If the PC running Codex goes to sleep, Remote cannot continue work that uses that PC. Tasks sent to Codex Cloud can continue while your own PC is asleep. What matters is where files are read and commands run, more than whether you are viewing the task on a phone.
Check where work runs before closing your laptop
Instructions and approvals from your phone
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An awake Mac or Windows PC
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That PC's files and development environment
Host asleep: Remote access stops
Request work from the web, phone, or PC
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Select a published development environment
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A cloud workspace and its tools
Work can continue while your PC sleeps
We checked the original OpenAI documentation, including Remote connections and Cloud environments, on October 7, 2026. We did not reproduce PC sleep or connection interruptions on actual hardware for this article. The choices and checks below follow the official specifications.
Contents
- 1. Local, Worktree, Remote, and Cloud compared
- 2. Closing a screen, sleep, and quitting the app are different
- 3. Continue work on your PC from a phone
- 4. Use Codex Cloud while your PC rests
- 5. Can you move ongoing local work straight to Cloud?
- 6. How ChatGPT Work and dot differ
- 7. Pricing, usage allowances, and choosing an option
- 8. What to check when your phone cannot connect
- 9. Checks before leaving and after returning
- FAQ
1. Local, Worktree, Remote, and Cloud compared
Local and Worktree both run on a PC. Worktree separates Git working directories; it does not move execution to the cloud. Remote provides a way to access the execution host from another device. Cloud selects a cloud development environment as the execution destination.
| Mode | Where files and commands are handled | If you put a PC to sleep |
|---|---|---|
| Local | The project folder on the selected PC | Do not assume processing on that PC will continue |
| Worktree | A separate Git working directory on the same PC | Same as Local Separating working directories does not change power requirements |
| Remote | The connected Mac or Windows PC and the environments it accesses | The host must be awake and online, with the app running |
| Codex Cloud | A cloud workspace created from a published environment | Work can continue while your own PC is asleep |
| Remote project over SSH | The filesystem and shell on the SSH destination | Phone access goes through the desktop app host An online server alone does not guarantee access |
Sources: Codex environments and What Remote uses from the connected host. Having a PC as the host does not mean that all model computation and communication stay entirely on that device.
For example, if your phone connects to a computer at home that stays on, the power state of the laptop you carry is not the requirement. If that laptop itself is the Remote host, putting it to sleep makes it inaccessible. Check the selected host name and working location rather than relying on the phrase “my PC.”
2. Closing a screen, sleep, and quitting the app are different
The answer to “will it keep going if I close it?” depends on what you close. Distinguish leaving the phone screen, closing the laptop lid, and quitting the app on the host PC.
You leave the interface for instructions and checks. This is separate from whether the execution host remains available. Return to the same task later to check its results.
Remote access stops. A setting that prevents sleep does not guarantee that a sleeping PC will wake automatically.
The official guide lists this as a condition that stops Remote. Check whether closing the window also quits the app in your OS and current app state.
OpenAI's Remote guide says Remote access stops until the host becomes available again if it sleeps, loses its network connection, or the app closes. This explanation alone does not establish how far a running command proceeds after disconnection or which operations automatically resume when you reconnect. Check the task's last record, changes, and test results separately.
Closing a Mac laptop's lid
The official guide recommends keeping a Mac laptop's lid open and connecting power to keep Remote available. For a closed lid, it also specifies connecting an external display, and says explicitly choosing Sleep stops Remote. A closed lid and a sleeping computer are not necessarily the same state. Do not extend these conditions into a guarantee for every Mac model.
Using screen interaction on Windows
For work using Computer Use on Windows, the official requirement is to keep the session unlocked and available. Screen interactions run in the foreground, so you need to make that PC available for the work. This condition concerns screen interaction on Windows; it does not say that locking the screen necessarily stops every command.
Source: Remote: requirements for the connected PC. For work started in the CLI or an IDE extension, also distinguish closing a terminal, OS sleep, and quitting a development tool. This article does not guarantee that their execution processes survive after those tools close.
3. Continue work on your PC from a phone
Remote is an option when you want to use an existing local repository, installed tools, or browser login sessions. You use your phone for instructions, approvals, and results, while the connected PC provides the environment. The official setup steps are below. The person authorizing access to the target PC should make these settings.
- Check the account and workspace match. Confirm the latest ChatGPT desktop app is running on Mac or Windows and the PC is awake and online. An organization may require its administrator to allow Remote Control.
- Open connection settings on the PC. Go to Settings → Connections → Control this Mac or PC, then Set up or Add, and complete access authorization and any required identity checks.
- Scan the QR code with your phone. Complete the connection in the ChatGPT app. MFA, SSO, or passkey verification may be required. Each phone–host pair is set up separately.
- Open Codex on your phone. On iOS, open Codex, or Remote on screens that use the older label. Display and availability vary with rollout, including on Android. Select the host and existing chat.
- Check both the instructions sent and the results. Review progress, changes, terminal output, and test results. Check approval requests for operations that need permission, and avoid repeatedly sending the same request.
Sources: Prerequisites and Setup steps. This mobile connection setup starts in the desktop app. It does not describe performing the same setup with only the CLI or an IDE extension.
Remote uses the host's credentials, plugins, browser environment, and permissions. The PC you authorize therefore affects the scope of work. Do not assume screen interaction or a browser extension must always be added to establish a connection; decide what the work needs and which permissions to grant first.
4. Use Codex Cloud while your PC rests
To continue code changes or research while your PC sleeps, prepare a repository, dependencies, and test environment that can run in the cloud. You can also start and continue work from a phone, provided you already have access to a published development environment.
- On the web or desktop, choose Work in → Cloud → Select environment → Create environment.
- Select the target GitHub repository and connect it if necessary. Use Get started to prepare and check dependencies and tools.
- Review settings, required access, and test results, then choose Publish.
- Confirm Environment published and submit your request through Start a new task.
- From another device, open the same task to check results or send further instructions.
Here, Publish means saving the prepared development environment as the starting state for new tasks. It is separate from publishing a web app to the public, but check environment sharing through settings such as Who can use. Codex also investigates, installs, and tests during setup, so do not assume nothing is being processed just because you have not yet requested app development. Source: Create and publish an environment.
What does not automatically move to the cloud
| What you have locally | How Cloud handles it |
|---|---|
| Uncommitted code | Do not assume local changes transfer automatically Check the selected repository and starting state |
| Development server or local database | Local running processes do not move automatically Prepare them in Cloud if needed |
| Browser logins or VPN | The PC's authentication state and VPN access are not automatically shared |
| Personal skills | Local personal skills are not synced Skills stored in the repository can be used |
| Changes to a published environment | Republishing an environment does not automatically change existing tasks to the new starting state |
Sources: Execution locations and resources and Reuse saved state. New tasks start independently from the published environment. Existing tasks retain their own saved files and installed tools.
Limits on screen checks and state retention
The current Cloud environments documentation lists Computer and browser use, GitLab, and self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server as unsupported. Sending work to Cloud does not mean interactive tests in a real browser will always be completed. Check separately whether command-based tests such as Playwright can run in the required environment. Unsupported built-in browser capabilities alone establish neither that another testing method definitely works nor that all alternatives are prohibited.
The documentation says saved VM state is recoverable by default for up to seven days after the last turn was started or the task resumed. This does not mean “seven days of uninterrupted autonomous execution.” Secure important code through commits and saved artifacts, rather than using cloud state retention as a substitute for source control. Sources: VM specifications and saved state and Current limitations.
Codex Cloud (Legacy) in settings refers to older environments for Code Review, Linear, and GitHub integrations. Keep their settings separate from the new Cloud environments. Avoid applying the older guide's explanations of container caching and setup secrets as the new environment's state retention or authentication specifications. Source: Codex Cloud (Legacy).
5. Can you move ongoing local work straight to Cloud?
Handoff in the official Remote guide transfers a chat and its Git state between your PC and another connected host. The destination needs a saved project for the same Git repository. If you work in a subdirectory, register the same location on both hosts. Handing off while work is running interrupts the current response.
The guide explicitly says this Handoff does not support moving to a Codex Cloud environment. Moving to another Remote host and moving to Codex Cloud are separate operations. A running Codex chat does not automatically move to Cloud when your PC goes down. Source: Hand off a chat between hosts.
- The repository and starting revision or branch
- Changes made so far and changes not yet incorporated
- Tests that passed, tests that failed, and reproduction steps
- Remaining completion criteria, prohibited operations, and publishing restrictions
Sharing code is separate from transferring the entire conversation and execution state. Asking for a starting-state check first can reduce conflicting changes to areas you have already fixed.
Codex /goal, which retains completion criteria within the same chat, also does not change execution location or PC power requirements. You need both an ongoing objective and an available execution environment.
6. How ChatGPT Work and dot differ
ChatGPT Work's approach of coordinating in the cloud and using tools on an authorized PC differs from Codex Remote. The official guide explains that Local computer access with Work Cloud applies only to eligible new tasks started with Cloud selected in the desktop app after the feature is enabled. Existing tasks retain their original mode.
If the PC is unavailable at the start of a new turn, work may continue in a cloud container. That PC's files and tools are unavailable, however. A turn cannot switch from local execution to Cloud midway through.
Even if dot itself continues later work in the cloud, child tasks on an unavailable PC do not automatically move to the cloud. Work that requires that PC cannot proceed.
Sources: Work Cloud versus Remote and User conditions for Work and dots. The latter is an Enterprise guide, and availability depends on the workspace and rollout. Do not generalize this switching behavior to every personal account or Codex task.
Enterprise requirements for local execution do not simply carry over unchanged to cloud containers either. Beyond checking that files do not transfer automatically, check controls appropriate to the execution destination. Our dot guide, including pricing and comparison with Codex, covers dot's role, the app we actually built, and the limits of its verification.
7. Pricing, usage allowances, and choosing an option
The Codex pricing page says local messages and Cloud tasks share your plan's usage allowance. Cloud tasks may use more of that allowance than local messages, but there is no fixed multiplier that always applies to the same request. Usage varies with the model, context, reasoning, tool use, retrieved information, caching, and work involved.
The pricing table's description of Free and Go concerns the gradual rollout of GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app. That alone does not establish free access to Codex Cloud or Remote. The Plus description includes web, CLI, IDE, iOS, and cloud integrations; organizational access also depends on administrator settings. In the feature table, mobile Remote Control with an API key is unsupported and is treated differently from SSH remote connections. API-key pricing does not include cloud features, and usage-based API prices cannot be directly converted to task counts within a subscription. Source: Codex pricing and usage allowances.
Buying additional credits after reaching your limit is a separate payment. Distinguish consuming credits you already hold from buying more or triggering an automatic top-up. Changing execution location does not replenish your allowance. For Pro tiers and how to choose a reset, see Pro 100, 200, and 500 compared.
| Your priority | Option | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| Send instructions from elsewhere while keeping your current PC environment | Remote | Can the host stay awake and available? Are the browser, credentials, and tools available there? |
| Let your laptop sleep | Codex Cloud | Can you prepare the code and test environment in Cloud? Will screen-interaction restrictions affect the work? |
| Keep existing environments on a computer that stays on | Remote to another host | Can you support that PC's operation, access permissions, power costs, and connectivity costs? |
| Use a development environment over SSH | Remote project over SSH | Can you install and authenticate Codex on the server? Is the host mediating phone access also available? |
For SSH connections, the official guide requires Codex installation and authentication on the remote side, with codex in the login shell's PATH. It does not recommend maintaining access by exposing an unauthenticated app-server on a public network. Check dedicated server, VPN, and external service costs separately from your Codex plan's usage allowance.
8. What to check when your phone cannot connect
A failed connection alone does not mean code or history on the PC has disappeared. Follow this order to narrow down the issue before resetting the environment or deleting connection information.
- Check the target host. Are you connecting to a different PC, account, or workspace?
- Check the PC's state. Has it slept, lost network access, closed the app, or signed out?
- Check Remote Control after signing out. The official guide says signing out switches Remote Control OFF without deleting device pairing. Signing back in alone may not restore the previous state.
- Distinguish an approval wait from a connection failure. Check the Codex or Remote task for identity verification or approval requests. Verify the account and workspace match again.
- If it still fails, record the state and time. Note the OS, app version, host, recent sleep or sign-out events, and displayed error. Exclude confidential code, credentials, and personal information from reports.
Source: Remote troubleshooting. Before trying the official restart or setup steps, save ongoing changes and results. After waking the PC, seeing the app and being able to send further instructions are separate checks.
A public GitHub user report, #23470, describes Remote failing to reconnect with 409 Conflict after a Mac woke from sleep, even while online. This suggests possible bugs beyond normal sleep-related unavailability, but it does not establish the cause for every device or a recommended repair. Do not turn the report's deletion of internal settings into a general recovery procedure.
If you can read history but cannot send instructions, with an error such as thread not found, also check the recovery steps that distinguish saved history from execution state. Read the full error before deleting and recreating connection settings.
9. Checks before leaving and after returning
- Is execution on This computer or in Cloud?
- For Remote, is the host awake?
- Are changes and important artifacts saved?
- Have you specified tests and stop conditions?
- Are permissions for publishing, purchases, and settings changes clear?
- Have you opened the same host and task?
- Which operations finished, and which remain incomplete?
- Do changes and test results support the report?
- Are approvals or usage limits blocking progress?
- Can you request only the remaining work?
Consider Remote to use your existing PC environment, and Codex Cloud to continue while your PC sleeps. Cloud has resources that cannot be transferred and unsupported features; Remote requires an available host. The key is to distinguish “viewable on a phone,” “conversation retained,” “work executing,” and “verification completed,” rather than treating them as one state.
FAQ
Can I close the laptop running Codex and continue from my phone?
If that PC is the Remote host, it must be awake and online, with the desktop app running. Remote access stops if closing the lid puts it to sleep. Codex Cloud tasks can continue while your own PC is asleep.
Does Codex on a phone always connect to my own PC?
No. The official guides also describe starting and continuing Cloud tasks by selecting a published environment. A Remote host and a Cloud development environment are different execution destinations. Check the options shown in your app and their availability.
Does Codex automatically hand off to Cloud when my PC goes down?
Codex Handoff does not support transfer to Cloud environments. Eligible Work Cloud tasks have conditions for continuing in Cloud on a new turn, but the PC's local files and tools are unavailable, and a running turn cannot switch midway through.
Will Cloud always finish the job if I leave it alone?
Not needing to keep your PC awake is separate from a guarantee of completion. Authentication, approvals, missing tools, execution errors, or usage limits may require your attention. Judge the outcome by artifacts, changes, checks actually performed, and unverified items, rather than just the final report.
