OpenAI expands Codex access and turns plugins into reusable workflow packages

What OpenAI said on X

On March 27, 2026, the OpenAIDevs account said OpenAI had reset Codex usage limits across all plans so users could try the newly launched plugins. The post used deliberately loose wording, saying people could “build unlimited things” with Codex, which matters because Codex is no longer just a CLI for API-key users. OpenAI is clearly trying to turn it into a broader coding surface tied to ChatGPT subscriptions and repeatable workflows.

That makes this more than a quota change. The tweet bundled two levers together: short-term access relief and a new packaging unit for workflows. In product terms, that is the difference between letting more people sample Codex and giving teams something durable to share once they do.

What the Help Center clarifies

OpenAI’s Help Center now says Codex is included with ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise/Edu plans, and that Free and Go plans also get access for a limited time. The same page says paid plans are currently receiving 2x Codex rate limits, and that actual usage still depends on task size, codebase size, and whether work runs locally or in the cloud. Read together, those details suggest the X post is best read as a temporary reset and expansion, not a permanent end to plan-based limits.

The Help Center also explains what plugins are: installable workflow packages built from one or more skills, optional app integrations, or MCP server configurations. OpenAI positions them as the distribution layer for reusable workflows, while local skills remain the authoring format. That is a notable shift. It means Codex is moving from “ask the agent to do a task” toward “install a repeatable way of working across teams and projects.”

Why it matters

The combination of broader plan access, a temporary rate-limit lift, and installable plugins lowers the friction of trying Codex inside existing ChatGPT subscriptions. If OpenAI can make plugins the default way teams package review flows, deployment steps, and repo-specific automation, Codex becomes more platform-like and less of a one-off coding assistant.

Source: OpenAIDevs X post · OpenAI Help Center