OpenAI has updated Codex for Mac with a new feature called Appshots, giving users a faster way to show the coding agent what they are looking at in another Mac app.
According to OpenAI’s Codex changelog, Appshots are available in Codex app version 26.519 on macOS. Pressing both Command keys sends the frontmost app window to a Codex thread with a screenshot and available text, so the user does not have to manually describe the page, error, email, design, or settings screen.
Appshots make Mac app context easier to share
The idea is simple: instead of copying text into Codex or writing a long setup prompt, you can show Codex the current window and ask for help.
OpenAI’s Appshots documentation says the feature captures only the frontmost window. It can include an image of the visible window and text the app makes available, including some text beyond the visible scroll area when the app exposes it.
That could be useful for tasks where visual or app state matters. OpenAI gives examples such as sharing an API reference page, an email or calendar view, an image editor, a design preview, an error message, or a settings panel. For developers, the most obvious use case is giving Codex a live view of a bug, UI state, or documentation page before asking it to change code.
It’s Codex Thursday, and yes, we have updates for you.
— OpenAI Developers (@OpenAIDevs) May 21, 2026
First up: Appshots, a new way to bring the context of what you’re working on into Codex.
On your Mac, press Command-Command to attach your app window to a Codex thread. Codex gets both a screenshot and text from the window,… pic.twitter.com/R0EcZRCc1d
By default, Codex starts a new thread for an appshot. If the user recently interacted with a Codex thread, OpenAI says the appshot is added to that thread instead. Consecutive appshots also go into the same thread.
There are permission and privacy limits
Appshots are not a silent background capture feature. The user has to trigger them from the Codex app on macOS using both Command keys or a custom hotkey.
Codex may also ask for macOS permissions before the feature works. Screen & System Audio Recording lets it capture the window image, while Accessibility lets it read available text from the frontmost window.
OpenAI says appshots are stored locally in the session file, like files or images attached manually. Still, the captured image and available text are shared with Codex when the user takes an appshot, so sensitive windows should stay out of the flow unless the task really needs them.
There are also app-specific limits. For some apps and websites, including Google Docs, Gmail, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, Codex may receive only the visible screenshot and not the full document or off-screen text. Existing appshots can remain in a thread when resumed in the CLI, but new appshots can only be created from the Codex app on macOS.
Codex also gets goal mode and locked remote use
Appshots headline the update, but OpenAI bundled several other Codex changes into the same release.
Goal mode is now generally available in the Codex app, IDE extension, and CLI. It lets users give Codex a specific objective and success criteria, then keep the agent working toward that goal across longer tasks. OpenAI positions it for work that may stretch across hours or days, with the user able to check in, steer, pause, or resume.
The update also adds locked computer use for eligible Mac users. OpenAI’s Computer Use docs say Codex can keep using desktop apps after the Mac locks, including from a connected device, but only after the user enables the setting. The feature is scoped to active, trusted Computer Use turns and includes safeguards such as covered displays and relocking when local input is detected.
That builds on last week’s Codex remote access in the ChatGPT mobile app, where users gained the ability to follow and steer Codex work from iPhone, iPad, and Android while the actual work continued on a connected Mac host.
OpenAI is making Codex more context-aware
The broader direction is clear: OpenAI wants Codex to spend less time waiting for perfect prompts and more time working with the context already on the user’s machine.
Appshots help with the first step by making it easier to hand over a window. Goal mode helps Codex stay aimed at a longer outcome. Locked computer use and mobile access make it easier to keep a task moving when the user is away from the Mac.
For Mac users, Appshots may be the most immediately useful change. It turns “look at this” into a hotkey, which is exactly the kind of small workflow shortcut that can make an AI coding agent feel less like a separate tool and more like part of the desktop.
