Connect the Codex App to Token Station on Windows, macOS, and Linux

The Codex App can register a custom model provider in config.toml. Point that provider at the Token Station Responses API to use models available through Token Station and bill requests to your Token Station API key.

This guide covers Windows, macOS, and Linux. Desktop apps and terminal programs may inherit environment variables from different sources. On macOS, an app launched from the Dock or Finder usually does not read ~/.zshrc.

Before you start

You need three things:

• The Codex App installed
• A Token Station account and API key
• Access to the target model, and credit to spend on it

The examples use openai/gpt-5.6-sol. Copy the complete current model ID from Token Station.

Never put a real API key in config.toml, a screenshot, a chat message, or a repository. Codex will read it from an environment variable.

Register the Token Station provider

In the Codex App, open Settings → Configuration → Open config.toml, then add:

model = "openai/gpt-5.6-sol"
model_provider = "token_station"

[model_providers.token_station]
name = "Token Station"
base_url = "https://bec.bytefuture.ai/v1"
env_key = "TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY"
wire_api = "responses"

Merge these fields with any existing configuration instead of overwriting settings you still need.

The two token_station identifiers must match:

model_provider = "token_station"
[model_providers.token_station]

Keep base_url at /v1; do not append /responses. Keep the provider prefix in the model ID as well.

The provider block names the environment variable but does not supply its value, and a desktop app does not always see what your shell sees. The next three sections cover each operating system.

Windows: load the API key

Open Advanced system settings → Environment Variables. Under User variables, create:

The variable name must exactly match env_key in config.toml.

Save the variable, then quit the Codex App completely and reopen it. Closing the window often leaves the process running, and a running app will not see the new variable.

macOS: load the API key

An app launched from the Dock, Finder, or Launchpad usually does not inherit an export from the current terminal. Add the key to the current graphical login session:

launchctl setenv TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY 'YOUR_REAL_API_KEY'

Check that the variable exists without printing the key:

if [ -n "$(launchctl getenv TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY)" ]; then
  echo "TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY is set"
else
  echo "TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY is not set"
fi

Press Command + Q to quit the Codex App, then reopen it from the Dock, Finder, or Launchpad.

A variable set with launchctl setenv usually lasts only for the current graphical login session. You may need to set it again after a logout or restart. To remove it:

launchctl unsetenv TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY

Linux: load the API key

Environment inheritance varies by distribution, desktop environment, and installation method. If you start Codex from a terminal, set the variable in that shell:

export TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY='YOUR_REAL_API_KEY'

Check that it exists:

if [ -n "${TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
  echo "TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY is set"
else
  echo "TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY is not set"
fi

Start Codex from the same terminal. To load the key in new terminals, add the export command to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc.

If the app starts from GNOME, KDE, or another desktop menu and the system uses a systemd user session, you can try:

systemctl --user set-environment TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY='YOUR_REAL_API_KEY'

Fully quit and reopen the app. To clear the variable:

systemctl --user unset-environment TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY

A key in a shell configuration file is stored as plaintext. Keep that file out of Git and public sync folders.

Verify the complete route

A reply in the app is only half the evidence. Check both ends of the route:

1. Fully quit and reopen the Codex App

2. Create a new conversation

3. Send:

   Reply only: Token Station test succeeded

4. Confirm that the app returns a normal response

5. Open the Token Station dashboard

6. Check the request time, status, and model under Recent Activity

The route should be:

Codex App
→ token_station provider in config.toml
  → TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY
  → https://bec.bytefuture.ai/v1/responses
→ Token Station request log

The setup is complete only when the app responds and Token Station shows the matching record.

Troubleshooting

Codex cannot find the API key

Confirm that the variable name exactly matches env_key = "TOKEN_STATION_API_KEY", then restart the app after setting it.

On macOS, an export in ~/.zshrc may not reach an app launched from the Dock. Use launchctl setenv and restart the app.

401 or 403 response

The key may be invalid, contain extra whitespace, lack model access, or have no available credit.

404 response

Recheck these two fields:

base_url = "https://bec.bytefuture.ai/v1"
wire_api = "responses"

Do not append another /responses segment.

Model not found

Use the complete model ID supplied by Token Station and keep its provider prefix.

Codex responds, but Token Station has no record

Check that model_provider matches the provider block name and that the app reloaded the edited config.toml. Test again and match the request by time.

References

• Token Station
• Token Station dashboard