Browser Recorder for Codex

Turn a short browser flow into a local video—without leaving Codex.

Browser Recorder opens one fresh Codex In-app Browser tab, follows the actions you approve, and saves the result as an MP4. Pointer flows include a visible cursor and click feedback, so the recording is easy to follow in a bug report, QA note, or review.

Recordings stay on your Mac. The plugin does not upload or share them, add telemetry, capture audio, or record your other tabs.

Version 0.4.1 is the latest published release.

• A fresh tab may reuse the Codex In-app Browser's existing session, so authenticated or personalized content can appear.
• The recording includes the complete visible page viewport, including all visible embedded frames.
• If the page sends the tab to another website, recording stops without saving a video.
• Browser Recorder does not classify page content, redact visible fields, or refuse technically valid recordings based on authentication or sensitivity.
• You control the approved actions and are responsible for consent, authorization, storage, sharing, and deletion of the local file.

See the privacy policy for the complete data boundary, retention, cleanup, and failure behavior.

You will need:

• the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS;
• the official Browser plugin available in Codex;
• Settings > Browser > Developer mode > Enable full CDP access turned on;
• FFmpeg and FFprobe with H.264 and MP4 support.

Homebrew users can install the media tools with:

brew install ffmpeg

In the ChatGPT desktop app, open Codex > Plugins, search for Codex Browser Recorder, and install it, or open its Plugin Directory page. Confirm that the official Browser plugin is available, then start a new task. If the recorder is not listed for your account or workspace, use the local checkout below.

Ask Codex to run the recorder's read-only preflight:

$codex-browser-recorder:record-browser Check whether my recording setup is ready.

A successful check begins with Local recording preflight passed. It checks your Mac, media tools, output folder, Codex In-app Browser, and full CDP access. The check opens and closes one fresh diagnostic tab when needed, but it does not start a Recording Session, create a video or raw frame dump, or upload anything. When a recording starts, ChatGPT may still ask you to approve full CDP access for the recording site.

Try the public reviewer page:

$codex-browser-recorder:record-browser Open /_x/d3d3LnczLm9yZw/TR/pointerevents/, click the 1. Introduction link in the table of contents, and save the approved flow as pointer-events-intro.

Before the Codex In-app Browser opens, Codex shows the page, actions, duration, recording mode, and output name for your approval. When the flow finishes, the video is saved to ~/Downloads/Codex Browser Recordings/ by default.

Interactive Recording is the default and shows the Codex In-app Browser before the approved flow starts. For automated E2E QA, explicitly request an Unattended Recording to begin and remain hidden:

$codex-browser-recorder:record-browser Record this approved E2E QA flow unattended: open /_x/ZXhhbXBsZS5jb20/, follow the approved checks, and save it as e2e-evidence.

Unattended Recording still uses the Codex In-app Browser renderer and session; it is not a separate headless Chromium surface. The two modes never silently fall back to one another.

The fixed video profile is designed for short test evidence, not high-motion product demos.

• Requires macOS and the Codex In-app Browser.
• One fresh tab and one approved website at a time.
• https: pages, plus explicit loopback development pages on localhost, 127.0.0.1, or [::1].
• An optional duration from 5 to 60 seconds. Action-driven recordings can stop after the approved actions; passive or wait-only recordings require an explicit duration.
• No audio, multiple tabs, uploads, remote storage, or navigation to another website.

Add this repository as a local marketplace:

codex plugin marketplace add /absolute/path/to/codex-browser-recorder
codex plugin add codex-browser-recorder@codex-browser-recorder

Start a new Codex task after installing. Do not copy files into the plugin cache or edit cache contents by hand.

git clone --branch v0.4.1 --depth 1 /flsteven87/codex-browser-recorder.git
codex plugin marketplace add /absolute/path/to/codex-browser-recorder

recorder_release=v0.4.1
recorder_archive="codex-browser-recorder-${recorder_release}.zip"
curl --fail --location --remote-name \
  "/flsteven87/codex-browser-recorder/releases/download/${recorder_release}/${recorder_archive}"
curl --fail --location --remote-name \
  "/flsteven87/codex-browser-recorder/releases/download/${recorder_release}/${recorder_archive}.sha256"
shasum -a 256 -c "${recorder_archive}.sha256"

• Can't install or record? Start with Troubleshooting.
• Need the full data boundary? Read Privacy.
• Found a bug? Follow Support to share a safe report.
• Found a security issue? Use the private process in Security.
• Want to contribute? See Contributing.
• Want to understand the internals? Read Architecture.
• Looking for release history? Open the Changelog.

Repository development requires Node.js 24 or newer. There are no npm runtime dependencies and no development server.

npm run check

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full validation and Codex In-app Browser release process.

codex plugin remove codex-browser-recorder@codex-browser-recorder
codex plugin add codex-browser-recorder@codex-browser-recorder

codex plugin remove codex-browser-recorder@codex-browser-recorder
codex plugin marketplace remove codex-browser-recorder

Browser Recorder creates a local video of an approved page flow. Codex Record & Replay turns a demonstrated workflow into a reusable skill. They are separate features.

MIT