codex-buddy

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A tiny, fast way to run multiple Codex CLI accounts in parallel — one 461 KB binary, switch or run side by side, no re-logins, nothing leaves your machine.

Features

• Tiny & fast — a single 461 KB binary, just 4 direct dependencies, zero async / zero HTTP / zero crypto. Switching accounts is an atomic rename (instant); probing which accounts are running in parallel uses a native syscall (~2 ms). The release binary is squeezed with opt-level=z + lto + strip.
• True parallel accounts — actually run two or more Codex sessions at the same time, each under its own account, fully isolated.
• Never triggers a re-login — switch back and forth as much as you want; no forced logout, no risk of tripping anti-abuse detection.
• 100% local — no telemetry, no cloud dependency, no network calls at all; nothing leaves your machine.
• Safe by design — setup backs up your existing login before touching it and rolls back on any failure; a one-command doctor check tells you if anything's off.
• Shared config, isolated logins — config.toml and rules apply to every account; credentials never leak between them.

Menu bar app

Beyond the CLI, codex-buddy ships a native macOS menu bar app: click the icon and a panel shows each account's usage, which one is active, and which are running in parallel — one click to switch. Just as tiny — a single-arch app bundle is only 0.6 MB.

• Dual usage rings — see at a glance how much is left in the 5h / 7d windows, color-coded by threshold.
• Account list — per-account candy-color avatar, plan badge, parallel-running green dot, and a checkmark on the active one.
• Built-in Doctor — self-check right in the panel; it expands a list only when something's off, with one-click copy of the report.
• Light / dark — follows the system, or toggle light / dark yourself (the two panels above).
• Inline actions + Add account — a row of icons per account to rename, copy CODEX_HOME, run in Terminal, or remove; "Add Account" expands in place, driving a real codex login or importing an existing auth.json.

• Menu bar status item — see the active account and its tightest usage percentage without even opening the panel, color-coded by threshold.

Download the app from Releases: Codex-Buddy-arm64-macOS.zip for Apple Silicon, Codex-Buddy-x86_64-macOS.zip for Intel. It's unsigned, so the first launch needs a right-click → Open.

Install

Homebrew.

brew install CodePrometheus/tap/codex-buddy

Shell script. Downloads a prebuilt binary, no Homebrew needed:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/CodePrometheus/codex-buddy/releases/latest/download/codex-buddy-installer.sh | sh

Both need Apple Silicon or Intel macOS; see Releases for prebuilt binaries and checksums.

Quick start

$ codex-buddy init
Detected current account:
  email : alice@work.example
  plan  : plus

Alias for this account [work]:
...
Done: account 'work' is managed and set as current.

$ codex-buddy add personal
Opening codex login for 'personal'; complete the login in your browser...
...
Account 'personal' added. Use `codex-buddy switch personal`, or `codex-buddy run personal -- ...`
to run it in parallel.

$ codex-buddy list
  ALIAS      EMAIL                  PLAN  5H  1W       ACTIVE
* work       alice@work.example     plus  -   12% (4d)  just now
  personal   alice@personal.example pro   -   0% (6d)   2d ago

$ codex-buddy switch personal
Switched to: personal  alice@personal.example  [pro]

$ codex
# starts immediately, no login prompt

$ codex-buddy switch -
Switched to: work  alice@work.example  [plus]

Run two accounts side by side without switching either one:

# terminal 1
$ codex-buddy run work -- codex

# terminal 2
$ codex-buddy run personal -- codex

Commands

Setup

Command	Description
init [alias] [--yes]	Adopt the current ~/.codex account
add <alias>	Log in and adopt a new account
import <path> [--alias a]	Adopt an account from an existing auth.json
relogin <alias>	Re-login an existing account (e.g. after token expiry)
rename <old> <new>	Rename an account
remove <alias> [--yes]	Remove an account (refuses to remove the active one)

Use

Command	Description
list	List accounts with usage
current	Show the active account
switch <alias> | -	Switch account (- = previous)
run <alias> -- <args>	Run codex under an account, in parallel
path <alias>	Print an account's CODEX_HOME
doctor	Check setup health

Codex must be storing your login as a plain file, not in the system keychain — codex-buddy manages that file directly, so it needs it on disk. init and add check this automatically and tell you how to fix it (cli_auth_credentials_store = "file" in ~/.codex/config.toml) if not.

License

MIT License