ChatGPT desktop app comes to Linux in preview and imports setups from Claude Code, Claude Cowork and Cursor

Archive entry: this covers an event from August 11, 2026, and we published it on November 8, 2026. The details come from sources dated at the time and may have changed since.

On August 11, 2026, OpenAI released a preview of the ChatGPT desktop app for Linux and added agent imports to the desktop app and Codex CLI, according to the ChatGPT and Codex changelog.

What changed

• Import sources: the desktop app could import from Claude Code, Claude Cowork and Cursor.
• Importable items: instructions, settings, skills, plugins, projects and recent work.
• Sync: automatic updates for imported work could be turned on in Settings > Import to keep it in sync.
• Codex CLI: the /import command imported supported setup and recent chats from Claude Code and Cursor.

What it meant for people building with AI

Linux developers got the desktop agent app, and moving from competing coding agents no longer meant rebuilding instructions and skills by hand. The desktop app covered Claude Code, Claude Cowork and Cursor, while the Codex CLI command covered Claude Code and Cursor, so teams could use whichever entry point matched their tools. Because automatic updates could keep imported work in sync, an import did not have to be a one-time step.

The Linux preview

The ChatGPT desktop app for Linux was available in preview for supported Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora desktop distributions. It ran on x64 and ARM64 processors and shipped as .deb or .rpm packages. After signing in, Linux users could work with projects, local files and Codex.

Sources

• ChatGPT & Codex changelog: Linux desktop preview and agent imports (OpenAI, August 11, 2026, official)

Written with AI assistance, strictly from the sources listed above. Before it went live, automated checks verified its dates, sources and every language edition.