Codex Mobile: run a task from your phone and check its preview

Connect the mobile route

The May walkthrough uses Codex Mobile through the ChatGPT app to continue coding work from a phone. Installation and updates begin at 0:24, the phone-to-Mac connection at 1:00 and starting a run at 2:16. Follow those sections together so the phone is connected to the intended working computer.

The original learning resource is Scrimba: https://scrimba.com/?via=ai-luke, advertised with 20% off Pro in the description. That is a dated offer, not a verified current discount or an explicit sponsorship statement.

1. Choose one project and a small change whose result you can inspect.
2. Start the run from the connected phone and check that it targets the correct project.
3. Use the plugins-and-skills section at 2:52 to understand the recorded limitation of local skills not appearing.

Use the right address for a preview

The source explains why localhost breaks the expected mobile preview: on the phone, localhost refers to the phone itself, not the computer running the application. A working desktop preview therefore does not establish that the phone can reach it.

Luke shows a Netlify preview route at 6:40. Use the resulting hosted test address for the mobile check, then inspect the page and the specific changed behaviour. The description does not promise that mobile previews work automatically for every project.

1. Compare the preview address with the environment actually hosting the app.
2. Open the demonstrated test deployment on the phone.
3. Check the changed interaction rather than only confirming that the page loads.

Check credentials and remote control

The API-key section at 8:14 distinguishes a project .env file from a global environment variable. Use the appropriate scope for the tool that needs the key, and keep the value out of visible prompts or shared screenshots.

The remote stop or interrupt section starts at 11:01. Practise that control on a small run so you know how to pause work when away from the computer. Mobile access is useful when you can both inspect progress and intervene; it does not replace reviewing the resulting repository changes.

The takeaway

Check the computer connection, preview address and stop control as separate parts of mobile work.