OpenAI Brings Codex to Windows With PowerShell and WSL Support

OpenAI has finally brought Codex to Windows, building the Windows version around tools developers already live in, with native PowerShell support, Windows sandboxing, and the option to move the agent into WSL when a Linux setup makes more sense.

The app is available through the Microsoft Store, with enterprise rollout supported through Microsoft Store management tools. Once inside, you can run multiple agent threads across projects, review diffs, comment on changes, and use isolated worktrees so parallel tasks do not crash into each other. 

Git actions like commit, push, and pull request creation are built in, which tells you OpenAI wants this to fit into real development flow, not sit beside it.

Windows users also get a fair bit of control over how the app behaves. Codex can open projects in Visual Studio, VS Code, or another editor, and the integrated terminal can be set to PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash, or WSL. That terminal choice is separate from the agent itself, so a developer can keep one workflow in the terminal and another under the hood. OpenAI recommends having Git, Node.js, Python, the .NET SDK, and GitHub CLI installed, which is a quiet reminder that Codex works best when it can tap into the same tools a normal developer already uses.

The security piece may matter just as much as the Windows launch itself. OpenAI’s documentation says Codex blocks network access by default and usually keeps writes limited to the active workspace unless the user allows more.

 On Windows, it also describes an elevated mode built around restricted tokens, filesystem ACLs, a dedicated sandbox user, and Windows Firewall rules. That is a much heavier setup than a casual desktop app needs, and it makes the release look aimed at serious company environments as much as individual coders.

OpenAI is also using the launch to show how much momentum Codex has picked up. The company says usage has doubled since GPT-5.2-Codex launched in December, with more than a million developers using Codex over the past month. Access is included with paid ChatGPT plans, while Free and Go users are getting a limited trial. 

Windows, in other words, is not just getting Codex late. It is getting the version that could be better.