Codex CLI · macOS

Codex CLI Notifications: Know When a Task Completes

Codex CLI runs long agent turns and finishes silently in a terminal tab you've stopped watching. This guide shows two ways to get a sound and visual notification on your Mac when Codex completes a task: the zero-configuration way with AI Done Now, and the manual notify configuration.

The zero-config way: AI Done Now

AI Done Now is a native macOS menu bar app that delivers a sound and a clickable notification banner whenever Codex needs you:

  • Codex completes an agent turn

  1. 1. Get the app

    One-time purchase, all future updates included. No data leaves your Mac except your license key for activation.

    Buy Now

  2. 2. Install & activate

    Download the app, open it, and enter your license key. You're ready in under a minute.

  3. 3. Start monitoring Codex

    Open AI Done Now from your menu bar and click Start next to Codex. No config files, no scripts.

Sound + banner

See the alert even with your volume off.

Click-to-focus

Clicking the notification jumps back to your tool.

All four tools

One app for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Gemini CLI.

The manual way: the Codex notify hook

Codex CLI can execute a command after each completed task via the notify setting in its config file.

  1. 1. Open your Codex config

    Edit ~/.codex/config.toml (create it if it doesn't exist).

  2. 2. Add a notify command

    notify = ["bash", "-c", "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Glass.aiff"]

  3. 3. Restart Codex

    Start a new Codex session so the config is picked up. Codex will run the command after each completed turn.

Where the manual setup falls short

  • -You get a sound but no visible banner unless you script osascript yourself — and those banners aren't clickable to focus your terminal.
  • -The notify script is per-machine config you have to maintain.
  • -It only covers Codex — Claude Code, Cursor and Gemini CLI need their own separate setups.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get notified when Codex finishes a task?

Install AI Done Now and click Start next to Codex in the menu bar app for a native macOS sound and banner when Codex completes an agent turn — no configuration needed. Alternatively, add a notify command to ~/.codex/config.toml that plays a sound with afplay.

Does Codex CLI have built-in notifications?

Codex CLI can ring the terminal bell and supports a notify hook that runs a shell command after each completed task, but there's no native macOS banner out of the box. AI Done Now adds a proper clickable notification with sound.

How do I play a sound when Codex completes a task on Mac?

Either set notify = ["bash", "-c", "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Glass.aiff"] in ~/.codex/config.toml, or use AI Done Now — which also adds a visual banner you can see with the volume off.

Using other AI coding tools?

Claude Code notifications

Get notified when Claude Code finishes.

Cursor notifications

Get notified when Cursor finishes.

Gemini CLI notifications

Get notified when Gemini CLI finishes.

Full setup and troubleshooting in the documentation.