Can Codex control my iPhone? # Give Codex control of your iPhone Anything you can do on your iPhone, Codex can now do for you. Give it your own apps on your own iPhone, and it taps, swipes and types its way through them from your Mac while you watch. Zeptap is the Mac app that makes the connection; nothing gets installed on the phone. [See what Codex can do ↓](#what-codex-can-do)[Download for Mac](https://github.com/Saransh29/zeptap-releases/releases/latest/download/Zeptap.dmg) First hour free · macOS 14 or later Open Instagram, find ad ideas in Reels, like the best one and read its comments. Codex · your iPhonelive 1. Open App · “Instagram”Spotlight 2. Tap · x 196 y 1201Reels tab 3. Flick · “up” x 295 y 900next Reel 4. Double Tap · x 295 y 620like 5. Tap · x 544 y 647comments 6. Find Textreads them ## What Codex can do with your iPhone Hand Codex a phone and it can run your accounts, answer your customers, test your app and clear your errands, on one iPhone or five at once. ### Run all your social accounts from one Mac Connect up to five iPhones, each signed in to several Instagram and TikTok accounts, and Codex can work 20–30 accounts for you: warming up new ones, engaging in their niche, finding creators and researching what’s working. Try: > Across all five phones, warm up our 12 new TikTok accounts, each in its own niche, then tell me which ones already have the right For You page. > Find 15 tech creators under 100k followers who reviewed a productivity app this week, and draft a collab DM to each from @habitloop. > Scroll 50 TikToks about habit-tracker apps, pull the 5 hooks that keep going viral and turn them into launch Reel scripts for @habitloop. Show more prompts > See which hashtags our top 3 competitors used on their best Reels this month and build a hashtag set for each of our accounts. > From @runclubnyc, find 10 recent #marathontraining posts where a coach’s tip would help and leave one useful comment on each. ### Reply to every comment, DM and customer Codex reads the comments, reviews and conversations across your accounts, works out what each person wants and answers them in App Store Connect, WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok. Try: > Go through every brand account on these phones, answer the comments asking about price, sizing or shipping, and DM the product link to anyone who asked for it. > A customer sent a photo of a dress on WhatsApp. Find it in our catalog, reply with the price and sizes, and send the checkout link. > Find every customer who asked a question this week and never heard back (WhatsApp, Instagram DMs, TikTok comments) and reply to each one. Show more prompts > Open App Store Connect, answer every new 1- and 2-star review with a specific reply and list the bugs that come up more than once. > Turn the 10 questions we got most in DMs this month into saved replies, then use them to clear today’s inbox. More ideas: [Codex for Instagram accounts](https://zeptap.com/use-cases/social-media) ### Test your iOS app like your users will, before they find the bugs Codex uses your app on real iPhones the way people do (signed in, interrupted, impatient) and shows you what stands between a download and a paying user: confusing onboarding, broken edge cases, App Review red flags and screens an AI agent can’t use. Run it in your repo and it fixes what it finds. Try: > Install our newest TestFlight build and go from first launch to the paywall as a new user. Count the taps and tell me where a real person would give up. > Install our top competitor from the App Store, go through its onboarding and paywall, and compare every step with ours. > Before I submit to App Review, check our app for account deletion, Restore Purchases on the paywall and a working privacy policy link. Show more prompts > A 1-star review says the app freezes when uploading a photo. Reproduce it on my iPhone, find the cause in this repo and write the fix. > Play three users (a first-timer, someone who forgot their password and someone who says no to notifications) and report where each gets stuck. > Go through our sign-up and checkout as an AI agent would and list every screen where you couldn’t tell what to tap. > Try to break checkout: go back mid-payment, switch apps, come back and retry. Screenshot whatever goes wrong. > Run sign-up on my iPhone 13 and iPhone 16, then again with the biggest text size and Dark Mode. Fix whatever breaks in our layout code. More ideas: [Test iOS apps on a real iPhone](https://zeptap.com/use-cases/app-testing) ### Get one task done across several apps Codex moves between apps the way you do: it takes what it needs from one and finishes the job in another, from a single request. Try: > Open my latest Hinge chat, work out what they’re into, find three date spots between us on Google Maps and suggest a time that’s free on my Calendar. > Grab the video and caption the client approved in our WhatsApp group and post it as an Instagram Reel. > Find the restaurant in my latest screenshot, check OpenTable for a table for 4 on Friday and send the booking to the group chat. Show more prompts > Read the bug report a beta tester sent me on WhatsApp, reproduce it in our TestFlight build and reply with a screenshot of what you found. > Take the concert flyer from my screenshots, find two seats together on Ticketmaster and send the options to Sam. > Pull this month’s Uber and Lyft receipts from Gmail and add each one to my expense report in Expensify. ### Order, shop and book in your apps Codex shops across the apps you’re already signed in to, comparing prices, using your saved addresses and past orders, and booking the best option. Try: > Check Amazon, Walmart and Target for the 6 things on my shopping list, find the best price for each and add them to the cheapest cart. > Reorder my usual Chipotle bowl on DoorDash (or Uber Eats if it’s cheaper) and stop at checkout. > Rebuild last week’s Instacart order from Costco, swap anything that’s out of stock and schedule it for Saturday morning. Show more prompts > Find a table for 2 at 7:30 on Friday on OpenTable or Resy and book the best-reviewed one. > Price an Uber and a Lyft from home to JFK for 6 am tomorrow and book the cheaper one. > Order lunch for the team on DoorDash from the Thai place we liked, add everyone’s order from our Slack thread and stop at checkout. ### Organize and clean up your iPhone Codex can change the phone itself: your photos, Home Screen, Focus modes, notifications and settings. Try: > Go through my photos, gather the screenshots, duplicates and blurry shots into a “Delete?” album and tell me how much space I’d free up. > Find every subscription in my App Store settings, flag the ones I haven’t opened this month and tell me what I’d save by cancelling. > Clean up my Home Screen: work apps on page one, games and social on the last page. Don’t delete anything. Show more prompts > Get my spare iPhone ready for testing: delete our app, turn on Dark Mode and the largest text size, and switch the region to Germany. > Turn off notifications for every app I haven’t opened in two weeks, but keep TestFlight and GitHub. **[Pick one and try it. Your first hour is free →](https://github.com/Saransh29/zeptap-releases/releases/latest/download/Zeptap.dmg)** ## Nothing to install. Nothing to hand over. * ### No Xcode. No paid Apple Developer account. No jailbreak Nothing goes on your iPhone: Zeptap works over a USB cable and Bluetooth. * ### Your passcode never leaves your Mac It’s stored in your Mac’s Keychain, and Codex never sees it. * ### Your screen never touches Zeptap’s servers No Zeptap account, no relay: what’s on screen goes only to OpenAI, under your own ChatGPT plan or API key. * ### You stay in charge Watch every tap from your Mac, stop any time, and have Codex check with you before it sends, posts or buys. [How Zeptap keeps your iPhone safe →](https://zeptap.com/docs/reference/privacy) ## Connect Codex to your iPhone in minutes 1. **Download Zeptap** for your Mac (macOS 14 or later). 2. **Plug in your iPhone** and pair it over Bluetooth. Zeptap walks you through it. 3. **Choose where you talk to Codex**: in the Zeptap app, or in the Codex CLI or Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app on your Mac. ### Use Codex in the Zeptap app In **Settings › Agents**, Zeptap installs Codex and signs you in with your ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan. Then press ⌘L to chat (no extra AI subscription). ### Connect the Codex CLI or ChatGPT desktop app to your iPhone (local MCP server) Zeptap runs on your Mac as a local MCP server that gives Codex your iPhone. In Zeptap, open **Settings › Connectors** and click **Add** next to Codex, then start a new Codex session. Prefer to edit the Codex MCP config yourself? Add this to `~/.codex/config.toml`: `[mcp_servers.zeptap] url = "http://127.0.0.1:47801/mcp"` Use Codex on your Mac, in the CLI or in the ChatGPT desktop app. Codex cloud tasks run remotely and can’t reach a server on your Mac. **[Download for Mac](https://github.com/Saransh29/zeptap-releases/releases/latest/download/Zeptap.dmg)**[Connect via MCP →](https://zeptap.com/docs/agents/connect) First hour free. Using ChatGPT instead? See [ChatGPT on your iPhone](https://zeptap.com/agents/chatgpt). ## questions? The [docs](https://zeptap.com/docs) go deeper, and they're written for agents to read too. ### Codex and your iPhone Can Codex control my iPhone? Yes. Codex can take control of your iPhone. With Zeptap running on your Mac, Codex sees your iPhone’s screen and taps, swipes and types in your apps, just as you would. You decide what it does, watch every step and can stop it at any time. Which Codex apps can control my iPhone? | Codex app | Can it use your iPhone? | | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Codex in the Zeptap app (your ChatGPT plan) | Yes | | Codex CLI on your Mac | Yes, through Zeptap’s MCP server | | Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app on your Mac | Yes, through Zeptap’s MCP server | | Codex cloud tasks | No. They run remotely and can’t reach your Mac | | ChatGPT iPhone app | Not on its own. It can draft messages or answer questions, but doesn’t tap through your other apps | How do I connect Codex to my iPhone? In Zeptap, open **Settings › Connectors**, click **Add** next to Codex, then start a new Codex session. Zeptap adds itself to `~/.codex/config.toml`; by hand, add `[mcp_servers.zeptap]` with `url = "http://127.0.0.1:47801/mcp"`. [Codex MCP setup reference](https://zeptap.com/docs/agents/connect). Can I use my ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan with Codex in Zeptap? Yes, ChatGPT Plus and Pro include Codex, and Zeptap’s built-in chat runs Codex signed in with your plan. In **Settings › Agents**, Zeptap installs the Codex CLI and signs you in. Zeptap doesn’t sell AI credits. Is this Codex computer use for iPhone? Close to it: Codex looks at your iPhone’s screen, then taps, swipes and types, much as computer use does on a desktop. Zeptap supplies those iPhone tools through MCP, so they work in the Codex CLI, the ChatGPT desktop app and Zeptap’s built-in chat. Does Codex need iPhone Mirroring to control my iPhone? No, Zeptap doesn’t use iPhone Mirroring. It reads the screen over USB and taps and types as a Bluetooth keyboard and pointer, which is how it can run up to five iPhones at once, where Mirroring handles one. [Compare iPhone Mirroring and Zeptap](https://zeptap.com/vs/iphone-mirroring). Is this the same as using Codex from my phone? No, Zeptap works the other way round: Codex on your Mac drives your iPhone. It opens your apps, reads the screen and taps through them. Using Codex from your phone means driving Codex, not your iPhone’s apps. Can Codex test my app on a real iPhone instead of the Simulator? Yes, Codex installs your TestFlight build on your own iPhone and checks what the Simulator can’t: real sign-in, SMS codes, push notifications and the device you ship to. Then it fixes what it found in your repo. [Test iOS apps on a real iPhone](https://zeptap.com/use-cases/app-testing). ### Your iPhone and Mac Which iPhones work with Zeptap? Every iPhone on iOS 15 or later works with Zeptap, including models with a Home button, like iPhone SE and iPhone 8, and every Face ID iPhone. You don’t need a new phone, and nothing gets installed on it. What do I need on my Mac? A Mac on macOS 14 or later with Bluetooth, and a USB cable for your iPhone. That’s all: no Xcode, no Apple Developer account, no jailbreak and no extra hardware. How does Zeptap connect to my iPhone? Zeptap reads your iPhone’s screen over the USB cable and taps, swipes and types as a Bluetooth keyboard and pointer, through the iPhone’s built-in AssistiveTouch. Zeptap turns AssistiveTouch on for you during setup, so there’s no app to install on the phone. Can Codex unlock my iPhone? Yes, if you turn it on. Zeptap saves your passcode in your Mac’s Keychain and types it on the lock screen itself (on Face ID and Home-button iPhones alike), so Codex never sees it. Each unlock is a single attempt, so a wrong code can’t lock you out. Does my iPhone need to stay plugged in? Yes. Your iPhone stays connected to your Mac by USB cable and paired over Bluetooth while Codex works. With Lifetime Plus you can plug in up to five iPhones and run them all at once. Does Zeptap work with Windows or Android? No. Zeptap is a Mac app for iPhone: it runs on macOS and controls iPhones. Windows PCs and Android phones aren’t supported. Does Zeptap need Wi-Fi or an internet connection? Zeptap’s control of your iPhone is local, over the USB cable and Bluetooth on your Mac. Codex itself needs an internet connection to reach OpenAI, just as it does in any other app. ### What Codex can do Does Codex work with any app on my iPhone? Yes. App Store apps, TestFlight builds, Messages, Settings, Safari, Photos: if you can tap it on your iPhone, Codex can too. Can Codex send text messages on my iPhone? Yes. Codex can open Messages or WhatsApp, find the right chat, write your message and send it, or hold it so you can check it first. Can Codex post on Instagram for me? Yes. Codex can prepare and publish posts, Reels and Stories in the Instagram app (media, caption and link sticker) on one account or across all of them. Can Codex manage 20+ Instagram and TikTok accounts? Yes. With Lifetime Plus ($149), Codex works on up to five iPhones from one Mac at once. Each iPhone can hold several accounts (Instagram lets you stay signed in to up to 10), so one Codex can run 20–30 accounts. Can Codex order food or buy things for me? Yes. Codex can compare Amazon, Walmart and Target, rebuild your usual DoorDash or Uber Eats order, and check out with the addresses and payment already in your apps, or stop at checkout so you can confirm. ### Privacy and safety Can I watch what Codex is doing on my iPhone? Yes. Zeptap shows your iPhone’s screen live on your Mac, so you see every tap, swipe and keystroke as it happens and can stop Codex at any moment. Where do my screenshots go when Codex uses my iPhone? Only to OpenAI, through Codex, under your ChatGPT plan or API key. Never to a Zeptap server. Zeptap captures the screen on your Mac and hands it straight to the agent you use. Is it safe to give Codex access to my iPhone? Zeptap is built so you stay in charge: there’s no Zeptap account or cloud, your passcode never leaves your Mac, and you watch every step. Ask Codex to check with you before it sends, posts or buys, and tell it which apps to leave alone. [Zeptap’s safety and privacy details](https://zeptap.com/docs/reference/privacy). ### Pricing How much does Zeptap cost? Zeptap costs $25 a month or $99 once for one iPhone, or $149 once for up to five iPhones. Your ChatGPT plan stays separate. [See Zeptap pricing](https://zeptap.com/pricing). Is there a free trial? Yes. Your first hour of live use is free: download Zeptap, connect your iPhone and try any of the prompts above before you pay. What do I get with a lifetime license? A one-time payment ($99 for one iPhone or $149 for up to five) with every Zeptap update included and use on up to three Macs. No renewals. ## give Codex your iPhone. [Download for Mac](https://github.com/Saransh29/zeptap-releases/releases/latest/download/Zeptap.dmg)[or read how to set it up](https://zeptap.com/docs/get-started/install) Your first hour is free. **Also works with:** [Claude](https://zeptap.com/agents/claude) · [Claude Code](https://zeptap.com/agents/claude-code) · [ChatGPT](https://zeptap.com/agents/chatgpt) · [Cursor](https://zeptap.com/agents/cursor) · [OpenClaw](https://zeptap.com/agents/openclaw) · [Hermes](https://zeptap.com/agents/hermes) · [any MCP client](https://zeptap.com/agents/mcp-clients)