I make Tapproval, one of the options below, so read this with that in mind. Facts as of 9 November 2026.
Codex stops when it needs you: a command to allow, a file change to approve. If you have stepped away from the keyboard, the work waits until you come back.
There are four ways to have your Apple Watch tell you. They differ in one thing that matters more than it sounds: whether the watch can only tell you, or can also answer.
1. Codex's own alerts, on the computer
The Codex CLI can raise a terminal notification when it needs approval or finishes a turn. In ~/.codex/config.toml, the [tui] table's notifications setting turns them on and can limit them to events such as approval-requested and agent-turn-complete.
They appear on the computer, through your terminal. They reach your wrist only if you are close enough to see the screen.
Good fit if you stay in the room and only need a nudge. Nothing to install.
2. A notify script that pings your phone
Codex can also run a program of your choice, set with notify in the same file. It hands the program one JSON argument describing the turn. A short script there can send a push through ntfy or Pushover, and your watch shows it like any other phone notification.
The limit: Codex's configuration guide says notify currently fires only for agent-turn-complete. It tells you a turn is done, not that Codex is waiting for permission. For approvals, a script has to sit in a Codex hook instead.
3. The ChatGPT app on your iPhone
OpenAI's remote connections let the ChatGPT app on a phone follow Codex on a computer, approve commands and get notified when a task completes or needs you. The computer runs the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS or Windows, signed in to the same account as the phone.
Your watch shows the phone's notification the way it shows any iPhone app's. The approval itself is made on the phone.
Good fit if you use Codex through the ChatGPT desktop app and carry your phone.
4. A watch app that answers
The fourth kind puts the question itself on the watch and sends your answer back. On the computer, a hook in Codex's hooks.json hands each permission question to a small relay; the watch app shows it, and one tap answers.
Tapproval works this way. Each question arrives marked with one of five risk tiers, worked out on your own computer, so a force-push to main shows as CRITICAL before you tap. You can also follow a Codex chat live and reply to it from the wrist. The helper on the computer is open source and uses only Python's standard library; there is no account and no server of mine in between. The first 100 answers are free, then $5 once. No subscription.
Others exist: Agent Approve has a watch app and lists Codex among its agents, on a monthly subscription. My comparison page sets them side by side, with the source for every claim.
One thing none of these change: Codex's own approval settings still decide which actions ask at all. Tapproval approves nothing on its own; every card that reaches the watch waits for your tap.
When your iPhone is not with you
This is where the four part ways. Apple sends an iPhone app's notifications to the watch only while the two are connected. Leave the phone at home and options 2 and 3 go quiet on the wrist; option 1 never left the computer.
A watch app can reach your computer on its own over the internet, on Wi-Fi or cellular. That is the case I built for: walking the dog while an agent works.
Side by side
| Codex alerts | Notify script | ChatGPT app | Watch app | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tells you it needs approval | Yes, on the computer | No, turn finished only | Yes, on the phone | Yes, on the watch |
| Answer on the watch | No | No | No, on the phone | Yes, one tap |
| Works with the iPhone away | On the computer only | No | No | Yes |
| Needs | Nothing | A script and a push service | ChatGPT desktop app, same account | The app and its helper |
Setting up the fourth one
Five minutes, three steps:
- Get Tapproval from the App Store: search for "Tapproval" on your watch or iPhone (it is a watch app; no iPhone app is needed).
- Install the helper on the computer. The one-line command is in the Codex setup guide.
- Open
codexonce and trust the new hook. Codex runs a hook only after you approve it, and the helper never approves it for you.
Then open the app on the watch while both are on the same Wi-Fi. It finds the computer by itself.
If you use Claude Code too, the same install covers both.
Tapproval is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI, Anthropic or Apple.
