# Run Codex CLI in the cloud: where, and what each costs
> OpenAI's Codex cloud runs Codex's agent, not your CLI. To run the Codex CLI itself in the cloud, use Codespaces, E2B or shedix. Prices compared.
*2026-11-11 · codex, agents, remote-dev, costs*
You can run Codex in the cloud two ways: hand tasks to OpenAI's Codex cloud, which runs Codex's agent on VMs OpenAI manages, or install the Codex CLI on a Linux machine you rent, such as a GitHub codespace, an E2B sandbox or a shedix machine. Codex cloud is built for hands-off tasks on a repository; a machine of your own gives you the CLI itself, your own tools, and a terminal you can open from anywhere.
We make shedix. Every other figure comes from each provider's own pages. Links and dates sit beside each figure, as of 2026-11-11.
## What is Codex cloud, and what isn't it?
Codex cloud runs each task in a VM that OpenAI manages, started from the ChatGPT web app, the Codex desktop app, or the terminal with `codex cloud exec` (a command OpenAI's [CLI reference](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/developer-commands?surface=cli) marks experimental). Per OpenAI's [cloud environments docs](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/environments/cloud-environments):
- **Size depends on your plan.** Plus gets 2 vCPUs, 8 GiB of memory and 8 GiB of disk; Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu get 4 vCPUs, 16 GiB and 32 GiB.
- **An environment** holds an install script, environment variables, and network secrets that a proxy fills in only for allowed hosts.
- **State is kept for a while.** A task's saved VM state can be recovered for up to seven days after you last use it.
- **Repositories.** GitHub.com repositories are set up for you, and a GitLab.com repository can be checked out through a reusable environment. Self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server isn't supported.
- **Included in ChatGPT plans.** Cloud chats share your plan's allowance with local ones, though they "may use more" of it ([pricing](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing)).
What it isn't: your Codex CLI on a computer you control. The docs describe no shell or SSH into the VM and no way to open a dev server it runs in your browser. Use Codex cloud for well-defined tasks on a repository, especially several at once, when you don't need to watch or step in.
## How do I run the Codex CLI on a cloud machine?
Any Linux machine works. Install with OpenAI's script, which is also how you update ([Codex CLI docs](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/cli)):
```bash
curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh
```
Connect it to your ChatGPT plan or an API key as the [CLI docs](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/cli) describe (an API key is billed at API rates). Then run Codex inside tmux, so it keeps going when you disconnect:
```bash
tmux new -s codex
codex
```
Detach with `Ctrl-b d`, and `tmux attach -t codex` later. `codex resume --last` reopens the last conversation in that folder. [tmux for coding agents](/blog/tmux-for-coding-agents) has the rest.
## Where can the CLI live?
- **GitHub Codespaces** is a dev container for coding sessions on a GitHub repository; the same install works there. It stops after 30 idle minutes by default and has a [12-hour maximum lifetime](https://docs.github.com/en/codespaces/about-codespaces/understanding-the-codespace-lifecycle) even in use. Files survive a stop; running processes, Codex included, don't. [Codespaces alternatives for coding agents](/blog/github-codespaces-alternatives-for-coding-agents) covers it in full.
- **E2B** is built for brief runs of code started from an SDK, which suits a product that runs Codex for its users. Its [guide](https://e2b.dev/resources/javascript-guide-run-openai-codex-in-an-e2b-sandbox) runs `codex exec` from a Codex template, and a session lasts up to 1 hour on Hobby and 24 hours on Pro ([pricing](https://e2b.dev/pricing)). [E2B alternatives](/blog/e2b-alternatives) has more.
- **shedix** is a real computer in the cloud for your coding agents: a whole Linux machine with a full desktop, root, Docker, its own public address and every way in, with Codex, Claude Code and VS Code installed. Your agent can start and drive one itself and gets a browser it shares with you. You pay by the second while it works; then it sleeps by itself, keeping its programs ([off your laptop](/use-cases/off-your-laptop)).
[Container, microVM or full VM](/blog/container-microvm-or-vm-for-coding-agents) compares the kinds of box in more depth, and [cloud computers for AI coding agents](/blog/cloud-computers-for-ai-coding-agents) lists more places an agent can live.
## How do their prices compare?
Codex cloud has no price of its own: it uses your ChatGPT plan. The machines price in different units, so here is each in its own.
**Per hour.** E2B prices $0.0504 per vCPU-hour and $0.0162 per GiB-hour of memory, disk included, with sizes above 8 vCPU and 8 GiB on request ([pricing](https://e2b.dev/pricing)). Codespaces prices $0.09 per core-hour with 4 GB of memory per core, from [2 cores and 8 GB](https://docs.github.com/en/codespaces/about-codespaces/what-are-codespaces), plus $0.07 per GB-month of storage ([billing docs](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/github-codespaces)). shedix is $0.0450–$0.0525 per vCPU-hour all-in, with 2 GB of memory per vCPU and the disk included.
| One hour | 2 vCPU, 4 GB | 4 vCPU, 8 GB | 8 vCPU, 16 GB | 16 vCPU, 32 GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| shedix (disk included) | $0.09/hr (30 GB) | $0.21/hr (45 GB) | $0.42/hr (60 GB) | $0.84/hr (75 GB) |
| E2B (above 8 vCPU and 8 GiB on request) | $0.166 | $0.331 | $0.662 | $1.325 |
| Codespaces, nearest machine (twice the memory) | $0.18 (8 GB) | $0.36 (16 GB) | $0.72 (32 GB) | $1.44 (64 GB) |
A shedix machine costs 37–46% less than the same box on E2B, disk included. Codespaces machines carry twice the memory; a [custom machine](/pricing) with the same 4 GB per core is $0.042 per vCPU-hour plus $0.00525 per GB-hour, which for 4 vCPU and 16 GB comes to 30% less than the codespace.
**Per month.** Used 4 hours on each of 22 workdays (88 hours), with shedix asleep the rest:
| A working month, 88 hours | 4 vCPU, 8 GB | 16 vCPU, 32 GB |
|---|---|---|
| shedix, asleep the rest | $24.26 | $89.33 |
| E2B usage, before its $150-a-month Pro plan for runs over an hour | $29.15 | $116.58 |
| Codespaces, nearest machine (twice the memory), plus storage | $31.68 (16 GB) | $126.72 (64 GB) |
For a working month shedix comes out 17–23% below E2B's usage alone and 23–30% below Codespaces (88 × $0.3312 and
88 × $1.3248 on E2B, 88 × $0.36 and 88 × $1.44 on Codespaces), with Codex, Claude Code, root and Docker ready and its programs kept
through sleep, at $0.009/hr asleep for 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 45 GB disk. Left on all month, a shedix machine is $153.30 for 4 vCPU
and $613.20 for 16 vCPU; neither E2B nor Codespaces runs one session that long (24 hours on E2B Pro, 12 on
Codespaces).
## How do the options compare?
As of 2026-11-11, judged as a home for Codex:
| | Codex cloud | GitHub Codespaces | E2B sandbox | shedix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Kind of box** | A VM per task, managed by OpenAI | A dev container on a VM | A sandbox started from code | A whole VM of your own, with a full desktop |
| **Whole disk persists** | A task's saved state, up to 7 days | Files survive a stop | Files and memory, if paused | Yes, the whole disk |
| **Root and Docker** | Codex's agent, not your shell | Inside a dev container; Docker through a feature | From a template | Root (sudo) and Docker, installed |
| **How you get in** | ChatGPT web, Codex app, `codex cloud` | Browser, VS Code and SSH | Your code, through the SDK | SSH with your keys, VS Code or a terminal in the browser, the desktop, a phone |
| **Your agent can start and drive it** | Yes, with `codex cloud exec` | Yes, with the `gh` CLI | Yes, from its SDK | Yes, and it can move its conversation onto one |
| **Sleeps by itself, keeping programs** | Each task ends when done | Stops after 30 idle min by default; processes end; 12 h cap | Ends at its timeout unless paused | Yes; Codex working counts as use |
| **What you pay while idle** | Nothing beyond your plan | Storage | No compute once paused or ended | $0.009/hr for 4 vCPU, 8 GB |
| **Price, 4 vCPU and 8 GB** | Your plan's allowance | $0.36/hr with 16 GB, plus storage | $0.331/hr | $0.21/hr |
## What does Codex get on a machine of its own?
On any machine you get the CLI, tmux and your own tools. On shedix a few things come with the machine:
- **A terminal you can open anywhere.** Codex opens in its own tab on the machine's page, from any browser, phones included. Machines run in the United States, and a sleeping machine wakes in under a minute.
- **Tools for the agent.** Codex gets a browser it shares with you, so you can watch it test a page and take over, and a full desktop for anything graphical.
- **Move a conversation from your laptop.** With our [skill](/skills) installed, ask Codex to "move this session to shedix so I can close my laptop". It follows our [agents' guide](/docs/agents): it copies the conversation from `~/.codex/sessions`, marks the project folder trusted, and resumes it in tmux on the machine.
- **Codex and Claude side by side.** Both run in tmux on the same machine, and a copy of a set-up machine starts ready for the next agent.
A machine's page: Codex and Claude Code each open in a tab, beside a terminal, VS Code and the SSH command.
## Which should I use?
- **Codex cloud** for well-defined tasks on a repository, from the ChatGPT app or the web, with nothing to run.
- **Codespaces** for coding sessions under 12 hours tied to a GitHub repository.
- **E2B** if you're building a product that runs Codex for others.
- **shedix** for the Codex CLI on a whole machine with root and Docker, reachable from anywhere, that sleeps when you're done and keeps its programs.
If you use Claude Code as well, [Claude Code cloud sessions or your own machine](/blog/claude-code-cloud-sessions-or-your-own-machine) makes the same comparison for Anthropic's cloud.
Prices change, so check each provider's own pricing before you choose. Who we are is on our [about page](/about), and how machines are kept apart is on [security](/security).
## What should I do next?
Install the [shedix skill](/skills) with `npx skills add shedix-dev/skills -a codex`, or [start a machine](/); your first 12 hours of compute are on us.