OpenAI Adds Animated Pets and Config File Import to Codex

Animated Pets have been added to the Codex desktop app. Eight pixel-art characters float as on-screen overlays, showing Codex's work status through speech bubbles, and clicking an active pet also opens a path to reply to the agent. They're invoked with the /pet command.

The bundled Hatch skill turns an uploaded image into an animated pet and saves it to the local Codex home folder. Right after launch, community sharing directories like PetShare and PetDex emerged, and custom pet creation and distribution spread quickly.

Practical features were included as well.

• It automatically detects and imports config files from other agents, including Claude Code's CLAUDE.md.
• Plugins, project rules, and custom rules can be carried over without manual rewriting.
• A new dictation dictionary in Settings lets users pre-register abbreviations and personal phrases that voice input tends to misread.

Overall, OpenAI is expanding Codex beyond a simple coding tool into a desktop work surface that combines cute overlays, config migration, and dictation correction.