Here is the most comprehensive interpretation of the epic Codex update. All your questions and the latest gameplay you must know are here. Please enjoy.
The full table of contents is as follows:
- What exactly is Work? How is it different from Codex?
- Several new plugins with very powerful practical effects!
- Built-in browser update: Putting Chrome inside Codex
- Enhanced frontend design capabilities
- Ultra mode: Multi-agent parallel task execution
- Connecting GPT web chat to Codex, suitable for brainstorming
1. What exactly is Work? How is it different from Codex?
The biggest update to Codex this time is the addition of the Work area. Many people's biggest question about Work is that its interface is almost identical to Codex. What exactly is the difference between the two?
Work is better suited for research, analysis, and content delivery. It defaults to business materials such as project files and web pages, commonly using search, browser, and file generation tools to ultimately produce documents, spreadsheets, PPTs, and other results.
Codex is better suited for software development and executable tasks. It defaults to codebases, current directories, Git status, and project rules, commonly using Shell, file editing, building, testing, and Diff tools to ultimately deliver a set of verified modifications.
(See the image below for specific differences)
In summary, Work excels at turning data into results, while Codex excels at turning code into verified changes. Use Work for research, analysis, and content delivery; use Codex for software development, debugging, and code modification.
2. Several new plugins with very powerful practical effects!
1️⃣ sites: A direct alternative to Vercel, allowing one-click website deployment. Usage is as follows:
2️⃣ Template Creator: Upload existing files (PPTs, documents, etc.), then generate a skill with one click based on the layout and structure of the file for future reuse of the template.
3️⃣ Visualize: Turn data, processes, or abstract concepts directly into charts, flowcharts, and interactive presentations.
Tips: There is also a new Default templates plugin with 20 built-in Codex style templates. In practice, they are quite poor; it's suggested to ignore them.
3. Built-in browser update: Putting Chrome inside Codex
The Codex built-in browser has received several major updates, including:
1️⃣ Support for direct import of Google account information, including web cookies and passwords
2️⃣ Support for opening multiple tabs simultaneously
3️⃣ Support for direct download of web files
This update allows Codex to cover all common browser tasks. Web browsing, data downloading, and page debugging can now be completed directly within Codex.
4. Enhanced frontend design capabilities
Codex has put a lot of effort into improving frontend capabilities this time, but I personally feel it is somewhat benchmarking against Claude.
Under the same prompt, the styles of the two are becoming more and more similar.
I did a comparative test for everyone to see:
https://x.com/Saccc_c/status/2075471892765691980
https://x.com/Saccc_c/status/2075282823993495743
5. Ultra mode: Multi-agent parallel task execution
In terms of reasoning intensity, this update adds a new mode: Ultra.
After enabling Ultra, Codex will default to coordinating 4 Agents to work in parallel, breaking down complex tasks into work lines that can be carried out simultaneously.
Note that this mode consumes a large amount of tokens, so it is best suited for complex development tasks and deep research. For ordinary tasks, it is recommended to use High.
6. Connecting GPT web chat to Codex, suitable for brainstorming
Click on Chat on the left to see all chat records from the web version.
You can also discuss problems and brainstorm with GPT here while Codex is executing the main task, without interrupting the ongoing work.
If you find the discussion valuable for the main task, click Add to task in the upper right corner to add that content directly to the current Codex context, which is very impressive.
