ChatGPT Multi-Account Desktop Launcher

Run additional ChatGPT Desktop windows on macOS with separate OAuth accounts. The launcher supports the current ChatGPT app, which replaced the Codex app, as well as legacy Codex.app installations.

This is an unsupported local workaround. By default it creates a clean isolated Codex home and Chromium profile for the extra account. It does not symlink or share history unless you explicitly opt in.

The renamed app still uses Codex internals such as ~/.codex, the bundled codex CLI, and ~/Library/Application Support/Codex. The secondary directory names below intentionally retain Codex so existing accounts keep working.

Quick Start

chmod +x ./codex-multi-account.sh
./codex-multi-account.sh

The default secondary account uses:

• ~/.codex-multi-2
• ~/Library/Application Support/Codex-Multi-2

After the new ChatGPT window opens, sign in with your second account.

The script auto-detects /Applications/ChatGPT.app first and falls back to a legacy /Applications/Codex.app. It reads the bundle's executable name, so both the current ChatGPT executable and the former Codex executable are supported. To use an app in a different location:

./codex-multi-account.sh --app "/path/to/ChatGPT.app"

You can also set CHATGPT_APP. The legacy --codex-app option and CODEX_APP environment variable remain available for backward compatibility.

More Accounts

Launch N total accounts, counting your normal ChatGPT app as account 1:

./codex-multi-account.sh --accounts 5

That launches multi-2 through multi-5.

For a named secondary account:

./codex-multi-account.sh --account work

That uses ~/.codex-work and ~/Library/Application Support/Codex-work.

Optional Shared History

By default, every account has separate projects, chats, runtime data, and auth.

To share project/sidebar/chat history from your primary ~/.codex profile:

./codex-multi-account.sh --symlink-history

Auth stays separate. The script automatically detects the current state_*.sqlite file, so rerunning it can relink after Codex changes suffixes such as state_5.sqlite to state_6.sqlite.

Quit ChatGPT/Codex windows before changing shared-history links.

Reset

Remove all managed secondary Codex homes and profiles created by this script:

./codex-multi-account.sh --reset

Remove a specific account or account range:

./codex-multi-account.sh --reset --account work
./codex-multi-account.sh --reset --accounts 5

Reset refuses to remove your primary ~/.codex, your home directory, or the normal ChatGPT/Codex app profile. Quit matching secondary windows before reset.