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Guide ยท Codex CLI

How to run Codex CLI from your phone

OpenAI's Codex CLI is a terminal agent, so running it from your phone comes down to reaching the terminal it runs in. This guide starts Codex CLI inside a tmux session on your own machine, drives it from the QuickTUI app, and keeps the session alive after you disconnect.

Codex CLI does real work on your files over minutes, not seconds, so you want it on a machine that stays put. Keep it in tmux on the machine and attach a view from your phone. QuickTUI is a native iPhone and iPad app (plus a browser client) that attaches to real tmux on a machine you host: the same Codex session, reachable from anywhere.

Install on your machine

Run the installer on the machine where Codex CLI should run. It sets up the QuickTUI service. On macOS/Linux install tmux 3.2+ yourself first (the installer does not install tmux). On Windows it installs the qscn session backend automatically.

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://quicktui.ai/q.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://quicktui.ai/q.ps1 | iex

Windows note: the session backend is qscn, not tmux. Create sessions with New Session in the app; the tmux new-session examples below apply to macOS/Linux.

Pair the app with the platform commands below, or add a server manually by URL and token.

# macOS / Linux
quicktui-server --pair-qrcode

# Windows (PowerShell)
& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\QuickTUI\quicktui-server.exe" --pair-qrcode

The connection is direct by default, so your code and keys never touch our servers. A single machine is free with full features; QuickTUI Pro is a one-time purchase for unlimited machine profiles.

Start Codex CLI in a session

On the machine, open a named tmux session and launch Codex inside it:

tmux new-session -s codex
codex

From the app, attach to the codex session and you are at the live prompt. Send instructions, read the output, and approve or steer the agent the same way you would locally.

Keep the session alive

Any agent, one terminal. QuickTUI drives real tmux, so it is not tied to a single tool: run Codex, Claude Code, or any CLI in a session and supervise them all from your phone. See control AI agents from your phone.

FAQ

Does Codex CLI keep running when I leave?

Yes. Codex runs in tmux on your machine, so it continues after you detach. QuickTUI's session keeper reattaches to the same live session when you reopen the app.

Can I run Codex and Claude Code at the same time?

Yes. Start each in its own tmux session and switch between them in the app. QuickTUI is a full terminal for any CLI agent, not a single-tool client.

Do I need SSH?

No. QuickTUI talks to its own lightweight server over HTTP/WebSocket. Reach it on your LAN, over a VPN or tunnel such as Tailscale or Cloudflare Tunnel, or a public address.

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