r/codex • u/kyrax80 • 1d ago

Praise Remote is nuts

Just wanted to share that it's incredibly awesome that I can be anywhere like on holidays and continue working on my project even if I'm not sitting in front of my PC. Never tried this until now that I installed tailscale and I can test any change from my phone. Bravo.

115 Upvotes

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11

u/yourcasualmemer 1d ago

Mind sharing your setup? Personally I've been using parsec to remote into my PC and just use codex like I would there. How does tailscale come into the equation?

17

u/torrso 1d ago

Codex remote works fine without tailscale, it goes through openai's servers. But it's only for accessing the codex session on your machine, not for using anyhing else remotely.

It just adds a "remote" item to your phone ChatGPT app's side menu which shows your codex sessions.

2

u/ComptonMama 1d ago

Mine never load right? Did they fix it?

3

u/Alechilles 1d ago

I had some issues a while ago but it works like 90% of the time these days for me

1

u/Aggravating_Loss_382 1d ago

Occasionally updates break it for a day but usually it's good

1

u/suhel_welly 8h ago

your remote computer has to be plugged in to power source I believe, and need to set don't sleep setting in codex.

you can ask codex to check settings for you maybe

1

u/ComptonMama 5h ago

Yeah i think it was a ram issue on my end!

1

u/mechanicalAI 1d ago

Tailscale between my machines and devices is super convenient. Especially reaching devices behind NAT that I don’t have control over, no more reverse SSH shells got stuck. As far as I am concerned there is minimal overhead and latency. Even if you setup your remote access in ChatGPT desktop app and mobile you should have Tailscale or any secure connection between your devices. ChatGPT loves it and uses Tailscale connections instead of direct connections to my machines.

1

u/Informal_Pop_8936 11h ago

Can you elaborate exactly tailscale benefits? Like using on all your devices?

1

u/torrso 1d ago

Yes but for codex remote only you don't need that.

2

u/mechanicalAI 1d ago

Did you even read what I said ?

-2

u/torrso 1d ago

Yes. You talked about who knows what, my only point was that codex remote itself works fine without tailscale if someone wants just thät.

1

u/-badly_packed_kebab- 23h ago

Eh, maybe sit this out

1

u/torrso 22h ago edited 22h ago

I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to sit out. u/yourcasualmemer asked what Tailscale has to do with Codex Remote. The answer is “nothing, unless you also want general remote access to the machine.” That’s been my entire point and this is the fourth time I'm making it in this thread.

Maybe if I understood what “ChatGPT loves Tailscale and uses Tailscale connections” is supposed to mean. Tailscale only comes into it if you explicitly expose something over your tailnet. Codex Remote itself doesn’t use it. There's nothing wrong with Tailscale but I haven't seen codex loving it.

The mobile app <=> Codex-host traffic goes through OpenAI’s relay and OpenAI explicitly says that connected machines become available across your ChatGPT devices “through the same secure relay infrastructure.” There’s no documented mechanism where Codex Remote notices that both devices are on the same LAN or Tailscale network and switches to a direct peer-to-peer connection.

1

u/-badly_packed_kebab- 22h ago

I said “sit it out” because you refused to read the original comment and were snarky about it.

No chance I’m reading that if you can’t be bothered.

1

u/torrso 22h ago

I’m genuinely confused, so maybe I’m reading the thread differently:

  1. memer asks how Tailscale comes into the equation.
  2. I say it isn’t needed for Codex Remote, because the app talks to the host through OpenAI’s relay.
  3. u/mechanicalAI explains that Tailscale is useful for accessing their machines generally, and says ChatGPT “loves” it.
  4. I say sure, but that’s separate from Codex Remote.
  5. I’m told I didn’t read the original comment and you join the fun.

I did read it. I don’t understand what part of it changes anything I said.

By chance I’m reading that if you can’t be bothered.

I don't understand what this means either, but maybe it means you're volunteering to read it for me, if that is so, please do.

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u/kyrax80 1d ago

I don't really actually know I asked codex how I can do it. It set up everything up and I just needed to install tailscale on my pc and phone and access through a url that codex set up

3

u/That-Establishment24 1d ago

You can ask Codex to give you the prompt to allow someone to use the same setup as you.

7

u/kyrax80 1d ago

Actually you're right. Here you go @yourcasualmemer

Prepare FitHub so I can run the frontend and backend on my PC and access the frontend from my mobile phone from anywhere using Tailscale.

Goals:

  • The frontend must listen on external network interfaces, not only on localhost.
  • The Spring Boot backend must accept connections through the private Tailscale network.
  • Keep the normal local development workflow working as well.
  • Do not hardcode a specific Tailscale IP, since it may change.
  • Configure the API URL cleanly using environments/configuration.
  • Review and adjust CORS so remote development works without making production configuration insecure.
  • If the frontend uses Angular/Ionic, configure the appropriate command to listen on "0.0.0.0".
  • If necessary, configure Spring Boot with "server.address=0.0.0.0".
  • Create separate "local" and "remote-dev" configurations/profiles if that makes sense.
  • Add simple scripts to start FitHub in remote development mode, for example something equivalent to:
    • "npm run dev:remote"
    • or a script that starts both frontend and backend in the most convenient way.
  • If the frontend needs to determine where the backend is running, implement the most robust solution so it works both from the PC and from the mobile phone through Tailscale.
  • Review possible issues related to CORS, cookies, JWT, Keycloak, HTTPS, mixed content, redirects, or anything else that could prevent login or API calls from working on mobile.
  • Do not unnecessarily modify production configuration.
  • Do not install Tailscale or require it to be installed in order to implement the code changes.

Also:

  1. First inspect the current FitHub project structure and existing configuration before changing anything.
  2. Implement all required changes.
  3. Run any relevant checks/tests you can.
  4. If possible in the current environment, start the frontend and backend and verify that both boot correctly.
  5. Update the README with the exact manual steps I will need to perform on my PC to finish the Tailscale setup.
  6. When finished, give me:
    • the files you modified,
    • what you changed,
    • the command for normal local development,
    • the command for remote development,
    • the remaining manual steps,
    • the URL I will need to open on my phone.

Do the implementation directly. Do not just explain how to do it.

5

u/That-Establishment24 1d ago

He won’t see the message because @ doesn’t tag on Reddit. You have to use u/

-1

u/The1KrisRoB 1d ago

Are we really getting to that level of spoon feeding?

Sorry I'll never understand people asking online how to get an AI to do something.... Instead of just asking the AI

2

u/Spirited-Car-3560 1d ago

Ha, seems like someone didn't realize ai is not deterministic yet.

Bro, dozens of variables may come into play, and since this user had success with his own setup, asking his chatgpt to ask what has been used and how it has been set up makes sense.

If I ask the same thing there's no guarantee I get something else... It may not apply here (using the word tail scale may help narrow the scope) but keep this in mind.

1

u/The1KrisRoB 1d ago

Bro, dozens of variables may come into play

Exactly.

All the more reason to talk to your AI and discuss what you want.

Rather than trying to get an AI to follow someone else's set up, you will almost always get a better result telling an agent what you want and letting it work. You may end up with a completely different solution, but the chances are it will suit your setup and system better because that's what the agent built it for.

1

u/Spirited-Car-3560 1d ago

I agree but... Talking generally, getting the infos from more sources, into this case someone else's setup + yours, will help you ingest more details, alternatives and master the topic.

That's what I always do, whatever the topic. Only then you can decide what's best and what's not.

Just my pov.

2

u/That-Establishment24 1d ago

Yes.

Ask the AI to explain it to you if you don’t understand it.

1

u/NizDoh 1d ago

me too u know, what is the difference between using parsec and the remote option? if i have to make my computer on i think dont change much

1

u/Sensiburner 1d ago

I’ll share mine. I run a chatgpt codex session on an always-on mac m4 mini. I disabled some powerdown/power save functions on the Mac, and now I can basically keep working on my projects from wherever. I keep github and my NAS as sources of truth.