How to Host an App Built with Codex (2026)
Host a Codex app on Vercel, Railway, a VPS, or Floot. Floot gives a live link with database and login in one step from ChatGPT. Prices checked Oct 2026.
To host an app built with Codex, you move the code Codex wrote onto a host, because Codex does not put your app online. If the app saves nothing, a free static host like Vercel is enough. If it saves data or has logins, you need a server host and a database, or a platform like Floot that includes both.
The short version
Codex writes code on your computer (the CLI and IDE extension) or in a cloud workspace (Codex Cloud). Neither gives your app a live URL.
An app that saves nothing can go on a free static host in a few minutes.
An app that saves data needs a server, a database, and a place to keep secret keys, which on most setups means two or three accounts.
On Floot, Codex builds the app directly onto a hosted platform through the Floot MCP, so the database, logins, and live URL come with the build.
On Vercel, Railway, or a VPS, Codex can write the config and run the deploy commands, but you create the accounts, pick the database, and move the keys.
What OpenAI's docs say Codex does
OpenAI's docs describe the Codex CLI as a way to "Inspect code, make changes, run commands, and automate repeatable work without leaving your terminal." It works against your local repository, using the tools already installed on your machine.
Codex Cloud is described as a place to "Give Codex coding tasks to work through in the cloud, from investigating bugs to building features." Each task gets its own workspace, and when the work is ready you commit it or open a pull request.
That workspace is where Codex does the work, not where your app lives. When the task finishes, you get code and a pull request, not a public address.
Last checked: Oct 27, 2026 (learn.chatgpt.com/docs/codex/cli and learn.chatgpt.com/docs/cloud; developers.openai.com/codex now redirects there).
Hosting, in one picture
Think of Codex as a builder working in a workshop. It can make anything, and it all works fine in the workshop.
A host is a shop on a real street. It has an address, it stays open when you go to sleep, and strangers can walk in.
Hosting is moving what the builder made from the workshop to the shop.
What a host does
A host does the jobs your laptop or Codex's workspace was doing quietly while you tested.
It keeps the app running, on a computer that never closes its lid.
It gives the app an address (something like yourapp.up.railway.app), and lets you point your own domain at it.
It holds your secrets. API keys go into the host's settings, called environment variables, instead of into the code.
It stores the data, if you add a database, either built in or from a service like Supabase or Neon.
It redeploys when you change things. On most hosts, merging Codex's pull request puts the new version live.
Notice the pattern. Every one of those is something your test environment did for free, and none of it is public.
Does your app save anything?
Here is the quick test. Ask what happens when someone closes the tab and comes back tomorrow.
If nothing needs to be different, you can skip the server and the database. A landing page, a portfolio, a calculator, and a brochure site all go on a free static host.
If something needs to be remembered (an account, a saved list, a booking, a payment), you need a server and a database. That is where most Codex projects stall.
Vercel vs Railway vs a VPS vs Floot
Prices below were checked on each company's pricing page on Oct 27, 2026. Times are typical for a first deploy of a small app with a database and a login, not a lab benchmark.
| Vercel | Railway | A VPS (e.g. DigitalOcean) | Floot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Frontend and serverless host | Usage-billed app and database host | A rented Linux server you manage | App platform with database, logins and hosting built in |
| Setup | Connect GitHub, add env vars, add a database from the marketplace (e.g. Supabase or Neon) | Connect GitHub, add a Postgres service, wire the connection string | Create server, install Node, a web server, HTTPS, a database, and a process manager | Add the Floot MCP to Codex or ChatGPT, describe the app |
| Time to a live link | Minutes for a static site; longer once you add a database and auth | Minutes to an hour | An afternoon if you have done it before | Comes with the first build |
| Sign-in (login) | Bring your own (Supabase Auth, Clerk, Auth.js) | Bring your own | Bring your own | Included: Google, Microsoft, email |
| Accounts to make | Vercel + database + auth provider | Railway + auth provider | Server provider + domain/DNS + auth provider | Floot |
| Cost | Hobby $0 (personal, non-commercial only); Pro $20/month per user, plus usage | Free $0 with $1/month of usage; Hobby $5/month; Pro $20/month; usage on top | From $4/month (512 MiB server), plus your time | Pro $25/month, includes $10/month of hosting usage |
| Best for | Static sites and Next.js apps, teams that want control | Developers who want simple full-stack hosting | People who enjoy running servers | People building inside ChatGPT or Codex who do not want to set up a backend |
What each option makes you do
Vercel. The best home for a static site or a Next.js frontend. Connect the GitHub repo Codex pushes to, and every merged pull request redeploys. The free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial projects. For data and logins you add a second service and copy its keys into Vercel's environment variables.
Railway. Closest to "it just runs." You can add a Postgres database in the same project, and billing is by usage on top of the plan. Logins are still yours to build or rent.
A VPS. The cheapest monthly bill and the most work. You own the server, the updates, the HTTPS certificate, the backups, and the 2 a.m. outage. Codex can write every command, but it cannot watch the server for you.
Floot. Floot is not a place you deploy to after the fact. Codex builds onto it through the Floot MCP, so the app is hosted from the first build. The trade-off is that the app is built on Floot's framework, which is designed for AI to write, rather than whatever stack Codex would pick on its own.
The pattern is the same everywhere it goes wrong: the app works in Codex's workspace, then going live sends you off to pick a host, a database, and a place to keep your keys.
Floot hosts the app for you as part of the build, so there is no host to pick. You describe what the app should do, and Codex builds it onto Floot: pages for the frontend, small server programs called endpoints for the backend ("create a booking," "list my invoices"), and a Postgres database for what it remembers. The live URL comes with the first build.
Because Floot also includes the database, logins with Google, Microsoft, and email, file storage, email sending, scheduled jobs, and live updates, the pieces you would otherwise rent from a host, a database service, a login service, and an email service are already there. You never sign up for anything else.
On cost: when you build through Codex or ChatGPT, the AI work is billed by your ChatGPT plan, so there is no second AI bill. Builds through the MCP spend no Floot AI credits. Floot meters building actions, which reset daily, and Pro is $25 a month, includes $10 a month of hosting usage (usage past that is billed; Free gets $3 of hosting once).
How to host it on Floot from Codex
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Add Floot as an MCP server in Codex (the server URL is https://mcp.floot.com/mcp), then sign in to Floot when Codex asks.
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Ask Codex to build the app on Floot, describing what it should save and who can log in.
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Open the preview link Codex returns to check it.
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Ask Codex to publish. The app goes live on a floot.app address, and you can add your own domain on Pro.
How to host it on Vercel from Codex
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Let Codex open a pull request on a GitHub repo, and merge it.
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Import the repo on vercel.com. Vercel deploys every new merge.
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If the app saves data, create a database (Supabase or Neon) and put its URL and keys into Vercel's environment variables.
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Add a login provider and its keys the same way, then redeploy.
The one thing that breaks
Secrets. Codex's workspace and your laptop read keys from local settings or a .env file that is (correctly) never committed. The deployed app starts without its keys and fails with a blank page or a 500 error. Every host needs the same keys re-entered in its own settings.
FAQ
Does Codex host my app?
No. Codex writes and tests code on your computer or in a cloud workspace, and hands you the result as changes or a pull request. It does not give your app a public URL. You need a host such as Vercel, Railway, a VPS, or Floot.
What is the easiest way to host a Codex app with a database and login?
Use a platform that includes the database and logins with hosting, so you do not wire three services together. Floot does this when Codex builds through the Floot MCP. Railway is the next simplest if you want to manage your own stack.
Can Codex Cloud deploy my app?
Codex Cloud runs each task in its own workspace and ends with code you commit or a pull request. To go live, connect that repo to a host that deploys on merge, like Vercel or Railway, or build on Floot, where the app is hosted from the first build.
Why does my Codex app work in the preview but not after deploy?
The usual cause is missing environment variables. Keys that existed in your local setup or Codex's environment settings have to be added again in the host's settings.
How much does it cost to host a Codex app?
A static site can be free. As of Oct 27, 2026, a full-stack setup starts around $4 to $25 a month: a DigitalOcean server from $4, Railway Hobby $5, Vercel Pro $20, or Floot Pro $25 (includes $10 a month of hosting usage). Usage-based plans rise with traffic.
Do I need a second AI subscription to use Floot with Codex?
No. When you build through Codex or ChatGPT, the AI work runs on your ChatGPT plan. Floot builds through the MCP spend no Floot AI credits; Floot meters building actions per day and hosting.