Does Codex Have Split View? The Reality Across the App, CLI, IDE Extension, and Practical Workarounds¶

For / Key Points

For: People who want to watch multiple Codex threads or sessions at the same time in the desktop app, CLI, or IDE extension.

Key Points: - As of June 26, 2026, there is no confirmed native split view that divides one Codex surface into two panes - Codex is designed around running multiple threads in parallel and switching between them - Practical two-screen workflows use pop-out windows, worktrees, tmux, and OS-level window tiling

The short answer is simple. Codex does not appear to provide an editor-like native split view that divides one screen into two simultaneous work panes.

That does not mean Codex cannot run multiple tasks. OpenAI describes the Codex app as a place where agents run in separate project threads, work in parallel, and can be switched without losing context.¹

The real question is whether you should keep looking for split view inside Codex, or build a two-screen workflow around it.

The Core Answer: No In-Window Split View¶

Codex’s standard pattern is thread switching, not split-screen display.

The desktop app has threads, worktrees, and pop-out windows. The CLI has an interactive TUI plus commands such as resume, fork, archive, and delete. The IDE extension runs inside VS Code-compatible editors. These all support parallel work in some form, but none of them turns the Codex UI itself into a two-pane workspace.²³⁴

Here is the practical difference.

Surface	In-window split view	Parallel work	Main way to see things side by side
Desktop app	Not confirmed as a native feature	Yes	Pop-out windows, worktrees, OS window tiling
CLI	No	Yes	tmux, screen, terminal tabs
IDE extension	Not in the Codex extension itself	Yes	VS Code/Cursor split editors and multiple windows

The distinction matters. Codex is strong at running work in parallel. Viewing those runs side by side is mostly a job for surrounding tools.

Desktop App: Threads Are Meant to Be Switched¶

The Codex desktop app does not expose an official operation for placing two Codex threads side by side inside one window.

Officially, agents run in project-organized threads, and users switch between tasks. Worktrees let multiple agents work on isolated copies of the same repository. That is excellent for avoiding conflicts, but it is not the same as in-window pane splitting.¹²

The closest native feature is the Floating pop-out window. It lets you pop an active conversation thread into a separate window and keep it near your browser, editor, or design preview. It can also stay on top across your workflow.²

A practical flow looks like this.

Pop out the thread
Treat it as a separate window
Use OS window tiling to place it beside another app
Put Codex next to a browser, editor, or design preview

There is one important caveat if you want to compare multiple Codex threads. A GitHub issue opened on March 19, 2026 reported that opening a second pop-out replaced the existing pop-out, leaving only one pop-out window at a time. The issue is closed, but the official docs do not confirm support for multiple simultaneous pop-out windows.⁵

Native multi-window support and tabbed thread layouts also appear as feature requests, not settled standard behavior. Requests exist for Cmd+N independent windows and for a browser-like tab bar for active threads.⁶⁷

CLI: One TUI Session, Split With tmux¶

The Codex CLI interactive view generally handles one conversation inside one TUI.

Current CLI builds can resume saved conversations, fork sessions, and organize local sessions with commands such as archive and delete. So the right claim is not “the CLI has no session handling.” The official docs explain that Codex stores transcripts locally and can reopen earlier runs with codex resume.³

Still, the CLI itself is not tmux. It does not split the terminal UI into multiple Codex panes. If you want multiple Codex sessions visible at once, split the terminal.

tmux new-session -d -s codex
tmux split-window -h
tmux split-window -v
tmux send-keys -t 0 'codex' Enter
tmux send-keys -t 1 'codex' Enter
tmux send-keys -t 2 'codex' Enter
tmux attach -t codex

This gives you multiple independent Codex processes in one terminal window. Each session can receive a different task. tmux also lets sessions survive a closed terminal, which helps with longer full-auto work.⁸

The tradeoffs are clear. The view is text-heavy, diffs are cramped, and approval prompts are distributed across panes. Nimbalyst’s parallel Codex guide makes the same point: worktrees and tmux are useful, but approvals and review can become easy to miss.⁸

If you want a GUI layer, tools such as CodeAgentSwarm offer another option. CodeAgentSwarm says it can run up to six Codex CLI sessions in one workspace with notifications and searchable history.⁹ That is not an official OpenAI feature, so teams should evaluate security, logs, and maintenance separately.

IDE Extension: Let the Editor Handle Splitting¶

For the IDE extension, think of split view as an editor feature, not a Codex feature.

OpenAI documents the Codex IDE extension as available in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and other VS Code-compatible editors.⁴ That means split editors, sidebars, and multiple windows belong to the host editor.

In practice, that means:

Put the Codex extension on the left and source files on the right
Keep a diff view in one editor group and implementation files in another
Use multiple VS Code or Cursor windows when projects need to stay separate

There is also an OpenAI Developer Community post describing a two-window VS Code setup with Codex enabled for different projects. The same post reports an authentication handoff problem in the second window, so multi-window workflows can depend on local environment behavior.¹⁰

Practical Recipes by Goal¶

Pick the setup based on what you want to watch.

Goal	Suggested setup	Why
Codex next to a browser preview	App pop-out + OS tiling	Closest to the official frontend iteration workflow
Multiple Codex sessions visible at once	CLI + tmux	Several TUIs fit in one terminal window
Parallel alternatives in one repository	Worktrees + multiple sessions	Reduces file-edit collisions
Code next to AI chat	IDE extension + split editor	Uses editor-native split and diff views
Many sessions under supervision	Dedicated GUI	Adds notifications, history, and task boards

OS-level tiling matters more than it sounds. macOS Split View, Windows Snap Layouts, PowerToys FancyZones, and tools like Rectangle can make Codex feel like part of a split workflow even when Codex itself is not split.

The useful framing is not “where is split view in Codex?” It is “which surface should Codex occupy?”

Summary¶

If you are looking for Codex split view, the practical answer is use external splitting rather than a native Codex split pane.

In the desktop app, use threads, worktrees, and pop-out windows
In the CLI, run multiple processes through tmux or terminal tabs
In the IDE extension, rely on VS Code/Cursor split editors

The overlooked point is that this is not only a missing-feature story. Codex’s design leans toward running multiple agents, moving between the threads that need attention, and reviewing results.

If your workflow is constant monitoring, tmux or a dedicated GUI may feel better. If your workflow is focused review, the Codex app’s thread switching and worktrees may be enough. The better first question is whether your work is “parallel supervision” or “focused review.”