How a New Codex Theme Can Boost Your Mood

Since adopting AI‑assisted coding, the author rarely opens a traditional IDE, preferring the terminal with Claude Code and the Codex app (now called ChatGPT). To reduce eye fatigue from dark mode, they switched early to a light theme featuring a cream‑colored background and the Maple Mono font, noting that the aesthetic change also improves their mood.

The same visual style was previously shared as the "Ghostty" light theme for the terminal, and the author now ports that style to the Codex app, keeping the background color and font identical.

If the cream background feels too yellow, the author suggests lightening it toward white, providing an alternative screenshot.

Codex already includes many built‑in themes accessible from its settings page, allowing users to preview and select a theme that suits them.

To apply the author’s custom theme, click the "Import" button after selecting a theme and paste the following JSON configuration, then confirm.

codex-theme-v1:{"codeThemeId":"codex","theme":{"accent":"#3a94c5","contrast":45,"fonts":{"code":"Maple Mono NF CN","ui":"Maple Mono NF CN"},"ink":"#5c6a72","opaqueWindows":true,"semanticColors":{"diffAdded":"#8da101","diffRemoved":"#f85552","skill":"#df69ba"},"surface":"#fdf6e3"},"variant":"light"}

The font can be swapped for any preferred monospaced font, such as JetBrains Mono. Alternatively, the same three settings—accent color, background color, and font—can be edited directly in the Codex settings UI.