CodexBar Lite Download

macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon · Free

Your Codex usage.
Right in your
menu bar.

A native OpenAI Codex usage tracker for macOS. Uses the Codex CLI session already on your Mac. No browser cookies. No Keychain access. No API keys. No third-party account.

Download Latest Release View on GitHub

macOS may warn that CodexBar Lite isn’t notarized. That’s expected for an independently distributed open-source app.

macOS 13 Ventura+ · Apple Silicon (arm64) · Swift 5.10+

Live demo - click Codex in the menu bar to open it.

Reads ~/.codex/auth.json - and nothing else

Features

Everything a Codex usage tracker needs. Nothing it doesn't.

No dashboards, browser extensions, graphs, themes, or account switching. CodexBar Lite stays small because the menu bar is all this job needs - one provider, one number, zero extra permissions.

The moment that matters

Know before you hit the limit.

Get notified at 80%, 90%, exhaustion, and credit reset - the way macOS already tells you things, so you never have to go looking.

  • Usage & reset times Primary and secondary usage, with exactly when each one resets.
  • Threshold alerts Notified at 80%, 90%, exhaustion, and credit reset - not just a silent number.
  • Used or remaining Choose the framing that makes sense to you: percentage used, or percentage left.
  • Offline-aware Refreshes automatically and falls back to cached usage when you're offline.
  • Launch at login Starts with your Mac, and updates itself over the air with Sparkle.
  • Zero extra access No Chrome, no Keychain, no Accessibility, no API key. See the full list below.

Private by design

Your Codex login is enough.

Usage trackers often ask you to hand over access to sensitive parts of your Mac just to display a number. CodexBar Lite reads the same local session codex login already created, and makes the minimum request needed to show your usage - directly from chatgpt.com.

There is no third-party backend, account, telemetry, or analytics. The app stores only preferences and a local usage cache.

Usage trackers that support every provider have to harvest sessions from wherever they live - browser cookie stores, the macOS Keychain, sometimes Full Disk Access. Single-provider by design means this checklist isn’t restraint. It’s architecture.

  • No Chrome or browser-profile access
  • No browser cookies
  • No macOS Keychain
  • No Accessibility permission
  • No Screen Recording permission
  • No Full Disk Access
  • No API key
  • No third-party account

Install

Running in under a minute.

Requires an Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 13 Ventura or newer, with the Codex CLI installed. Open the app and, if no Codex session exists yet, it launches codex login in Terminal and watches for completion.

  1. Download the latest release.
  2. Open the downloaded .dmg.
  3. Drag CodexBar Lite into /Applications.
  4. Open it.
Download Latest Release Build from source

If macOS says the app can’t be opened, that’s Gatekeeper, not a broken download.

Future versions install through CodexBar Lite → Check for Updates…

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Does CodexBar Lite need my Keychain, Chrome, or an API key?

No. It reads ~/.codex/auth.json, the session your existing codex login already created, and requests usage directly from chatgpt.com. Nothing else on your Mac is touched.

Does my data leave my Mac?

Only the minimum request needed to show your usage goes to chatgpt.com. There is no third-party backend, account, telemetry, or analytics.

What if I haven't run codex login yet?

Open the app. If no Codex session exists, it launches codex login in Terminal and watches for completion - usage appears automatically once login succeeds.

How do I check my Codex usage and rate limits?

Inside the Codex CLI you can run /status, or open the usage dashboard on the web - but both require going to look. CodexBar Lite keeps your Codex usage and rate-limit reset times live in the macOS menu bar, and notifies you before you hit the cap. See the full guide to checking your Codex usage.

How is CodexBar Lite different from CodexBar?

CodexBar tracks many providers - Claude, Cursor, Gemini, Copilot, and more - and to do that it reads browser cookies (Safari, Chrome, Brave, Edge), uses Keychain access to decrypt them, and can ask for Full Disk Access. CodexBar Lite deliberately does one thing: your Codex number, from one file, ~/.codex/auth.json. It never touches your browser or Keychain. Lite is the feature, not a limitation. Read the full comparison.

How do I uninstall it?

Quit CodexBar Lite and move it from /Applications to Trash. Optional cleanup: rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/CodexBarLite and defaults delete dev.vaibhav.codexbar.

Is this affiliated with OpenAI?

No. CodexBar Lite is an independent utility and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenAI.

Know your usage. Nothing else granted.

Free, native, and small on purpose.

Download Latest Release Star on GitHub

Not notarized by Apple yet, which is normal for an independent open-source app.