Codex works best on real files
Codex reads the project, plans, edits and runs commands. On a local site it has the theme, plugins, WP-CLI and the database right there, not an API in between.
Guide · Codex for WordPress
Build a WordPress site with OpenAI Codex
Give Codex a local copy of your WordPress site, never the live one. This guide shows how, from download to a live site.
Your download has started. Next: open it, connect Claude Code or Codex, and start your first site. See the 3 setup steps
The short answer
Codex needs a codebase it can read and run. A local WordPress site is exactly that. In the BuildPress app you sign in to Codex with your ChatGPT account (the app runs codex login for you), start or import a site, and let Codex work on the theme, content and settings while you watch the real page. When it is ready, push it to Cloudways, Hostinger, InstaWP or any SSH server.
Why a local copy
Point Codex at a copy, never at the live site
Three reasons to give Codex a copy instead of your live site.
Your visitors see nothing until you say so
Let Codex refactor templates or reorganise content freely. The live site only changes when you push the version you approved.
Plan, change, check, repeat
With the page running in the app, Codex can verify each step with screenshots, the console and the network panel, then move on to the next.
Two ways to do it
The manual setup or the BuildPress app
You can stitch it together yourself with a local WordPress tool, Codex in a terminal and a migration plugin. Or use one app that does all three.
| Task | Codex on its own | Codex in BuildPress |
|---|---|---|
| A WordPress site to work on | Set up LocalWP, Docker or a staging server | Created in the app, PHP and MySQL bundled |
| Sign in to Codex | Install the CLI and run codex login yourself | Installed and signed in from the app |
| Project instructions | Write AGENTS.md by hand | AGENTS.md written for each site |
| Seeing the page | Open a browser yourself | Preview beside the chat at 3 widths |
| Approvals | Terminal prompts | A permission boundary you set per thread |
| Going live | Migration plugin, SFTP or a deploy script | Review, push, then Keep or Undo |
Step by step
Build a WordPress site with Codex, from download to live
Steps 1 to 6 are free with one local site. Connecting your host and pushing live come with a paid plan.
- Step 01
Download the app
Free for macOS (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux, with one local site and no account or card needed.
- Step 02
Sign in to Codex with ChatGPT
The app installs the Codex CLI with OpenAI's installer and runs codex login, so Codex uses your ChatGPT plan's limits. An API key works too. BuildPress never sees your login.
- Step 03
Give Codex a site
Start from a one-sentence description, a blank WordPress or the design of a page you want to clone. Already have a site? Import it from LocalWP, Studio or a backup file.
- Step 04
Ask for a plan first
Open a thread, choose the model and effort, and set how much Codex may do without asking. For bigger jobs, ask it to outline the plan before it edits anything.
- Step 05
Review the real page
Check the work at phone, tablet and desktop widths, point at any element to request a change, and compare three variations of a section side by side.
- Step 06
Save a restore point
Stop the site and name a restore point before a large refactor. If you do not like where it went, roll the site's files and database back.
- Step 07
Connect your host
Cloudways, Hostinger and InstaWP connect with an API key, and any other server over SSH. Pull a live site into the app if you are improving an existing one.
Paid plans - Step 08
Review and push it live
Review every changed file and table, push, and read the health checks. Keep the new version, or undo in one click.
Paid plans
Example prompts
Prompts that work well with Codex
Specific, with a way to check the result. Copy them, change the details, and run them in a thread.
Read the site and AGENTS.md, then write a plan for a one-page portfolio for a wedding photographer in Lisbon: sections, block patterns and the colors you would use. Do not change anything until I approve the plan.
Codex is strong at planning. Approving the plan first keeps big jobs on track.
Put the approved colors and fonts into theme.json, then build the hero, gallery and contact sections as reusable block patterns. Use the theme tokens only, no hard-coded colors.
Tokens and patterns make every later page consistent and easy to change.
Import the 24 images in the uploads folder, write alt text for each one, group them into Weddings, Elopements and Portraits galleries, and add them to the gallery section.
Codex can use WP-CLI to import media and create content in bulk.
The home page feels slow. Find what loads that is not needed, lazy-load images below the fold and remove unused scripts. Show me before and after page sizes from the network panel.
The preview's network panel gives Codex real numbers to work from.
Tips
Get better results, faster
Tip 01
AGENTS.md is Codex's home turf
Codex reads AGENTS.md for project instructions, and BuildPress writes one for every site. Add your conventions there: naming, tone of voice, plugins to avoid.
Tip 02
Set the permission boundary on purpose
Let Codex work freely on a fresh site, and ask it to check in more often on a pulled copy of a client's live site. You set this per thread.
Tip 03
Use effort where it pays off
Higher effort for planning, theme structure and refactors. Lower effort for copy changes and small fixes, so your ChatGPT limits go further.
Tip 04
Restore points are your checkpoints
Restore points are manual, so save one before each big step. Together with Keep or Undo on every push, you always have a way back.
Need to work on a live site instead?
The BuildPress WordPress plugin connects Codex and other MCP clients to a site that is already live, with pinned on-page feedback your AI works through. Every paid plan includes it.
No. Codex can sign in with your ChatGPT account and use your plan's limits, and OpenAI includes Codex with ChatGPT plans such as Plus, Pro and Business. An API key also works if you prefer usage billing.
No. BuildPress never resells AI. Codex runs on your own ChatGPT plan or API key, and the BuildPress app is free with one local site.
No. Codex works on the local copy only. The live site changes when you push, after you have reviewed every change, and Undo is one click away after each push.
Yes. The app supports both, so you can open a Codex thread and a Claude Code thread on the same site and use whichever suits the job.
Yes. Start a site with Blocks, Elementor (the free plugin from wordpress.org), or the BuildPress builder on paid plans, or import a site built with any of them.
Those connect to WordPress through the BuildPress plugin over MCP, on a live or staging site. The desktop app runs Codex and Claude Code.
Free to start
Give Codex a real WordPress site
on your own computer.
Download the app free, sign in to Codex, and build your first site today. Pick a plan when you are ready to push it live.