A real terminal on a real machine
Zodex gives ChatGPT the command, stdin, and patch primitives coding agents already know—directly on your trusted Linux, macOS, or Windows machine, through an OpenAI Secure MCP Tunnel.
ALSO BUILT INAutomatic AGENTS.md + Agent Skills discovery
Local / Codex-style context
ChatGPT gets more than a shell. Zodex brings your instructions and skills into the conversation automatically, using AGENTS.md and the Agent Skills open standard. No pasting the same instructions or listing skills in every new chat.
The first Local tool result includes your global AGENTS.md instructions and a compact catalog of skills from your user-level directories. ChatGPT can open the relevant SKILL.md when it needs it.
$CODEX_HOME/AGENTS.mdInstructions included~/.agents/skills/Skills discovered$CODEX_HOME/skills/Skills discoveredWhen ChatGPT sends a working directory, Zodex checks that exact folder for AGENTS.md and project skills. It points ChatGPT to the instruction file and lists available skills without injecting their full contents.
./AGENTS.mdFile detected and flagged./.agents/skills/Skills discoveredworkdir → contextOnce per Agent + folderDefault on / Fully configurable
Choose your global skill sources, add custom paths, turn off individual instruction or skill checks, or disable automatic context entirely.
zodex local config set context.enabled falseView configuration options Local / Daily use
Zodex installs a tiny native Swift menu app on macOS or Rust system tray on Windows and graphical Linux desktops. It launches when you log in, but Local itself stays stopped until you choose Start Zodex. Normal daily use needs no terminal.
One-time setup guideFirst time only
Initial setup is still done once from Terminal. After that, start, stop, Liveboard, folder selection, updates, and launch-at-login all live in the menu bar.
# macOS
curl -fsSL https://zodex.ashray.xyz/install.sh | bash
# Windows PowerShell
irm https://zodex.ashray.xyz/install.ps1 | iex
zodex local setupLocal / Built for actual work
Local is intentionally not a sandbox. ChatGPT gets the development environment you already trust, while Zodex adds lifecycle, attribution, observation, and durable evidence around it.
ChatGPT works as your logged-in Linux, macOS, or Windows user with the shell, Git, language toolchains, credentials, and files you already use.
Several ChatGPT conversations can work concurrently across repositories and worktrees without starting another daemon or tunnel.
Liveboard gives each Agent an independent timeline of commands, output, file diffs, stdin, process state, and recent workdirs.
Execution evidence stays available after Liveboard closes and after Local stops, with compact history and exact audit views when you need them.
The menu app can always be there while Local stays off. Start access only when you want it, optionally give it a TTL, and stop it cleanly.
The menu bar or system tray app launches at login by default without starting Local, with a separate opt-in to start the tunnel automatically. Pick a folder, start or stop Zodex, open Liveboard, and upgrade without opening a terminal.
Local runs as your logged-in host user. It can generally do what that user can do. The start folder is guidance, not a filesystem boundary, and normal host permissions remain authoritative.
Understand Local securityModel interface / Deliberately tiny
Zodex keeps the model-facing surface boring on purpose. The runtime handles PTYs, process lifecycle, transport, observation, and host-specific security underneath familiar primitives.
Read the tool contractRun a shell command in an explicit absolute workdir. Builds, tests, Git, dev servers, REPLs, and ordinary command-line workflows stay ordinary.
Poll a running process, send input, or stop it. Long-running work keeps a stable session instead of becoming fire-and-forget subprocesses.
Apply the Codex-style patch format GPT models already know. Zodex does not make the model learn a new editing abstraction first.
Beyond Local / Same agent interface
Local is the direct path to the Linux, macOS, or Windows machine you already use. Sprite is the isolated remote path. ChatGPT gets the same three execution tools either way; Local also adds optional Liveboard agent naming.
Compare architectureDirect trusted-host execution through an OpenAI Secure MCP Tunnel. Your machine, your developer environment, your credentials.
The same three-tool model interface on a remote Linux workspace, behind Zodex's Cloudflare Worker and an isolated GitHub write boundary.
Docs / Go deeper
Setup, operating details, security boundaries, APIs, and implementation references live in the docs—not hidden behind product magic.
Browse all docsSetup, daily use, Liveboard, history, configuration, and troubleshooting.
02Remote Linux setup, connection, GitHub permissions, and operations.
03How the two execution modes share a runtime core without sharing a trust model.
04The exact three-tool contract, process sessions, and patch behavior.
05Build another read-only viewer on the same HTTP/SSE evidence model as Liveboard.
06Read the Rust runtime, SolidJS Liveboard, Swift menu-bar app, docs, and Worker source.
ZODEX LOCAL / READY
A real shell. Your real tools. Three familiar MCP primitives. Every action visible.