Discussed in #257
Originally posted by ilysenko May 20, 2026
Before changing the updater model, it is worth pausing and agreeing on the direction.
Right now this project downloads the official OpenAI Codex Desktop DMG on the user machine and adapts it locally for Linux. This is slower and more complex than installing a ready-made Linux package, but it avoids this repository directly distributing the OpenAI desktop app/resources.
The main concern is redistribution risk. If Linux packages published by this repository bundle the OpenAI Codex Desktop app/resources, OpenAI could reasonably see the project as redistributing their product. That could put the whole repo at risk.
OpenAI will probably ship an official Linux Codex Desktop eventually. Even then, this project can still have a place: Linux-specific packaging, desktop integration, optional features, native helpers, experiments, and things that may not exist in the official app. That is another reason to keep the project on safe ground and avoid shipping OpenAI app files ourselves.
The project is shaped by everyone contributing here, and the ideas/work are appreciated.
Options
What updater direction should we take?
- Keep it simple and conservative: continue local rebuilds from the official OpenAI DMG, and only improve reliability/performance.
- Keep local rebuilds from the official OpenAI DMG, but add better updater UX such as feature selection before rebuild.
- Publish only our own Linux tooling/bootstrap packages; those packages still download the official DMG on each user machine.
- Explore a separate Linux-native wrapper/client long-term, without bundling OpenAI desktop app resources.
- Other direction: explain in the comments.
Please vote by commenting with the option number, or explain a different direction below.
Discussed in #257
Originally posted by ilysenko May 20, 2026
Before changing the updater model, it is worth pausing and agreeing on the direction.
Right now this project downloads the official OpenAI Codex Desktop DMG on the user machine and adapts it locally for Linux. This is slower and more complex than installing a ready-made Linux package, but it avoids this repository directly distributing the OpenAI desktop app/resources.
The main concern is redistribution risk. If Linux packages published by this repository bundle the OpenAI Codex Desktop app/resources, OpenAI could reasonably see the project as redistributing their product. That could put the whole repo at risk.
OpenAI will probably ship an official Linux Codex Desktop eventually. Even then, this project can still have a place: Linux-specific packaging, desktop integration, optional features, native helpers, experiments, and things that may not exist in the official app. That is another reason to keep the project on safe ground and avoid shipping OpenAI app files ourselves.
The project is shaped by everyone contributing here, and the ideas/work are appreciated.
Options
What updater direction should we take?
Please vote by commenting with the option number, or explain a different direction below.