OpenAI Launches New macOS App for Agentic Coding With Codex

OpenAI Launches New macOS App for Agentic Coding, Challenging Claude Code and Gemini.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way software is built, and the era of traditional coding is giving way to agentic software development—a model where AI agents independently handle complex programming tasks. From writing boilerplate code to fixing bugs and managing workflows, AI-driven coding assistants are no longer experimental tools; they are becoming central to modern software engineering.

Now, OpenAI has officially entered the next phase of this competition. On Monday, the company launched a new macOS app for Codex, designed specifically for agentic coding workflows. The move signals OpenAI’s most aggressive attempt yet to compete directly with popular tools like Claude Code, Cowork, and Google’s Gemini agents.

What Is Agentic Coding and Why It Matters:

Agentic coding refers to AI systems that can work autonomously or semi-autonomously, using multiple agents and sub-agents to complete programming tasks in parallel. Instead of prompting an AI for a single code snippet, developers can now assign broader goals—such as building a feature, debugging a module, or refactoring an entire codebase—and let AI agents handle the execution.

Over the past year, agentic coding tools have gained massive popularity because they:

• Dramatically speed up development.

• Reduce repetitive programming tasks.

• Allow developers to focus on architecture and ideas rather than syntax.

Apps like Claude Code and Cowork have been at the forefront of this shift, leaving OpenAI under pressure to modernize its own developer tooling.

OpenAI’s Codex Evolution: From CLI to macOS App:

OpenAI originally launched Codex as a command-line tool in April last year. A month later, it expanded Codex to a web-based interface, but many developers felt the experience lagged behind newer agent-first platforms.

The newly released Codex macOS app marks a major leap forward.

According to OpenAI, the app is designed to:

• Run multiple AI agents in parallel.

• Integrate agent skills and shared context.

• Support advanced, state-of-the-art coding workflows.

• Provide a flexible interface optimized for real-world development.

The timing is strategic. The launch comes less than two months after OpenAI introduced GPT-5.2-Codex, its most powerful coding model to date.

GPT-5.2-Codex: Powerful but Previously Hard to Use:

Speaking during a press call, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized that GPT-5.2-Codex represents a major leap in coding intelligence.

“If you really want to do sophisticated work on something complex, 5.2 is the strongest model by far,” Altman said.

However, Altman also acknowledged a key weakness: usability. While GPT-5.2-Codex is highly capable, developers found it harder to integrate into fast-moving workflows. The new macOS app aims to solve that problem by pairing top-tier model performance with a modern, agent-friendly interface.

How Does Codex Compare to Claude and Gemini?

Despite OpenAI’s confidence, coding benchmarks paint a more nuanced picture.

On TerminalBench, which measures how well AI handles command-line programming tasks, GPT-5.2-Codex currently holds the top spot.

However, Claude Opus and Gemini 3 agents score very close behind—within the margin of error.

On SWE-bench, which evaluates how well AI can fix real-world software bugs, GPT-5.2 shows no clear advantage over its rivals.

That said, experts agree that agentic coding is difficult to benchmark accurately. Real-world developer experience—speed, reliability, and workflow integration—often matters more than raw benchmark scores.

Key Features of the New Codex macOS App:

To close the gap with competitors, OpenAI has packed the Codex app with new productivity-focused features:

• Background automations: Developers can schedule coding tasks to run automatically, even when they’re away.

• Task queues: Completed results are placed in a review queue, allowing users to check progress later.

• Agent personalities: Users can choose between different agent styles, such as pragmatic, analytical, or empathetic, to match their working preferences.

• Parallel agent execution: Multiple agents can collaborate on different parts of a project simultaneously.

These features bring Codex closer to parity with Claude Code—and in some cases may even surpass it.

AI Is Redefining Software Development Speed:

For OpenAI, the biggest selling point isn’t just features—it’s velocity.

“You can use this from a clean sheet of paper to make a really quite sophisticated piece of software in a few hours,” Altman said. “As fast as I can type in new ideas, that is the limit of what can get built.”

This statement highlights a broader industry truth: the bottleneck in software development is no longer coding ability, but human creativity and decision-making.

Final Thoughts: A New Chapter in AI Coding Tools:

With the launch of the Codex macOS app, OpenAI is signaling that it intends to remain a major force in AI-powered software development. While competition from Anthropic and Google remains fierce, OpenAI’s combination of GPT-5.2-Codex, agentic workflows, and native desktop integration could make Codex a compelling choice for developers in 2026 and beyond.

As agentic coding continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the future of software is being written by humans and AI—together, and faster than ever before.