Automate Any Manual Task with Codex

Open Codex settings, find Computer Use, and click Install to install the plugin.

When macOS prompts you, grant the required permissions.

• Screen Recording, so Codex can see the target app
• Accessibility, so Codex can click, type, and navigate

These system permissions are separate from Codex app approvals. System permissions let Codex operate apps at all. App approvals decide which apps Codex is allowed to touch.

Pro tip: Computer Use is great for repetitive tasks that keep showing up but do not have a clean API-based workflow in Codex or ChatGPT.

Create a new task and toggle on Full access.

Before Codex touches anything, reduce the surface area.

• Close sensitive tabs and unrelated apps
• Use a dedicated browser profile if possible
• Keep only the target app or window visible
• Decide the batch size in advance

When the screen is clean and the task is narrow, Codex has less room to misread the situation.

A vague instruction gets vague behavior. A tight operating procedure gets much better results.

Your prompt should include:

• The exact app
• The exact page or view
• The exact button or menu label
• The loop instruction
• The batch size
• What Codex should do when it is unsure

Here is a good example:

The key is to tell Codex which apps to use, what URL to go to, and to specify that it should use computer control for the task.

Do not launch a giant batch immediately.

Have Codex complete one item first. Watch the screen and confirm three things:

• It is on the right page
• It chose the right row or target
• It clicked the right action

Once that first action is correct, let it continue through the rest of the batch.

This first-item check is the simplest way to catch a misunderstanding before it becomes a mess.

Once the first action is verified, let Codex continue through a small batch like 5, 10, or 20 items.

That gives you a practical time win without making the session hard to supervise. It also makes troubleshooting easier because you can stop, adjust the prompt, and rerun the next batch if something drifts.

This is a better operating model than telling it to clear an entire backlog with no guardrails.

Once one manual workflow is stable, you can turn it into an automation that still uses Computer Use. Automate these tasks after you have tested them live once.

The workflow from the demo is:

• Create a project for the task
• Run the task manually once inside that project with Full access enabled
• Create an automation from that existing project
• Give it a clear title and restate the job in plain English
• Keep the automation set to Local
• Choose a smaller model if the task is simple and repetitive
• Hit Run now and watch the first few runs closely

Codex remembers the setup from the project you already tested. That makes it easier to automate a known-good workflow than to start from scratch inside the automation builder.

In the video guide, the demo used a recurring backup task: tell Codex to back up videos to Safari using computer control, give it the Google Drive link, and let it repeat the same upload behavior already verified in the live run.

Watch the first couple runs, make sure it is not drifting, and only automate jobs that are deterministic enough to trust. Use it for the boring work that eats time, not for work that needs judgment.