Guide 15 · template: codex · works on every plan
Use your ChatGPT Plus/Pro subscription with Codex — no API key
Codex signs in with the ChatGPT account you already have. On a cloud machine the CLI’s own recommendation is device-code auth — a URL and a one-time code, done from any browser. No API key, no separate usage bill, nothing stored on our side.
Launch a Codex workstation — leave the key blank
# pilldrops.com/workstation → pick "Codex" → skip the API-key field → Launch
Device-code sign-in from the web terminal
$ codex login --device-auth # 1. Open https://auth.openai.com/codex/device in any browser and sign in # 2. Enter the one-time code it prints (expires in 15 minutes) $ codex login status # → signed in with your ChatGPT account
That’s the CLI’s own headless path — plain codex login even tells you:
“On a remote or headless machine? Use codex login --device-auth instead.”
The credential lives in ~/.codex on your machine; we never see or meter it.
Or bring an API key later — your choice, not ours
$ printenv OPENAI_API_KEY | codex login --with-api-key # the two auth modes coexist; switch whenever the economics suit you
On a persistent plan the login survives pause/resume, so the “every morning at 9, triage my issues” cron job runs on your subscription without re-auth.
Your ChatGPT plan’s included Codex usage covers the tokens, so the workstation costs the machine price alone — from $5/mo. The sign-in flow is Codex’s own device authorization; your use of it is governed by your OpenAI subscription terms.