Start with the official Codex CLI commands
Use codex login status to inspect the active authentication method. To change accounts manually, clear the cached CLI login with codex logout, run codex login, and complete OpenAI’s browser flow with the intended account and workspace.
codex login status
codex logout
codex loginOpenAI documents these commands and the available credential stores in Codex authentication. Signing in with ChatGPT uses subscription access; signing in with an API key uses metered API billing instead.
ChatGPT web and Codex CLI are separate surfaces
OpenAI supports keeping two accounts signed in on ChatGPT web, commonly for work and personal separation. Its account-switching documentation says that each account keeps independent chats, memory, history, billing, and workspaces. It also states that this switcher is not currently supported in Codex desktop.
Codex CLI caches its own authentication, shared with the Codex IDE extension according to OpenAI’s current documentation. Changing the active browser account therefore does not prove that a terminal is using the same identity. Check the CLI before opening a sensitive repository or consuming a managed workspace’s allowance.
Switch only the fields that identify the CLI account
Limit Lifeboat captures the authenticated Codex account as a named local profile and stores its app-managed credential snapshot in macOS Keychain. The menu-bar view then keeps each account’s identity, last usage reading, reading age, and active state visible.
A requested switch preserves unrelated Codex and MCP settings, stages private rollback material, restores the selected identity, and validates it before reporting success. A failed validation rolls back. If another process changes the live credentials during the transaction, the app does not overwrite that newer external change.
Limit Lifeboat switches one global Codex CLI login at a time. It does not start parallel isolated Codex homes or switch ChatGPT Desktop. Manual switching is the default; optional switching away from a depleted account is disabled until you explicitly enable it.
Respect workspace, billing, and usage boundaries
Use a managed work account only for activity authorized by that organization. OpenAI notes that workspace policies, roles, retention, and administrative controls follow the account used to sign in. A personal account stays independent from the managed workspace.
Account switching must not be presented as a way to circumvent provider restrictions. OpenAI’s Terms of Use prohibit circumventing rate limits or restrictions. Limit Lifeboat does not merge allowances, share accounts between people, or alter a provider’s enforcement.
To manage the other supported CLI, read how to switch Claude Code accounts on Mac. For limit visibility across both providers, continue with the usage-monitor guide.
Questions and boundaries
Does the ChatGPT account switcher also switch Codex CLI?
No. OpenAI’s account switcher applies to ChatGPT web and is not currently supported in Codex desktop. Codex CLI keeps its own cached authentication, so verify the CLI separately.
Where does Codex CLI keep authentication?
OpenAI documents that Codex caches credentials in its configured credential store, which may be auth.json under CODEX_HOME or the operating-system credential store. Treat either location as sensitive.
Does Limit Lifeboat switch the ChatGPT desktop app?
No. It changes only Codex CLI authentication fields. ChatGPT web, ChatGPT Desktop, and Codex CLI remain separate sessions.