Frequently asked questions

No. Codex Dream Skin and this gallery are community projects, not affiliated with OpenAI. The engine is open source (MIT License) by Fei-Away, and it explicitly never touches your API key, Base URL, or model provider settings.

The engine launches the official Codex app with a Chrome DevTools Protocol port bound strictly to 127.0.0.1 (localhost) — it is never exposed to the network. It validates the app signature before starting, injects only CSS and decorative DOM into expected renderer targets, and never modifies the .app bundle, app.asar, or code signature. One caveat: a loopback CDP port is unauthenticated, so avoid running untrusted local software while the theme is active, and use Restore when you are done.

No. Nothing inside the official install directory (macOS .app or WindowsApps) is changed. The theme engine lives in its own folder (~/.codex/codex-dream-skin-studio on macOS, %LOCALAPPDATA%\CodexDreamSkin on Windows) and injects styling at runtime only.

Yes — one click. macOS: “Restore Codex Dream Skin.command”. Windows: restore-dream-skin.ps1. Because the official files were never modified, restore is instant and leaves no residue.

Official updates install normally since the app bundle is untouched. After an update, just start Dream Skin again; if OpenAI changes the UI structure, grab the latest engine from GitHub — the project tracks upstream changes.

No. The sidebar, suggestion cards, project picker, and composer remain real, native, clickable controls. The engine only restyles the shell: banner, background, and frosted layers.

Yes — that is the core feature. On macOS, run the Customize command and pick any PNG / JPEG / HEIC / WebP (wide images ≥ 2000px look best). On Windows, swap the artwork in windows/assets and restart the skin.

Yes. The engine is MIT-licensed open source. This gallery is free too. If you enjoy it, star the repo — that is the best way to support the author.

Character and people artwork in previews is illustrative only, as stated by the upstream project. For personal desktops that is generally fine; clear the rights before any commercial redistribution of artwork.