I recreated OpenAI's Codex Micro for a lot less - and mine is more customizable

15 hours ago 9

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

OpenAI's $230 Codex Micro sold retired astir immediately.
I recreated its halfway controls connected my Stream Deck+.
Unlike fixed keycaps, Stream Deck buttons accommodate to immoderate app.

Look, I mightiness arsenic good admit it. I mean, it's not similar you folks didn't fishy this already. I person a happening for add-on power surfaces for my computer. I've tried astir each add-on keypad and controller determination is. I person not one, not two, but 3 Stream Decks, including a Stream Deck+ with its 4 dials. I person a SpaceMouse for 3D design. I person a Loupedeck, for immoderate reason, arsenic well. And determination are much successful my cogwheel bin, because, well, me.

Also: I got 4 years of merchandise improvement done successful 4 days for $200, and I'm inactive stunned

So it should travel arsenic nary astonishment that erstwhile OpenAI announced the Codex Micro, its fancy small mini-keyboard for Codex users, I wanted one. Yes, astatine $230, it's expensive. But deliberation of the productivity benefits. Instead of the toil of having to property the Enter cardinal connected my keyboard, I could pat the Checkmark cardinal connected the Codex Micro. Instead of having to click Cancel connected the screen, I could deed the X cardinal connected the Codex Micro. There's adjacent a dial and a joystick. Ooh. Ah.

For the record, that's not adjacent a sarcastic "ooh" and "ah." I truly bash groove connected these things. Alas, 'twas not to be. I americium thwarted. Apparently, I'm not the lone add-on power aboveground fiend retired determination successful geekdom. For connected time one, it was sold out.

But I americium a changed man. Two days ago, I didn't cognize I needed a peculiar add-on keyboard for Codex work. Now I do. And, chap geeks, what bash we bash erstwhile we cognize thing tin beryllium done but are thwarted from obtaining the objects of our productivity affection? But of course. We marque them.

So basal backmost and beryllium down. I turned my Stream Deck+ into my precise ain Codex Micro. And past I rested. And it was good.

What does it do?

Now, arsenic excited arsenic I was astir the Codex Micro taunting maine with its unavailability, I besides didn't precisely cognize what it did. Look, it's shiny and has buttons, OK?

Also: I fto ChatGPT Work and Claude Cowork escaped connected my files - lone 1 made maine nervous

The instrumentality came unneurotic done a concern betwixt OpenAI and the boutique customized keyboard institution Work Louder. Fortunately, Work Louder has a helpful setup page for the device, including a video wherever a dude describes the functions of each the keys.

There are 3 main features of the device. First are the Agent Keys. These keys let you to power betwixt agents (and sessions) successful Codex. They airy up based connected the presumption of the agents, which accrued my gadget lust each the more.

Also: I utilized GPT-5.2-Codex to find a enigma bug and hosting nightmare - it was beyond fast

Second are the programmable keys. You tin modify the relation of this radical of keys, but retired of the container they alteration you to judge oregon diminution cause activity, subdivision sessions, and crook connected and disconnected dependable dictation. The Codex Micro comes with a bundle of spare keycaps, truthful you tin prime the plan you similar and instal it connected your keys. Frankly, I deliberation the Stream Deck's programmable keycap mini-screens are a large betterment connected this.

Finally, a dial allows you to take the file-processing mode, and a joystick lets you hop betwixt immoderate further features (sort of similar a D-pad connected a crippled controller).

It's cool, but is it worthy $230? Only you tin decide. Fortunately for my wallet, it's unavailable. So I person to marque bash with my existing postulation of power aboveground add-ons.

Using the Stream Deck

While the Codex Micro is rather cool, I really deliberation the Stream Deck solution is amended overall. While it is imaginable to programme the Codex Micro keys to enactment with different applications, the keypad doesn't alteration (unless you really propulsion disconnected the keycaps). The Stream Deck is astir infinitely customizable.

Also: How I stopped a monolithic WordPress spam onslaught with 4,700 lines of codification successful 2 days - acknowledgment to Codex and Claude

And it's little expensive, too. You tin get a basic 15-button Stream Deck for $149. The Stream Deck+ I'm utilizing for this lone has 8 buttons. But it has a interaction portion and 4 knobs, which besides enactment arsenic buttons. It's $179. And if you privation to spell wholly bonkers and walk $349, you tin get a Stream Deck + XL with 36 programmable buttons and six dial wheels.

The worth of the Stream Deck is that each fastener tin person its ain graphics and that there's a almighty customization app that comes with the device. For the remainder of this article, I'm going to amusement you however to efficaciously clone the Codex Micro keypad.

Snagging the icons

Before we get started, I'll amusement you however I snagged the Codex Micro-style icons. You tin usage my attack oregon wage $11.04 for a matching customized icon pack connected the Stream Deck marketplace, which is an app store for Stream Deck graphics and plugins.

Since this task is for my ain use, I conscionable copied the archetypal keycaps. First, I pointed my browser to the merchandise page, scrolled down, and captured an representation of the keyboard.

I brought that into Photoshop (although you tin usage immoderate representation editor). Then I drew a enactment container astir the archetypal cardinal and copied it.

I past went up and created a caller record with conscionable that keycap representation and saved it to my computer. For the wide push-to-talk icon, I grabbed the microphone image.

Then I pasted it connected apical of 1 of the different buttons, merging the 2 layers into one. You don't person to spell done this effort, due to the fact that the Stream Deck bundle comes with a microphone icon, but I wanted everything to lucifer the Codex style.

OK, present that I had my basal postulation of representation assets, it was clip to acceptable up the Stream Deck.

Also: I loved ChatGPT Desktop until OpenAI gutted it to marque country for Codex and Work

Creating a illustration

In the Stream Deck app, make a caller profile. Then, spell into Profile settings, rename it, and take the ChatGPT application. The Codex app is present the ChatGPT app (don't get maine started).

Setting up the Stream Deck illustration for Codex

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

When you acceptable the exertion for the profile, that tells the Stream Deck to power to that illustration erstwhile you power to the application. I besides person a Final Cut profile. When I motorboat Final Cut, each my peculiar Final Cut keys are determination for maine to use. Same, now, with Codex.

Hooking up the dials

Stream Deck allows you to take from a reasonably wide assortment of actions successful effect to each fastener click oregon dial spin. The dials are besides buttons, truthful they execute actions connected click arsenic good arsenic connected spin.

The cardinal to making astir of the actions enactment for applications similar ChatGPT Codex is hotkeys. When a fastener is clicked, it emulates a hotkey. So the cardinal to everything is making definite we cognize the hotkeys. Fortunately, there's a precise configurable conception successful ChatGPT for hotkeys.

Just spell into ChatGPT settings and prime Keyboard Shortcuts. Most (but not all) of the hotkeys you'll ever privation tin beryllium defined here.

With that knowledge, let's emulate the dial connected the Codex Micro. What it does is fto you rotation up and down the plugin database wrong the app. We're going to commencement by adding an Action Trigger to the archetypal dial.

This adds 3 enactment slots to the dial of the Stream Deck. I added hotkey options to the archetypal and third, corresponding to the up and down arrow keys. But for the mediate option, I utilized a Hotkey Switch, which toggles betwixt 2 actions.

In this case, what we privation Codex to bash is popular unfastened the choices nether the positive icon, and past fto the dial prime the enactment we want. Personally, I don't deliberation this is the astir almighty dial enactment you could choose, but it's however the Codex Micro is configured, truthful it's what we're choosing.

As you tin spot from the representation above, the archetypal hotkey is programmed to Shift-2. Shift-2 happens to benignant the @ sign, which pops up the menu. The 2nd hotkey is programmed to the Enter key. The effect of this is that erstwhile you click the dial, the positive paper opens up and you tin rotation the dial to take an option. Clicking the dial again fires disconnected the Enter key, which executes the chosen feature.

Another paper you tin get to from the chat interface tin beryllium astir described arsenic the mode menu.

We'll again usage the Action Trigger, Hotkey, and Hotkey Switch actions. This time, clicking the dial fires disconnected the / character, the dial emulates arrow keys, and the 2nd click hits Enter, selecting the mode.

The last dial does 2 things that the joystick of the Codex Micro instrumentality primitively did. It toggles the sidebar unfastened and closed, and it travels done the punctual history, placing older prompts into the chat box.

To bash this, we're emulating arrow keys, which spot humanities prompts into the chat box. And we're emulating the CMD-B cardinal combination, which shows and hides the sidebar. In this case, we're not utilizing a Hotkey Switch enactment for the dial click. We're conscionable utilizing a plain hotkey due to the fact that the sidebar toggles each connected its ain erstwhile its hotkey is pressed.

Adding idiosyncratic power buttons

The buttons are acceptable up conscionable similar the dials, but with less options. Plus, connected each Stream Decks, you get to customize what the fastener looks like. This is simply a immense diagnostic triumph implicit the Codex Micro, with its container of other swappable keycaps.

Let's spell near to right, starting with the Microphone button. Keep successful caput that you're not constricted to conscionable 1 oregon 2 rows of buttons. Any fastener tin trigger a modulation to different surface of buttons. But for our purposes, we'll conscionable populate these 2 rows.

To adhd the Microphone button, you'll archetypal person to specify a hotkey for the microphone successful Codex. To bash that, spell to Settings successful ChatGPT, past Voice, and acceptable the hotkey.

Then, successful the Stream Deck app, resistance Hotkey to the archetypal button, benignant Control-M (which is my assigned hotkey), and take the microphone icon we created earlier.

Note that I permission the rubric blank. Otherwise, the Stream Deck would show it implicit the icon. That's adjuvant successful immoderate instances, but present it would ruin the vibe.

Next, I added the checkbox fastener to corroborate actions, which sends a property of the Return key. After that, I added the X button, which cancels a Codex action. I assigned the Escape cardinal to it. Finally, I added the subdivision button, which I assigned to Option-Shift-Command-F. I often usage analyzable keystrokes for programmed automations due to the fact that I don't person to benignant them, and they widen my hotkey options considerably.

Light-up presumption buttons

The 1 diagnostic of the Codex Micro keypad that I wasn't definite I'd beryllium capable to emulate was the acceptable of light-up presumption buttons that correspond to cause activity. These amusement antithetic colors depending connected what the cause is doing, and adjacent pulse to supply further presumption information.

This is wherever the Elgato Marketplace comes in. Think of it arsenic an app store for the Stream Deck. After a fewer minutes of searching, I recovered Beautiful Thread Pulses by Lideal Innovation. This is simply a paid app. At $27, it's a spot spendy. But since I couldn't find immoderate different mode to emulate the colour pulses of the Codex Micro, I ponied up my $27 and downloaded the file.

Once I installed it, the fastener options were disposable successful the actions sidebar connected the right.

I dragged 1 into each slot, and I was done mounting up the Stream Deck. Now, erstwhile an cause thread changes state, the fastener changes color. Impressively, erstwhile the thread completes its run, Lideal Innovation manages to marque the fastener pulse, which is rather cool.

Stream Deck vs. Codex Micro

The Codex Micro is smaller and it works with either USB oregon Bluetooth. The Stream Deck is USB only. You could astir -- astir -- conscionable usage the tiny Codex Micro to bash vibe coding without a keyboard. If the Codex Micro had included a mic, that mightiness person been possible. But arsenic it stands, it's conscionable a keyboard with a light-up indicator.

I conjecture if you're astatine OpenAI and you're a hard-core Codex coder, the dedicated keyboard makes sense. But I power betwixt tools, and I tin configure the Stream Deck to negociate Claude Code conscionable arsenic easy arsenic it manages Codex. Plus, I usage the Stream Deck+ perpetually for video editing. My different Stream Decks are utilized to power my studio.

My constituent is not that I'm against the Codex Micro keypad. I'm not. Had it been available, I mightiness person spent the money. I besides astir apt would person had immoderate buyer's remorse. It's cool. It's hip. But it is precise limited. The happening that the Stream Deck did was marque the customized buttons genuinely customizable, not conscionable successful the signals they send, but successful however they look.

In that way, the Codex Micro seems precise 2015. I can't spot myself (or anyone else, for that matter) yanking disconnected keycaps erstwhile switching from Codex to, say, Photoshop. So you either support the Codex-focused keys and conscionable retrieve what they bash successful Photoshop oregon swap the keycaps. And what would the light-up buttons bespeak successful Photoshop? See what I mean? It's limited.

I'm reasonably impressed I managed to get my Stream Deck+ to afloat emulate the Codex Micro. I volition astir apt modify it, adding different leafage of buttons to instrumentality connected much tasks. That's what I similar astir the Stream Deck: I tin ever tweak it. And truthful tin you.

Would light-up cause presumption buttons marque a dedicated Codex power aboveground worthy buying for you? Let america cognize successful the comments below.

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