Skip to documentation
Codex Skin
Get Pro

Install and inspect the Codex Skin Plugin

Use the canonical install and upgrade commands, verify the Paid Alpha version, and inspect the open-source Plugin and its fixed Helper boundary.

The Codex Skin Plugin is the free user entry between the published theme catalog and the supported Codex view in the ChatGPT desktop app. It recognizes a small set of theme tasks, calls fixed platform wrappers, and reports structured results. The public source is available on GitHub under the MIT License.

The Plugin supports macOS and Windows in the current Paid Alpha. It can apply published Free themes without a Pro subscription, report local status, and start offline Restore. Free and Pro packages both pass the same authorization, package verification, and visible-result checks.

What the Plugin does

The installed Skills map ordinary requests to four supported surfaces:

  • check the installed release with codex-skin-version;
  • apply or switch to a published theme by exact six-digit ID;
  • read bounded, local-only status; and
  • restore the official Codex appearance offline.

The Skill passes the theme ID as a separate argument to the Plugin's fixed platform wrapper. It does not turn the rest of the user's message into a shell command. The signed Helper performs the local operation through a bounded transaction and exits after it verifies the current visible result.

The Plugin does not edit the official Codex package, run code supplied by a theme, or accept a custom API origin. It also does not keep a background service alive after an apply.

Install from the Git-backed Marketplace

Run the current public installation flow in a terminal:

codex plugin marketplace add yuanjohn01-byte/codex-skin-plugin --ref main
codex plugin add codex-skin@codex-skin
codex plugin list --json

The first command registers the public Marketplace repository at its main ref. The second installs codex-skin@codex-skin. The third must show exactly one entry for that Plugin with installed: true and enabled: true.

Paid Alpha Helper binaries do not yet use commercial Apple Developer ID/notarization or public Windows code signing. Gatekeeper or SmartScreen may therefore show a first-run warning. Keep operating-system protection enabled and use only the release selected by the fixed Bootstrap.

You do not need to fill in a Marketplace form, edit Codex configuration, or delete a cache. The install path is intentionally narrow so that the public repository, installed Plugin ID, and reviewed release can be checked against each other.

Verify the Production Paid Alpha version

Completely quit Codex after installation, reopen it, and start a new task. Run:

$codex-skin-version

The current Production release reports Plugin 0.1.0-paid-alpha, signed Helper .17, Bootstrap .16, and API origin https://codexskin.ai. It is distributed as a GitHub prerelease, not stable/latest.

The new-task Skill result is the useful version check. A stale subtitle in the Plugin details view is not enough to conclude that the install or upgrade failed.

Update an existing installation

Refresh the existing Marketplace snapshot, install the same Plugin ID again, and inspect the JSON result:

codex plugin marketplace upgrade codex-skin
codex plugin add codex-skin@codex-skin
codex plugin list --json

Then completely quit Codex, reopen it, and run $codex-skin-version in a new task. Do not replace this process with a manually downloaded Helper or a cache-clearing routine.

What is open source

The public codex-skin-plugin repository contains the installable Plugin, Marketplace metadata, Skills, platform wrappers, and the Helper, adapter, Bootstrap, and Restorer source. It also contains the allowlisted public contracts and verification keys needed by the release, synthetic fixtures and tests, and the public README, SECURITY, LICENSE, NOTICE, CHANGELOG, and release notes.

The repository uses the MIT License. Third-party components and assets keep their own licenses and notices.

Public source does not mean the entire Codex Skin product or its catalog assets are public. These remain private:

  • the website, API, account, checkout, and admin source;
  • secrets, signing private keys, customer data, and Production configuration;
  • Pro theme packages, source artwork, rights records, unreleased themes, and private QA material.

This separation lets users inspect the code that reaches the computer without publishing credentials, customer information, commercial theme files, or licensed private framework code.

Skills, wrapper, Bootstrap, and Helper

Skill -> fixed platform wrapper -> verified Bootstrap/Helper -> official Codex

The Skill extracts the supported intent and the six-digit ID, shows the user-facing warning or confirmation, and interprets the structured result. It does not compose an open-ended local command.

The wrapper accepts fixed arguments and invokes only the external Codex Skin Helper selected by the Plugin's release pins. On the first apply or a verified upgrade, the Bootstrap launcher may fetch the release-tagged candidate from the fixed public GitHub Releases path. Before activation, it checks the signed descriptor, platform, file size, SHA-256, and Helper self-tests. An untrusted candidate never reaches execution.

The Helper handles device authorization, theme delivery, package verification, apply, local status, and Restore. Published themes are data-only packages: a manifest and declared local images. A theme cannot provide CSS, JavaScript, shell commands, selectors, or remote execution URLs.

The recovery engine and state required by Restore live outside the replaceable Plugin cache. Removing or breaking the Plugin cache does not remove the offline path back to the saved official appearance.

Use the Plugin from a Codex task

Keep requests short and include the real six-digit ID when the action targets a theme. For example:

Codex Skin, apply theme 100002.
Codex Skin, show the local theme status on this computer.
Codex Skin, restore the official Codex appearance.

An apply may open a browser for device approval or, for a Pro theme without access, Pricing. Continue on the page that the transaction opened, then return to the same Codex task. Do not paste a wrapper command or submit the apply twice.

Status is deliberately local-only. deviceLinked: true means a local device reference exists; it does not prove that a current website session or Pro access is valid. Likewise, the last applied ID is the last operation that committed after visible verification. It does not prove that a renderer created after a full quit is still themed.

Installation failure without destructive cleanup

If Marketplace add/upgrade or Plugin add fails, stop before making manual changes. Keep a working Plugin installed and save the exact failing command with its original error. These diagnostics are designed to be shareable:

codex --version
codex plugin marketplace list
codex plugin list --json

Do not post tokens, cookies, account or payment data, prompts, source code, project files, or absolute local paths. Public GitHub Issues are suitable for a reproducible Plugin bug without private account details; use Contact for account or order help.

If the codex-skin Marketplace snapshot alone is missing or stale, the public README documents one reversible refresh:

codex plugin marketplace remove codex-skin
codex plugin marketplace add yuanjohn01-byte/codex-skin-plugin --ref main
codex plugin add codex-skin@codex-skin
codex plugin list --json

This does not remove an already installed Plugin. If the existing Plugin still works but its upgrade fails, leave it in place and report the diagnostics rather than uninstalling it.

Questions

Is the Codex Skin Plugin open source?

Yes. The independently installable Plugin and its user-side Helper path are public under the MIT License. The private website, service credentials, customer data, commercial themes, source artwork, and rights records are not part of that repository.

Do I need Node or Go to use it?

No. The release uses a self-contained Helper. Node and Go appear in development and repository checks, but users do not install either runtime to apply or restore a theme.

Can I download or run the Helper manually?

No supported user flow asks you to do that. The fixed wrapper and Bootstrap select and verify the pinned release. A tutorial that asks for an unknown Helper, custom server origin, CSS, JavaScript, selector, or command fragment is outside the Codex Skin Plugin contract.

Continue with Quickstart, choose a real ID in the theme gallery, or read the architecture behind the fixed transaction.