Codex desktop
The Codex desktop app shares its configuration with the CLI, so it works as soon as the CLI is set up. This page shows how to confirm the configuration took effect.
The Codex desktop app (macOS, Windows) and Codex CLI read the same ~/.codex/config.toml. Once you have configured the provider on the Codex page, the desktop app needs no further setup.
Not configured yet? Complete the steps on the Codex page first.
Confirm the configuration took effect
Check it in four steps.
Look at the configuration that was written
If you edited the file by hand: open ~/.codex/config.toml directly and confirm both model_provider and the [model_providers.…] block are there.
If you used CC Switch: open CC Switch, click the provider entry to open its edit page, and scroll to the config.toml (TOML) block to see exactly what was written.
The provider can be named anything, as long as model_provider and [model_providers.…] match each other.
Open the configuration the desktop app reads
Open Settings in the desktop app, select Config on the left, and click Open config.toml in the upper right. The file opens in your default editor.
Compare the two
Focus on model_provider and base_url. If they agree, the desktop app is reading the same configuration. A mismatch usually means the desktop app was not restarted after the configuration changed.
Send a message
Send any message in the desktop app. A normal reply means the connection works. The current model is shown near the input box; open it to switch between the models you configured in the model mapping.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| The desktop app still asks you to sign in to OpenAI | It never picked up the configuration. Run through the four steps above and confirm model_provider matches on both sides. |
| The CLI works but the desktop app does not | Two possibilities. The desktop app reads its configuration only at startup, so quit it completely and reopen — closing the window is not enough. Or the key source differs: Option A keeps the key in an environment variable, which the desktop app does not necessarily inherit from your terminal. Configuring through CC Switch avoids that. |
The two config.toml files disagree | After changing settings in CC Switch, restart the desktop app so it re-reads them. |
| Authentication error | On Option A, check that the environment variable named by env_key is set correctly. On Option B, re-enter the API key in CC Switch, save, and restart the desktop app. |
| The desktop model dropdown is empty | On Option B, click Fetch model list in the CC Switch model mapping, then restart the desktop app. |
| Errors start on the second turn of a conversation | disable_response_storage = true is missing from the configuration — see Codex. |