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Model Context Protocol

Give Codex access to third-party tools and context

Model Context Protocol (MCP) connects models to tools and context. Use it to give ChatGPT or Codex access to third-party documentation, or to let it interact with developer tools like your browser or Figma.

ChatGPT web can use remote MCP-backed tools supplied by plugins. Local Codex clients can also connect directly to MCP servers and share their configuration.

The ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI, and IDE extension support MCP servers and share MCP configuration for the same Codex host.

The supported server features below apply to MCP servers configured on a Codex host. Hosted plugin tools can have different capabilities.

Supported MCP features

  • STDIO servers: Servers that run as a local process (started by a command).
    • Environment variables
  • Streamable HTTP servers: Servers that you access at an address.
    • Bearer token authentication
    • OAuth authentication
    • ChatGPT session authentication for trusted first-party servers
  • Server instructions: Codex reads the MCP instructions field returned during initialization and uses it as server-wide guidance alongside the server’s tools.

If you build or maintain an MCP server for Codex, use instructions for cross-tool workflows, constraints, and rate limits that apply across the server. Keep the first 512 characters self-contained so the most important guidance is available when Codex is deciding how to use the server.

Connect Codex to an MCP server

Codex stores MCP configuration in config.toml alongside other Codex configuration settings. By default this is ~/.codex/config.toml, but you can also scope MCP servers to a project with .codex/config.toml (trusted projects only).

The ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI, and IDE extension share this configuration. Once you configure your MCP servers, you can switch among those clients without redoing setup.

Configure in the ChatGPT desktop app

  1. Open Settings, then select MCP servers.
  2. Select Add server.
  3. Enter a name, choose STDIO or Streamable HTTP, and provide the server’s command or URL.
  4. Save the server, then select Restart.

The server list shows which servers are enabled and which require OAuth. Select Authenticate when an OAuth server requires sign-in. In the composer, type /mcp to view connected servers.

Configure with config.toml

For more fine-grained control, edit ~/.codex/config.toml or a project-scoped .codex/config.toml. See the configuration reference for a searchable list of every supported MCP option.

Configure each MCP server with a [mcp_servers.<server-name>] table in the configuration file.

STDIO servers

  • command (required): The command that starts the server.
  • args (optional): Arguments to pass to the server.
  • env (optional): Environment variables to set for the server.
  • env_vars (optional): Environment variables to allow and forward.
  • cwd (optional): Working directory to start the server from.
  • experimental_environment (optional): Set to remote to start the stdio server through a remote executor environment when one is available.

env_vars can contain plain variable names or objects with a source:

env_vars = ["LOCAL_TOKEN", { name = "REMOTE_TOKEN", source = "remote" }]

String entries and source = "local" read from Codex’s local environment. source = "remote" reads from the remote executor environment and requires remote MCP stdio.

Streamable HTTP servers

  • url (required): The server address.
  • auth (optional): Authentication to try after configured bearer tokens and authorization headers. Use oauth (the default) for stored MCP OAuth credentials. Use chatgpt to use the current ChatGPT session for the trusted first-party ChatGPT origin, with stored OAuth as a fallback.
  • bearer_token_env_var (optional): Environment variable name for a bearer token to send in Authorization.
  • http_headers (optional): Map of header names to static values.
  • env_http_headers (optional): Map of header names to environment variable names (values pulled from the environment).

If no credential source resolves, Codex can connect to the server without authentication. Run codex mcp login <server-name> separately to start an MCP OAuth login.

Other configuration options

  • startup_timeout_sec (optional): Timeout (seconds) for the server to start. Default: 10.
  • tool_timeout_sec (optional): Timeout (seconds) for the server to run a tool. Default: 60.
  • enabled (optional): Set false to disable a server without deleting it.
  • required (optional): Set true to make startup fail if this enabled server can’t initialize.
  • enabled_tools (optional): Tool allow list.
  • disabled_tools (optional): Tool deny list (applied after enabled_tools).
  • default_tools_approval_mode (optional): Default approval behavior for tools from this server. Supported values are auto, prompt, writes, and approve. The writes mode prompts for tools that aren’t marked read-only.
  • tools.<tool>.approval_mode (optional): Per-tool approval behavior override.

If your OAuth provider requires a fixed callback port, set the top-level mcp_oauth_callback_port in config.toml. If unset, Codex binds to an ephemeral port.

If your MCP OAuth flow must use a specific callback URL (for example, a remote Devbox ingress URL or a custom callback path), set mcp_oauth_callback_url. Codex uses this value as the base callback URL, then appends a server-specific callback ID to produce the OAuth redirect_uri it sends during login. Register the full derived redirect_uri with your OAuth provider, including the appended callback ID and any configured path, query, or port, rather than registering only the base host or path without that suffix. Local callback URLs (for example localhost) bind on the local interface; non-local callback URLs bind on 0.0.0.0 so the callback can reach the host.

If the MCP server advertises scopes_supported, Codex prefers those server-advertised scopes during OAuth login. Otherwise, Codex falls back to the scopes configured in config.toml.

config.toml examples

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp"]
env_vars = ["LOCAL_TOKEN"]

[mcp_servers.context7.env]
MY_ENV_VAR = "MY_ENV_VALUE"
# Optional MCP OAuth callback overrides (used by `codex mcp login`)
mcp_oauth_callback_port = 5555
mcp_oauth_callback_url = "https://devbox.example.internal/callback"
[mcp_servers.figma]
url = "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "FIGMA_OAUTH_TOKEN"
http_headers = { "X-Figma-Region" = "us-east-1" }
[mcp_servers.chrome_devtools]
url = "http://localhost:3000/mcp"
enabled_tools = ["open", "screenshot"]
disabled_tools = ["screenshot"] # applied after enabled_tools
default_tools_approval_mode = "prompt"
startup_timeout_sec = 20
tool_timeout_sec = 45
enabled = true

[mcp_servers.chrome_devtools.tools.open]
approval_mode = "approve"

Plugin-provided MCP servers

Installed plugins can bundle MCP servers in their plugin manifest. Those servers are launched from the plugin, so user config doesn’t set their transport command. User config can still control on/off state and tool policy under plugins.<plugin>.mcp_servers.<server>.

[plugins."sample@test".mcp_servers.sample]
enabled = true
default_tools_approval_mode = "prompt"
enabled_tools = ["read", "search"]

[plugins."sample@test".mcp_servers.sample.tools.search]
approval_mode = "approve"

Examples of useful MCP servers

The list of MCP servers keeps growing. Here are a few common ones:

  • OpenAI Docs MCP: Search and read OpenAI developer docs.
  • Context7: Connect to up-to-date developer documentation.
  • Figma Local and Remote: Access your Figma designs.
  • Playwright: Control and inspect a browser using Playwright.
  • Chrome Developer Tools: Control and inspect Chrome.
  • Sentry: Access Sentry logs.
  • GitHub: Manage GitHub beyond what git supports (for example, pull requests and issues).