Connect Codex to Stuff
The Stuff plugin bundles its MCP connection with skills for project context, safe edits, local folder work and handoffs. ChatGPT and Codex are separate clients; installing a plugin is distinct from granting access. Plugins versus connectors.
1. Install
Download and extract the coding-agent bundle into a permanent folder. Replace the path with its extracted stuff-ac directory:
codex plugin marketplace add /absolute/path/to/stuff-ac
codex plugin add stuff-ac@stuff-ac
Open a new Codex chat so it loads the plugin's tools and skills. In the desktop app, inspect Stuff.ac under Plugins and use the available connection action. Local-plugin and authentication support can vary by client version. OpenAI plugin documentation.
Installing this local package does not mean a public directory listing is approved. It does not automatically connect ChatGPT.
2. Authorize access
Use the client's MCP authentication action when prompted. Check the Stuff account, select the desired space and choose read-only or read/write. Review and approve the connection.
This screenshot comes from direct MCP login using the commands below. It illustrates the common Stuff scope selection, but does not prove plugin-specific desktop authentication completed. The form was captured before approval.
If your version lacks a working plugin connection action, use direct MCP:
codex mcp add stuff --url https://stuff.ac/mcp
codex mcp login stuff
codex mcp list
Avoid two competing Stuff servers. Do not copy credentials from another assistant. Local plugin skills and direct MCP tools are separate configuration pieces; verify which server is available in the new chat.
If the browser cannot return to the local callback
Our browser blocked the normal loopback callback. Codex CLI provides a manual-return flow:
codex mcp login stuff --no-browser
Open the URL printed by Codex, review and approve the Stuff grant, then paste the returned callback URL into Codex's hidden terminal prompt. In this mode the callback page may fail to load; the CLI consumes the returned URL. Treat that URL as a temporary credential: do not paste it into chat, screenshots or a shared document. This supported flow completed our login without changing browser protections. Check codex mcp login --help if your version differs.
3. Try a workflow
Use the Stuff project-context skill to read Project Lantern.md, summarize its status and give me the file link. Do not edit anything.
Then try the completed edit and handoff walkthrough. The safe-edit skill asks the agent to preserve unrelated text, check versions and reconcile conflicts. The local-folder skill explains when to use the optional Stuff CLI; installing the plugin does not install the CLI or create an API key. OpenAI skills.
Use a normal interactive session when a write needs your approval. In our first noninteractive test, reads worked but the write was blocked because the session could not request approval. We kept that protection enabled, switched to an interactive session, and approved the specific edit once.
Disconnect
Disable/uninstall the plugin, remove any separate direct MCP entry you added, and revoke the matching connection in Stuff → Agents. Disabling the plugin does not invalidate the grant. Revocation walkthrough.
Verification, October 1, 2026: Codex CLI 0.158.0-alpha.2.1 loaded the installed project-context and safe-edit skills and used the direct stuff MCP connection. It read Claude Code's version 1, appended one line with a version guard and tool approval, and read version 2 back. After revocation, a fresh read returned Authentication required. The plugin-specific desktop OAuth path remains unverified. The handoff walkthrough includes Stuff's real version history; no desktop or terminal screenshot is simulated.