Deploy and Host codex-anywhere on Railway

codex-anywhere is a Railway template that gives you a persistent remote Linux environment for OpenAI Codex. It installs Codex, GitHub CLI, Railway CLI, Node.js, Python, Git, and common developer tools, then exposes the machine through Railway SSH so your desktop or mobile Codex sessions can reconnect to the same workspace.

About Hosting codex-anywhere

Hosting codex-anywhere on Railway involves deploying a single Docker-based service with persistent storage mounted at /data. The image prepares an Ubuntu development environment, installs Codex and useful CLI tooling, configures Railway's agent setup, and keeps the container running for SSH access.

After deployment, users add an SSH key to Railway, create a local SSH config entry, and connect from the Codex desktop app or ChatGPT mobile app.

Project files, Codex config, Railway auth, SSH settings, and cloned repositories persist across restarts, so the environment behaves like a small always-available development machine.

Common Use Cases

Run Codex from a persistent cloud development environment
Connect to the same Codex workspace from desktop or mobile
Clone, inspect, edit, and push GitHub repositories from a Railway-hosted dev box
Keep Codex config, Railway auth, SSH keys, and project files across restarts

Dependencies for codex-anywhere Hosting

Railway account
SSH key registered with Railway
Codex desktop app or ChatGPT mobile app
GitHub account, if working with GitHub repositories

Deployment Dependencies

Implementation Details

codex-anywhere uses an Ubuntu-based Docker image that installs common development tools, Node.js, Python, GitHub CLI, Railway CLI, and the OpenAI Codex CLI. On startup, it prepares /data as the persistent workspace and links important runtime directories into it:

PERSIST_DIRS=(.codex .config .railway .ssh)

This keeps Codex settings, Railway login state, SSH configuration, and project files available between Railway restarts/redeploys.

Why Deploy codex-anywhere on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying codex-anywhere on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.