ChatGPT subscription
A model account that runs on your paid ChatGPT plan instead of an API key. buddi signs in the way OpenAI’s Codex CLI does, then sends each model turn to OpenAI’s Codex backend itself. There is no extra software to install. buddi’s tools do the work, under the same permissions and approvals as any other account. See providers.md for the account model all provider accounts share.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”First, in your ChatGPT settings, under Security, allow device code sign-in for Codex. When it is off, buddi says so: “Device code sign-in is not enabled on this ChatGPT account. Turn it on in ChatGPT settings, under Security.”
Then either:
- On first run, pick the ChatGPT — I pay for ChatGPT card. buddi shows a code and opens the sign-in page on openai.com. Enter the code there and approve buddi. buddi notices within a couple of seconds, picks your plan’s default model and names it, with the list under it to pick another.
- Later, open Settings → Model accounts → Add account, choose ChatGPT subscription, give it a name and save. Choose Connect ChatGPT: the card shows the code, a copy button and an Open openai.com button. Enter the code, approve, and the model list appears once the account is connected. Pick a model, then assign the account to an agent. No agent moves to the new account on its own.
The code works for about fifteen minutes. After that, start again.
What it costs
Section titled “What it costs”Model turns use your ChatGPT plan’s Codex allowance, the same way the Codex CLI would. buddi cannot see how much of that allowance is left: the token counts the dashboard shows are buddi’s own, not your plan’s usage or billing.
What buddi keeps
Section titled “What buddi keeps”- The credential lives in buddi’s vault (the Keychain on macOS, the encrypted file vault elsewhere), one entry per account. Nothing secret goes into the database, the dashboard or the logs.
- buddi refreshes the credential before it expires and saves the new one back to the vault. The account page shows when the current access token expires.
- A refresh that fails, or one interrupted by a crash, asks you to reconnect the account (Reconnect ChatGPT). A failed reconnect keeps the old credential.
- Disconnect removes buddi’s copy. It does not end the grant at OpenAI and does not touch your own Codex login on the machine; buddi never reads or reuses that login.
What leaves the machine
Section titled “What leaves the machine”Each turn goes to OpenAI’s Codex backend: the agent’s instructions, the conversation, the tool descriptions and tool results, as with any model account. The sign-in and refreshes go to OpenAI’s sign-in service. Nothing goes anywhere else.
Limits
Section titled “Limits”- There is no per-turn token cap, so a request that sets one is refused, and Test connection is not offered for this account: assign it to an agent and send a test chat instead.
- PDFs are not supported. A history that uses a tool the agent no longer has is refused.
- Chat works on every platform buddi runs on, Windows included. Only the image plugin (below) still refuses Windows.
The image plugin
Section titled “The image plugin”The image plugin is the one place that still runs the codex command: it
generates images with codex exec. For that, buddi stages your credential in a
private, temporary Codex profile and removes it afterwards; your own Codex
setup is not changed. It needs codex on the PATH of buddi’s service, and it
does not run on Windows yet.
Turn it off
Section titled “Turn it off”Set BUDDI_SUBSCRIPTION_SIGNINS=off in buddi’s environment and restart. The
ChatGPT and Claude sign-ins disappear from the dashboard and existing
subscription accounts stop being used; you can still disconnect and remove them.
Before turning it off, move agents to another account.