Use OpenAI Codex with Your Own Local Models via Tokios

OpenAI Codex talks to Tokios through the Responses API. Add Tokios as a model provider in ~/.codex/config.toml, point it at https://api.tokios.com/v1, and Codex runs against your own local model — on Ollama, LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible backend — from anywhere, down your private tunnel.

Prerequisites

A running Tokios Connector paired with your local model — see Connector Install
A registered model deployment name — see Register a Model
A Tokios API key — see API Keys
OpenAI Codex installed

Configure Codex

Set your Tokios key in the environment, then add a Tokios provider and profile to ~/.codex/config.toml:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-tok-YOUR_KEY

set OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-tok-YOUR_KEY

~/.codex/config.toml

[model_providers.tokios]
name = "Tokios"
base_url = "https://api.tokios.com/v1"
env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
wire_api = "responses"

[profiles.tokios]
model = "gemma-tunnel"
model_provider = "tokios"
disable_response_storage = true

wire_api = "responses" and disable_response_storage = true are both required. Tokios serves the Responses surface statelessly, so Codex must not rely on server-side response storage.

Then run Codex with the Tokios profile:

codex --profile tokios

Replace gemma-tunnel with the public model name you registered in the console.

Using the OpenAI Python SDK

To call your local model programmatically with the OpenAI SDK, point the client at the Tokios base URL:

openai_tokios.py

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.tokios.com/v1",
    api_key="sk-tok-YOUR_KEY",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gemma-tunnel",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain async/await in Python"}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

The OpenAI SDK’s base URL must end with /v1. The Tokios endpoint is https://api.tokios.com/v1.

Hardware & fit

Serve & connect your runtime

Connect a client or app

Compare

Use OpenAI Codex with Your Own Local Models via Tokios

Prerequisites

Configure Codex

Using the OpenAI Python SDK

​Prerequisites

​Configure Codex

​Using the OpenAI Python SDK

Prerequisites

Configure Codex

Using the OpenAI Python SDK