Open AI Codex App for Mac

I ignored openAI Codex for a long time for one simple reason, the $200 paywall.

While everyone was talking about OpenAI’s “agentic” future, it was locked behind a Pro tier that cost 10x more than tools like Cursor or Windsurf. By the time it dropped to the $20 Plus plan, I had already built my workflow around Claude Code and Antigravity.

Still, ChatGPT nudging me with to download the new app with free credits eventually made me give in to install the standalone app without ever trying the CLI or cloud version.

First impression? It has very different vibe.

I don't see my files, for more details it opens in one of the other tools.

It’s a bit demanding.

Unlike Cursor or Antigravity, which feel like working with a smart CTO, Codex feels more like a remote junior dev. Even with a solid PRD, it wants supervision. I can’t just “vibe” and let it run. I have to manage its plans.

It’s methodical (read: slow).

With Antigravity, I have usually pushed to GitHub , deployed and grabbed a coffee before Codex finishes its planning. For small tasks, the overhead feels unnecessary. This may be very useful for large high-risk refactors which demands this level of attention or i may have to go yolo mode.

The Appearance is also different. It feels more like chatGPT than any IDE.

It treats projects as threads and hides the details. It works, but it feels like switching gears compared to an AI-native IDE.

Guess codex is trying to be a background worker, but not exploiting the vibe coding mental models built around the other tools. I think to avoid babysitting later we need to have a robust plan upfront, clarity on quality expectations, breaking the work down to smaller safer chunks and set proper guardrails.

Now that openai has made it accessible, i will explore further to see how it fits in