Codex on Windows: Store Links, Beta Channel, and Winget

The Problem

The Windows Codex install path used to be more confusing than it needed to be.

Early links often pointed at Codex (Beta). That was useful while Windows support was still settling, but it is not the default path I would send someone now.

For most people, the answer is simple: install the stable Codex app from Microsoft Store, or use winget.

If you are looking for the macOS build instead, use this companion post:

How to Find the Current Codex App Build on macOS

For Linux, the desktop app path is currently unofficial:

How to Install Codex Desktop on Linux

What To Install

Use the stable app unless you deliberately want the beta channel:

Download Codex for Windows

That stable listing is the Microsoft Store product Codex, with product ID 9PLM9XGG6VKS.

The beta listing is a separate Store product:

Codex (Beta) on Microsoft Store

The beta product ID is 9N8CJ4W95TBZ.

That is the main thing to know. They are not just two links to the same app. They are separate Store products with separate package names:

stable: OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0
beta: OpenAI.CodexBeta_2p2nqsd0c76g0

If you are writing docs, reporting a bug, or helping someone else install Codex, do not mix those up.

Install With Winget

The official OpenAI Windows docs point to the Microsoft Store and give this command-line install path:

winget install Codex -s msstore

You can also install by product ID:

winget install --id 9PLM9XGG6VKS -s msstore

After installation, open Codex from Start and sign in with your ChatGPT account or OpenAI API key.

Updating

OpenAI’s Windows docs say updates come through Microsoft Store:

Open Microsoft Store.
Go to Downloads.
Select Check for updates.
Let the Store install the latest Codex package.

For managed Windows environments, the same docs note that administrators can deploy the app through Microsoft Store app distribution.

Windows Or WSL

The Windows-specific part is how Codex runs commands.

Codex can run natively on Windows with PowerShell and the Windows sandbox. It can also work through WSL2 if your development setup is Linux-oriented.

That choice matters more than the Store metadata. If your projects live in WSL, use the WSL path. If your projects are normal Windows folders, the native PowerShell path is the simpler starting point.

How to Verify the Listing

The easiest check is the product name:

stable should say Codex
beta should say Codex (Beta)

If you want to be more precise, check the product ID:

stable: 9PLM9XGG6VKS
beta: 9N8CJ4W95TBZ

Package timestamps and Store metadata can be useful when debugging, but they are not the point of this install path. The practical distinction is stable versus beta.

Bottom Line

Use the stable Store listing unless you have a specific reason to test beta.

For most Windows users, this is the whole install path:

winget install Codex -s msstore

Then open Codex, choose your project, and decide whether you want the Windows-native path or WSL2 based on where your code actually lives.