Malou Codex Pet

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Malou is a custom Codex Desktop pet based on a brown-and-white dog companion. The package contains the ready-to-install pet.json and mobile-bubble-optimized spritesheet.webp, plus curated source frames and preview media for anyone who wants to inspect the atlas.

This is not an official OpenAI or Codex asset.

Install

Windows PowerShell

git clone https://github.com/mySebbe/malou-codex-pet.git
cd malou-codex-pet
.\scripts\install.ps1 -Select

Manual install:

$target = Join-Path $HOME ".codex\pets\malou"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $target | Out-Null
Copy-Item ".\dist\malou\pet.json" $target -Force
Copy-Item ".\dist\malou\spritesheet.webp" $target -Force

After a manual copy, select Malou in Codex Desktop and restart the app. For the scripted install, the -Select flag sets custom:malou as the active desktop pet and writes the desktop state used by Codex mobile sync.

macOS or Linux

git clone https://github.com/mySebbe/malou-codex-pet.git
cd malou-codex-pet
mkdir -p "${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/malou"
cp dist/malou/pet.json "${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/malou/"
cp dist/malou/spritesheet.webp "${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/malou/"

Then select Malou in Codex Desktop under Settings > Appearance > Pets, or set selected-avatar-id = "custom:malou" in your Codex desktop configuration.

Mobile Sync

There is no separate Android or iOS pet package. Install and select Malou on the desktop machine that ChatGPT mobile connects to, then open Codex in the ChatGPT app on iOS or Android.

OpenAI documents Codex mobile as using the connected desktop workspace files, project state, and configuration:

• Codex for mobile: https://chatgpt.com/codex/mobile/
• Codex pets: https://developers.openai.com/codex/app/settings#codex-pets

Checklist:

1. Install this package into ${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/malou.
2. Select Malou in Codex Desktop or run .\scripts\install.ps1 -Select on Windows PowerShell.
3. Restart Codex Desktop and use Settings > Appearance > Pets > Refresh custom pets if Malou is not listed.
4. Open Codex in the ChatGPT mobile app on iOS or Android with the same account and connected desktop.
5. Wake the Codex Pet from the mobile Codex UI. On Android, enable chat bubbles in Android settings if the bubble is not shown.

If Android falls back to the default pet after it worked before, check the desktop state that mobile sync uses:

.\scripts\check-mobile-sync.ps1

Repair the local install and selected desktop state with:

.\scripts\check-mobile-sync.ps1 -Repair

If Codex Desktop is still running and rewrites .codex-global-state.json back to the default pet, arm the after-exit repair first, then fully close and reopen Codex Desktop:

.\scripts\repair-after-codex-exit.ps1

The important value is selected-avatar-id = "custom:malou" in both config.toml and .codex-global-state.json. Codex Desktop may rewrite .codex-global-state.json during app updates or restarts, so rerun the repair command and restart Codex Desktop if mobile stops showing Malou.

Compatibility

Tested as a Codex Desktop custom pet package and Android Codex Pet bubble on 2026-05-31, including the after-exit repair path for Codex Desktop restarts.

Previews

State	Preview
idle	idle.mp4
running-right	running-right.mp4
running-left	running-left.mp4
waving	waving.mp4
jumping	jumping.mp4
failed	failed.mp4
waiting	waiting.mp4
running	running.mp4
review	review.mp4

Package

File	Purpose
dist/malou/pet.json	Codex pet manifest
dist/malou/spritesheet.webp	Transparent animated pet atlas, optimized for desktop and mobile bubbles
assets/contact-sheet.png	Visual overview of the atlas
assets/previews/*.mp4	Short animation previews by state
source/frames/	Curated transparent frame sources
source/row-strips/	Row-level atlas strips
metadata/atlas.json	Public atlas metadata and checksums

Atlas Specs

Property	Value
Pet id	malou
Version	1.1.1
Atlas format	WebP, RGBA
Atlas size	1536 x 1872
Grid	8 x 9
Cell size	192 x 208
Unused cells	Transparent
Main spritesheet SHA-256	89e86f6dabb1d1f4ad838add39d3cf1207c3121db1dede26d2ad23623e2d4375

Animations

State	Row	Frames
idle	0	6
running-right	1	8
running-left	2	8
waving	3	4
jumping	4	5
failed	5	8
waiting	6	6
running	7	6
review	8	6

Verify

.\scripts\verify.ps1

Expected core checksums are listed in SHA256SUMS.txt.

Privacy

This public repository intentionally excludes raw private generation data:

• original private photo/reference material
• prompt dumps and job logs
• local Codex state files
• local install-repair scripts and backups
• tokens, passwords, API keys, or machine-specific paths

The files included here are the curated public pet package, visual source frames, row strips, preview media, and sanitized metadata.

License

Code, scripts, documentation, and metadata are MIT licensed.

Malou artwork assets in dist/, assets/, and source/ are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 unless another written permission is granted by the owner.

See LICENSE.md and ATTRIBUTION.md.