This is the exact, no-fluff path to a working Codex skin on macOS, on both Apple Silicon and Intel. You have two routes: a free color codex theme you paste into settings (30 seconds, zero install), or a full codex skin — a character banner and styled sidebar — that installs with one double-click. This guide covers the full skin path on Mac, how to verify it worked, and how to restore the stock look in one click. No terminal gymnastics, no editing app.asar.
~/.codex/config.toml) exists. The installer needs it.Why this matters (信任信号): the installer checks the com.openai.codex app's signature, Team ID and architecture before it touches anything. If those don't match, it stops. That's intentional — you're not running a blind script.
If you only want new colors — accent, surface, text — you don't need to install anything on Mac.
Open the theme generator, tune the colors, copy the codex-theme-v1:… string.
In Codex, press Cmd+, → Appearance.
Under Dark/Light Theme → Import, paste the string. It applies live.
This is the safest possible customization on macOS — it's a native feature, nothing is installed, and there's nothing to restore.
For the character banner + styled sidebar (the immersive look):
Build & export your skin in the skin generator — upload an image, tune it, export the pack (a .zip).
Unzip it. You'll see a macos/ folder with an installer.
Double-click Install Codex Skin.command. macOS will ask you to confirm running it (Gatekeeper) — right-click → Open the first time if needed.
Grant the one-time permission prompt. The installer creates desktop launchers: Start, Customize, Verify, Restore.
Launch Codex from the new "Codex Skin" launcher (not the dock icon) so the skin injects.
Apple Silicon vs Intel: the flow is identical. The installer detects your architecture and uses the matching bundled Node runtime automatically. There is no separate M-series build to hunt for.
Open Codex home. You should see your banner, styled sidebar and accent — with every native control (project picker, composer, task cards) still clickable. If controls are dead or the banner didn't load, run Verify (it can save a screenshot for inspection), then reinstall.
Run the Restore Codex Skin launcher, or:
~/.codex/codex-dream-skin-studio/scripts/restore-dream-skin-macos.sh --restore-base-theme --restart-codexRestore stops the injector, closes the local debug session, restores your saved appearance, and reopens Codex clean. No Codex reinstall needed. Keep this handy before a screen-share.
.command → Open → confirm. This is standard Gatekeeper, not an error.codeThemeId; see Codex theme not showing.No. It injects at runtime over loopback CDP and never touches the .app bundle, app.asar, or code signature.
No. The Mac flow reuses Codex's own signed Node runtime after validating it.
Themes persist. Skins re-apply by relaunching after an update — nothing is permanently patched.
It's bound to 127.0.0.1 so it's not on your network, but CDP has no same-user authentication — run only trusted local software while themed, and Restore when done.