OpenAI Super App Takes Shape: Codex Gets Computer Use, Browser, and Image Gen

In brief

• OpenAI's Codex update adds computer control, browser, and image generation.
• OpenAI integrates agents across apps, tools, and developer workflows.
• New features position Codex against Claude Code and OpenClaw.

OpenAI announced today it has updated its Codex desktop app with computer use, an in-app browser, image generation, and over 90 new plugins.

Almost one year after initially launching Codex, the company now says more than 3 million developers use it every week. And now the idea, OpenAI says, is to let them use “Codex for (almost) everything.”

Codex for (almost) everything.

It can now use apps on your Mac, connect to more of your tools, create images, learn from previous actions, remember how you like to work, and take on ongoing and repeatable tasks. pic.twitter.com/UEEsYBDYfo

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) April 16, 2026

With background computer use, Codex can now see your screen, move its own cursor, and click and type inside any Mac application. Multiple agents can run simultaneously without interrupting whatever you're doing on the side. OpenAI says it's most useful for frontend iteration, app testing, and workflows that don't expose an API.

The in-app browser lets users comment directly on pages to give the agent precise instructions. OpenAI says it's aimed at frontend and game development today, with plans to expand full browser control over time. Image generation, powered by gpt-image-1.5, is now built into the same workflow—no API key needed, and with usage covered by a ChatGPT account.

It also features 90+ new plugins, including integrations with Atlassian Rovo, CircleCI, CodeRabbit, GitLab Issues, the Microsoft Suite, and Neon by Databricks. They combine skills, app integrations, and MCP servers to extend what Codex can access and act on across a developer's existing toolset.

On the workflow side, the app now supports multiple terminal tabs, GitHub PR review comment handling, SSH connections to remote devboxes (in alpha), and a summary pane that tracks agent plans, sources, and artifacts. Files open directly in the sidebar with rich previews for PDFs, spreadsheets, slides, and docs.

OpenAI says the goal is to reach "a level of quality previously only possible through extensive custom instructions."

There's also a new proactive mode. Using context from connected plugins, memory, and active projects, Codex can suggest where to start a work day or resume a previous task—pulling open Google Docs comments, relevant Slack threads, Notion pages, and codebase context into a prioritized action list.