OpenAI has launched Codex Pets, an animated companion integrated into its AI coding tool, Codex. The feature serves as a floating overlay that provides real-time project status updates without the need to switch tabs.
Codex Pets enables users to monitor active project threads and track the state of Codex—whether it is running, waiting for input, or ready for review—without interrupting their workflow. This functionality aims to enhance the user experience for developers utilizing the AI coding tool.
Users can enable Codex Pets by navigating to Settings, selecting Appearance, and choosing Pets. The overlay can be toggled on or off by typing /pet, using Wake Pet or Tuck Away Pet options in Settings, or by pressing Cmd+K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows.
The feature includes eight built-in variations, such as a cat and a dog. Additionally, a custom pet creator allows users to prompt Codex to generate personalized companions, which can then be shared online.
The community has already produced various custom pets, including characters like Goku, Patrick Star, Clippy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and a goblin.
