Awesome Codex Theme

Full visual skins for Codex Desktop, backed by version-bound app-capture evidence and code-free theme packs.

Explore the Gallery · Install with an Agent · Theme Community · Desktop Downloads · 中文

The screenshot above is a real act-full-skin-runtime-v2 capture from ChatGPT Beta 26.715.3651.0, after the skin was applied and read back from the live renderer. It is not a wallpaper pasted into an app mockup. The current v3 runtime is source-tested and marked recapture-required, so this image is reference evidence rather than a claim of current v3 app verification.

Desktop builds are published only on the official GitHub Releases page. If that page has no asset compatible with your operating system and CPU, there is no supported public installer for that target.

Current platform capability matrix

This table is generated from metadata/release.json and checked by npm run metadata:check.

Target	Full Skin	Native fallback	Persistence
Windows x64	Build-only (26.715.3651.0)	Verified (26.715.2305.0)	Verified (26.715.3651.0)
macOS Apple silicon	Build-only	Build-only	Unverified
macOS Intel	Build-only	Build-only	Unverified

The current catalog has 68 themes and 136 modes (revision 2026072701). The current beta update-feed status is unreleased; in-app updates are not claimed until a signed static feed covers every platform.

More than a color palette

Awesome Codex Theme combines the parts that make a desktop skin feel complete:

• a 2560×1440 background with a declared focal point and quiet work area;
• separate light and dark color systems;
• translucent materials for the sidebar, cards, and composer;
• localized theme names and short copy;
• reduced-motion support;
• a Native palette fallback when a full background cannot be applied.

Theme packs are declarative and contain no executable code. A .act-theme archive carries a manifest, verified images, and Native fallback palettes. The open-source Theme Manager owns the CSS runtime, process checks, image verification, application, and cleanup.

Version 1 preserves the original Codex layout and controls. It changes the atmosphere without replacing navigation, moving the composer, or turning the app into a screenshot.

Get started

Choose one of the following three methods. They are alternatives, not sequential setup steps.

Method A: Ask a coding agent (recommended)

Copy the following request into Codex, Claude Code, or another local coding agent:

Install Awesome Codex Theme Manager from the official repository:
https://github.com/rwang23/awesome-codex-theme

Detect my operating system and CPU architecture. Use only an installer published
by rwang23 on the official GitHub Releases page. Do not modify WindowsApps,
ChatGPT.app, app.asar, private app data, or conversations. Do not bypass an
operating-system security warning or close a running ChatGPT/Codex session
without asking me first. If no compatible release exists, stop and tell me
instead of building or downloading from another source.

The complete agent contract, including expected checks and source-build instructions, is in docs/agent-install.md.

Method B: Build from source

For contributors, the base requirement is Node.js 22+. Desktop builds also need stable Rust and the platform toolchain.

npm test                 # fast, source-only checks; works in a clean checkout
npm run generate         # expensive: renders the full generated catalog
npm run validate          # generated-artifact validation
npm run test:generated    # Registry/package/site assertions
npm run build             # generated-artifact Pages build
npm run check:full        # release-grade full generation, validation, test, desktop, and build path

The generator streams one theme at a time, reuses verified mode-and-size outputs, and reports cache, elapsed-time, and peak-RSS telemetry. Use npm run generate -- --ids=qinglan-odyssey --summary for a targeted regeneration, npm run generate:check -- --concurrency=1 --summary for a reproducibility readback, and npm run generate:benchmark -- --scenario=warm for the 60-second warm-cache budget.

Method C: Install the desktop app manually

1. Download the build for your operating system and CPU from GitHub Releases.
2. Quit the ChatGPT Stable or Beta app you want to theme.
3. Open Theme Manager and choose a theme, light or dark mode, and the exact target app.
4. Select Apply & Keep Full Skin and confirm the one-time persistence notice.
5. The selected theme is now reapplied whenever you open that verified ChatGPT target. Later Apply & Keep actions replace the saved choice.
6. Select Restore Native whenever you want the original interface back. This also turns off persistence.

The Windows implementation of Apply & Keep Full Skin has passed an exact ChatGPT Beta 26.715.3651.0 persistence and cleanup smoke test. Any detected Stable or Beta build with a readable exact version may start one user-requested, loopback-only compatibility probe; the manager records that build for future replay only after the app target and runtime marker read back successfully. A later ChatGPT update stays native until the user chooses Reapply & Keep Full Skin and the new local probe succeeds. It never patches ChatGPT files. Physical-Mac persistence testing is still pending, so the macOS build must not yet be treated as verified for this feature. See Keep My Theme On.

Theme updates and app updates are independent. The manager refreshes the verified Registry on startup, so newly published themes appear immediately without reinstalling or restarting the app. A signed app update is needed only when the manager itself changes, such as its runtime, compatibility rules, security boundary, platform integration, or interface.

The public beta uses Tauri updater signatures for the future signed-update path. The current update-feed state is intentionally unreleased: a GitHub prerelease alone does not enable in-app updates until a signed static feed covers every platform and passes action-after verification. macOS bundles also carry an ad-hoc signature for package integrity, but Windows Authenticode, Apple Developer ID, and notarization are deferred. The operating system may still show an unknown-publisher warning; neither the updater signature nor the ad-hoc Mac signature removes SmartScreen or Gatekeeper warnings. See release metadata and release trust and signing.

See the real result

Browse the full 68-theme Gallery →

The samples below cover every current collection. Saint Tibo keeps the existing dark Reset capture; every other sample is shown in Light mode so the workspace is easy to read.

Codex Community Tributes 01	Original Xianxia 01
Saint Tibo · God of Reset	Qinglan Little Cultivator · chibi xianxia
China City Atlas 01	Donghua Character Tributes 01
Beijing Meridian	Mortal Journey · Kindred Paths
Donghua Memory Scenes 01	Mortal Journey Fan Art 02
Mortal Journey · The Void Hall	Mortal Journey · Herb Lantern
Original Xianxia 02	Chinese Everyday Poetry 01
Jade Archive Dawn	Jiangnan Rain Courtyard
World City Atlas 01	Global Workspace Favorites 01
New York Rainline	Orbital Dawn
American Workspace Favorites 02	Mortal Journey Fan Art 02
Coastal Studio Morning	Mortal Journey · Talisman Rain

The collection currently includes 68 themes and 136 light/dark modes. The English experience highlights:

• 12 original World City themes spanning New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney;
• 6 original global workspace themes, from a rainy library to an orbital sunrise;
• 5 original xianxia environments, including a jade archive, a firefly river, and a cloud forge;
• 5 disclosed, unofficial, non-commercial fan-art scenes inspired by A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality;
• 5 original American workspace moods, from a coastal studio to an after-hours diner;
• 1 original 2007 desktop-nostalgia theme with a new, non-franchise chibi mascot;
• 2 disclosed, unofficial Codex community tributes;
• the broader original and fan-art catalog, available through language-aware discovery in the Gallery.

Every mode retains a 1440×810 v2 reference capture from the pinned Beta test bench. The generator derives integrity-bound 320, 480, and 960px presentation PNGs from that evidence; Gallery browsing uses those responsive variants, while the full original is loaded only after you explicitly choose View original evidence. Registry records bind both layers to the exact app version, background hash, runtime hash, byte count, and renderer readback; the current v3 runtime remains recapture-required until that exact test bench is rerun.

“Saint Tibo” is an affectionate, unofficial community parody. It is not endorsed by OpenAI or by the person depicted, and no official product artwork is bundled.

Safe by design

Full Skin uses a loopback-only Chromium DevTools Protocol session. Theme Manager asks the operating system for an available local port, then accepts the listener only when it belongs to the exact selected Stable or Beta package and exposes an app:// renderer target.

It does not:

• write to WindowsApps, ChatGPT.app, or app.asar;
• read or modify conversations;
• execute code from a theme pack;
• trust an image whose path, size, PNG signature, and SHA-256 do not match the Registry;
• silently close a normally running ChatGPT session.

This is not an official OpenAI theme API. Codex updates can change internal selectors, so compatibility is tied to tested app versions. A new version must pass the validator, apply/restore checks, and real capture run before it is marked compatible.

Create a theme with Codex

The repository includes the project-local $create-codex-theme Skill. From a checkout, ask:

Use $create-codex-theme to add an original "Suzhou Canal Mist" theme.
Keep the left work area quiet, provide light and dark modes, and run every check.

The Skill prepares an art brief and image job, checks original or fan-art disclosure, configures focal composition, safe areas, and contrast, updates the Registry, and guides the real-app capture step. New source art must be 16:9 at 2560x1440 or larger. The current 1536x1024 catalog material has a named legacy exception and is not a template for new themes. Run npm run art:review:write to create the composition contact sheets, inspect them, then keep npm run art:review green before the exact-app capture.

Join the community

The hosted Codex Theme Community is now available as a public beta. It supports accounts, code-free .act-theme uploads, server-side package validation, a quarantine and moderation queue, and one vote per account per theme.

Community approval and votes do not publish a theme into the official Registry. Promotion still requires:

• a structured GitHub proposal or reviewed Pull Request;
• rights and provenance review;
• repository Validator and CI checks;
• apply, capture, and restore evidence from a pinned Codex build.

The hosted service is intentionally separate from this open-source runtime repository. See community platform architecture and the Registry promotion route.

Project map

Repository layout and developer commands

.codex/skills/               Theme creation Skill
apps/theme-manager/          Tauri 2 Theme Manager
packages/full-skin/          Reviewed, manager-owned runtime
schemas/                     Theme Pack and Registry schemas
themes/catalog.json          Hand-maintained theme catalog
themes/source-art/           Image jobs, source art, and provenance
themes/registry.json         Generated public Registry
screenshots/                 Version-pinned app-capture evidence
scripts/                     Build, validation, capture, and site tooling
site/                        Dependency-free Gallery

Useful commands:

npm run art:generate
npm test
npm run test:source
npm run test:generated
npm run test:ci
npm run generate
npm run generate:check
npm run generate -- --ids=qinglan-odyssey --summary
npm run generate:benchmark -- --scenario=warm
npm run validate
npm run check:full
npm run screenshots:capture
npm run desktop:check
npm run desktop:start
npm run desktop:build:win
npm run desktop:build:mac

Generated theme directories, .act-theme archives, the Registry, and dist/ should not be edited by hand.

License and artwork

Project code is MIT. First-party AI-generated artwork is released under CC0 1.0 where applicable. Fan art uses LicenseRef-ACT-Fan-Art-Notice, sets rightsVerified: false, and is limited to personal, non-commercial fan use.

AI generation does not clear copyright, character, likeness, trademark, or source-asset rights. Contributors must review every input and output. See NOTICE.md and the Fan Art policy.

If this project gives your coding workspace a little more personality, star the repository and share a privacy-safe screenshot.