OpenAI Codex Adds Reusable Cloud Environments for Cross-Device Work

The release targets the preparation that happens before an agent writes code. Developers begin by connecting a repository from GitHub Inc. Codex reads the code to determine which software versions the project relies on and drafts the install script from what it finds. Startup checks for the project's services come from the same pass, and OpenAI's documentation says any changes are made in conversation with Codex. A cloud environment does this work once, so each new task starts from the saved setup with dependencies already installed.

Once an environment is published, each task launched from it gets its own virtual machine and keeps working while the developer's computer sleeps. Changes not yet sent back to the repository stay with the task, allowing it to be reopened later from a phone or browser without losing them. Dependency caches survive the background refreshes that keep the repository current.

OpenAI is also pitching the environments at teams that want every developer working from the same approved configuration. After an environment is shared with a ChatGPT workspace, colleagues can run their own tasks from it. Access to a shared environment does not extend to anyone else's tasks or to editing the setup. Enterprise administrators hand out that editing permission separately.

For credentials a project needs, cloud environments support standard environment variables and a second type OpenAI calls network secrets. A program that uses a network secret sees only a placeholder, with a proxy inserting the real value as traffic heads to a domain on the allow list. Individual users of a shared environment can be asked to supply their own values from a personal account. Internet access defaults to a preset of common package registries, and developers can open it wider.

Codex has handled tasks in the cloud since it debuted as a research preview inside ChatGPT in May 2025. Codex Security Cloud, another DevDay launch, takes the same approach to security work. It scans GitHub repositories on a schedule and prepares fixes while the developer's machine is off.

Access to cloud environments is rolling out to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers, and Business, Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces get it too. Plus accounts run on the smallest virtual machines, with half the processors and memory of the Pro, Business and Enterprise tiers. By default, a task's state can be recovered for up to seven days after it was last used. Codex cannot yet work with repositories on GitLab Inc. or on self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server, and computer and browser use are also unsupported in cloud environments.