Sign in and verify access

You sign in to the intended ChatGPT account or organizational workspace and record which of Chat, Work, and Codex are available without exposing credentials.

Result

You sign in to the intended ChatGPT account or organizational workspace and record which of Chat, Work, and Codex are available without exposing credentials.

Selection guidance

Include when

Use this module after installation when the active account, workspace, or available product surfaces have not been confirmed.

Skip when

Skip it when you can independently confirm the intended account or workspace and produce a sanitized record of the available surfaces.

The ChatGPT desktop app is installed. You know whether to use a personal account or an organization-managed workspace and who owns access decisions. Do not purchase a plan or enter an API key solely to complete this exercise.

Explanation

Installation, authentication, and feature access are different checks:

Installation proves that the application opens.
Authentication proves that you signed in successfully.
Feature access shows which product surfaces and tools your account or workspace currently exposes.

Availability may depend on plan, platform, region, rollout, and workspace settings. An unavailable surface is an observed gap to record, not a reason to guess or change account settings without authorization.

Actions

Open the ChatGPT desktop app.
If sign-in opens a browser, confirm that the page belongs to the expected ChatGPT service before entering credentials.
Complete authentication yourself. Do not share a password, one-time code, recovery code, API key, or token with a consultant or agent.
Return to the desktop app and confirm the active account or workspace. Avoid copying unnecessary identifiers into the learning record.
Open the product selector and check whether ChatGPT and Codex are available.
With ChatGPT selected, start a new chat and check whether the Chat / Work switcher is available above the composer.
Record the observed state of Chat, Work, and Codex as available, not shown, or blocked with message. Quote only the minimum error text needed for diagnosis.
If a surface is missing, identify the correct owner: the account holder, workspace administrator, or device administrator. Do not change billing or organization-wide settings in this module.

Practice

Close and reopen the app. Confirm the active workspace and repeat the surface check without assistance. Compare the result with your first record.

Deliverables

An authenticated ChatGPT desktop session.
A sanitized access record covering the active workspace and the observed state of Chat, Work, and Codex.

Check

The intended personal or organizational account is active.
Each product surface is recorded from the visible interface rather than assumed from a plan name.
No credential, code, token, API key, or sensitive screenshot is retained.
A missing surface is linked to an observed message and the appropriate owner for follow-up.

If it fails

The browser signs in to the wrong account. Stop and switch to the intended browser profile or sign-in route before continuing.
Sign-in succeeds but Work or Codex is absent. Record what the interface shows. Access may depend on plan or workspace policy.
The app asks for an API key. Use only an already approved authentication route. Some features may differ when Codex is used with an API key.
A usage limit appears. Record the displayed limit and reset information. Do not buy credits or change the plan without a separate decision.

Sources and verification

Sources: openai.chatgpt.desktop-app, openai.chatgpt.quickstart, openai.codex.authentication, openai.codex.plan-access.

The desktop sign-in and surface-selection flow was checked against official OpenAI documentation on 8 September 2026. Plan names, entitlement rules, and workspace controls can change. The exercise has not yet been field-validated with a learner.

Next: Navigate Chat, Work, and Codex.