.
Workspace settings and administrator policies can affect what you can see and do. If you are on a managed account, your administrator may limit cloud access or certain features, and those limits will not appear as a Codex error. Check with the account owner if a feature you expect is unavailable.
Participating apps are a separate feature
OpenAI also offers a feature that lets you use your ChatGPT plan in other apps and sites. It is documented separately in the Help Center article on using your ChatGPT plan in other apps and sites, and it is not part of the Codex sign-in flow.
Sharing plan usage with a participating app is optional. Per OpenAI’s description, it does not by itself give that app access to your ChatGPT conversations or memories, and it does not share your API key. If you want to manage the weekly limits that apply to those apps, go to ChatGPT Settings and then Usage. Keep this workflow separate from your Codex setup so you do not confuse the two sets of permissions.
For the product-role distinction between Work and Codex, see OpenAI’s Help Center article on ChatGPT Work and Codex.
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