Use your social media tools in the ChatGPT desktop app: Work and Codex

Where the tools appear

The desktop app has two controls, and they are easy to confuse:

• The menu at the top left switches between ChatGPT and Codex.
• Inside ChatGPT, a switch in the middle at the top of the window selects Chat or Work. The app opens on Work.

Your social media tools appear in Work and in Codex. They do not appear in Chat. If you ask about your account in Chat, the assistant may answer from the web or say it cannot reach your account, so check the switch is on Work before you ask.

One setup covers both. The same connection and the same sign-in serve Work and Codex, so you never set anything up twice.

Before you start

• The ChatGPT desktop app on macOS or Windows, signed in. Plugin availability and permissions depend on your ChatGPT plan and workspace settings.
• Access to your account's API Console: open the account menu at the top right and choose API Console.
• You do not need to create an API key first. When you approve the connection in your browser, a key is created for this application and connected for you.
• This integration is supported only through the ChatGPT desktop app. Do not paste an API key into ChatGPT on the web, into any ChatGPT conversation, or into Codex. Nothing in the setup asks you for one.

Set up the connection (once per computer)

1. In the API Console, open Connect your tools and choose ChatGPT Desktop and Codex.
2. Under Add a connection, choose the computer you are setting up: macOS or Windows. Both are on the page, so you can set up the other kind of computer from the same page later.

On macOS: paste one block into Codex

1. Open the ChatGPT desktop app and choose Codex in the menu at the top left.
2. On the setup page, use the copy button for the macOS block, then paste the block into Codex. Do not paste it into Chat or Work.
3. Codex asks permission before it runs anything. Approve it when it asks. It installs a plugin named Social Media Assistant, which contains both the skill (how to work with your account) and the connector (the tools).
4. When Codex reports that the plugin is installed, quit the desktop app completely and open it again. The app reads its plugins when it starts, so the session you pasted into cannot see what it just installed.
5. In the app, open Settings, then Plugins, then Social Media Assistant, then MCP servers, and choose Authenticate. A browser window opens.
6. In the browser, review the request, leave Create a new API key for this application selected (or open Use an existing key instead if you want to reuse a key you already have), and choose Approve. You can close the browser tab when it says you are done.

Nothing is downloaded, so your computer has nothing to warn you about. Pasting the block again on a computer that is already set up is safe: it repairs the setup instead of adding a second one.

On Windows: run the installer

1. On the setup page, choose Install for ChatGPT Desktop and save the package.
2. Unzip the folder and keep the files together.
3. Double-click install-windows.cmd. If Windows says it protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway. That warning is expected for a download that is not signed yet.
4. Near the end of the install, a browser window opens so you can approve the connection. Leave Create a new API key for this application selected, choose Approve, then return to the installer window.
5. The installer says Setup complete only when the connection is live. If it says the setup is not finished, do the one step it names.
6. Close the desktop app completely, then open it again so it loads the plugin. If you are asked to sign in again after restarting, sign in again: nothing is wrong and nothing needs reinstalling.

Alternative: add the connection in the app's own settings

Some desktop apps have a settings screen for adding connections and some do not. It depends on your plan and your workspace settings. If yours lists MCP servers under Settings, you can use it instead of the steps above: open Advanced setup on the setup page and copy your connection address, then in the app go to Settings, then MCP servers, then Add server. Set the type to Streamable HTTP, paste the address as the server URL, save, and choose Authenticate. If there is no MCP servers entry on that screen, this route is not available to you and the setup above is.

Using the tools in Work

Work is the everyday way to use the connection.

1. Open the ChatGPT desktop app and check the menu at the top left says ChatGPT.
2. Check the switch at the top of the window is on Work. It opens on Work.
3. Start a new conversation and ask: List my social profiles.

You should see the profiles your connected key can access. If nothing is listed, open API Console, then API keys, and check that the key has access to at least one workspace.

From there, ask for what you want in plain language: draft three posts for next week, schedule this post to Instagram and LinkedIn on Tuesday at 10am, show me last month's published messages, set up a giveaway. The assistant creates drafts by default and checks with you before anything is queued, scheduled or published.

Two things to know:

• Start a new conversation after setting up. A conversation that was open before the connection existed does not see it.
• If the assistant seems to answer from the web instead of from your account, look at the switch. It is on Chat.

Using the tools in Codex

Codex uses the same connection and the same tools. It suits developers and anyone who wants the assistant to work alongside files and code.

1. Open the ChatGPT desktop app and choose Codex in the menu at the top left.
2. Start a new session and ask: List my social profiles.
3. Codex asks permission before it runs anything, including calls to your account. Approve each request when it asks.

Codex is also where the plugin is managed. Settings, then Plugins, then Social Media Assistant shows the plugin, its version, and its MCP servers row with the Authenticate button.

Work and Codex at a glance

Fix a problem

The tools do not appear.

• Check the switch at the top: it must be on Work, not Chat. In Codex, check the menu at the top left says Codex.
• Quit the app completely and open it again. The app reads its plugins when it starts.
• Check that Social Media Assistant is listed under Plugins, then Personal. If it is not, run the setup again.
• Check the connection is signed in: Settings, then Plugins, then Social Media Assistant, then MCP servers. If it shows Authenticate, choose it and approve the connection in the browser.

The app says the tools are not loaded, or asks you to authenticate again.

• Choose Authenticate and approve the connection in the browser.
• If there is no Authenticate button and the tools still do not load, open Settings, then Plugins, then MCPs, switch the connector off and back on, then start a new session.

The browser never opened.

• Choose Authenticate in Settings as described above.
• On Windows, running the installer again also opens a new browser window. Running it again is safe: it repairs the setup rather than duplicating it.

You were asked to sign in again after restarting the app.

• Sign in again. Nothing is wrong and nothing needs reinstalling.

The assistant asks you for an API key, invents settings, or answers from the web.

• The connection is not active in that session. Never paste a key. Work through The tools do not appear above, then start a new session.

Nothing is listed when you ask for your profiles.

• The connected key has no workspace access. Open API Console, then API keys, and give the key access to at least one workspace.

Sign-in fails with an error that mentions a missing issuer.

• Update the ChatGPT desktop app and the Codex command line tool to a current version. Releases from before September 2026 cannot complete the sign-in. Then choose Authenticate in the app.

It works in the desktop app but not in ChatGPT on the web or on a phone.

• That is expected. The integration is supported only through the desktop app.

For more help, open Fix a problem in the API Console.

Disconnecting

To sign the desktop app out of your account, open the setup page in the API Console and choose Disconnect on the connection. This does not revoke your API key, and every other tool that uses that key keeps working. To remove access entirely, revoke the key under API keys.

To remove the files from a Windows computer, run install-windows.cmd --uninstall from the unzipped folder. Your API key is not changed by uninstalling.