7 Tools That Make Codex 10x More Powerful
TL;DR
Codex gets dramatically better when you optimize the stuff around it — Riley Brown’s main point is that agents like Codex and Claude Code are only as strong as their input, context, and how quickly you can move between apps on your computer.
Whisper Flow turns prompting into a real-time, multi-agent workflow — by mapping voice-to-text to the Fn key, Riley fires off prompts like “make a notes app with a full database” or “find marketing opportunities” faster than typing, especially while GPT-5.5 high or extra high is still thinking.
Raycast and CleanShot X solve the two biggest context problems: memory and visuals — Raycast gives him a month of searchable clipboard history for links and images, while CleanShot X lets him mark up screenshots and screen recordings so agents can understand exactly what to change.
Paper feels like the most futuristic tool because Codex can design directly into it — using Paper’s MCP, Riley asks the agent for three notes-app design directions and watches it generate editable UI concepts live, with paid plans starting at $16/month annually.
Readwise and Excalidraw extend agents beyond coding into thinking and communication — Readwise lets Codex summarize 144 saved items from his last three days of bookmarks into a topic map, and Excalidraw helps agents turn research into rough but useful visual presentations.
The best tool might be the one you build yourself in one prompt — Riley demos a custom Electron app called “leave a comment,” built for about $3 in tokens with Firebase storage, because Google Docs couldn’t handle the image-and-video feedback workflow he wanted.
The Breakdown
Why Codex Alone Isn’t the Full Story
Riley opens with the core thesis: Codex and Claude Code are powerful, but “the input matters, the context matters,” and the real edge comes from the tools wrapped around them. He frames Codex as a mix of Claude Code and Claude co-work, useful because it can build projects, generate files like Excel sheets or PowerPoints, and let him multitask across multiple chat threads.
Whisper Flow: Talk to Your Agents Instead of Typing at Them
His first pick is Whisper Flow, a voice-to-text app tied to the keyboard that lets him press or double-tap Fn and speak prompts straight into Codex. The vibe is pure speed: while one agent is building a notes app or explaining Neon Postgres, he’s already dictating the next task, switching apps freely, then dropping the text back into Codex when he returns.
Raycast Becomes the Memory Layer for Research and Assets
Riley calls Raycast “arguably my favorite,” mostly because its clipboard history quietly saves everything he copies for a month. In practice, that means he can grab tweets, links, and images across the web, hit Command-M, and instantly paste them into a new Codex prompt — whether he’s researching x.com posts or assembling images for a slide deck about Claude Code.
CleanShot X Makes Visual Feedback Obvious to the Model
CleanShot X is his most visual tool, and the pitch is simple: screenshots shouldn’t disappear, they should stay pinned until you use them. He shows how he marks up site screenshots with arrows, text, and rectangles like “dots should be bigger” or “I don’t like this,” then hands those annotated images to the agent for much better context than words alone could provide.
Paper Is the “Whoa, This Is the Future” Design Workflow
Paper looks like Figma, but Riley loves it because it’s built for AI agents and can connect to Codex through an MCP. He asks for three design options for a Notion-like notes app, then just watches as Paper generates editable mockups in real time; the excitement here is less about pixel-perfect design and more about seeing the agent think visually on the canvas.
Readwise Turns Bookmarks Into an AI-Queryable Second Brain
Next he moves to Readwise Reader, where his X bookmarks and saved web content flow into one searchable archive. Using the Readwise plugin in Codex, he asks for a summary of his last three days — 144 saved items — and gets a clean topic map spanning AI agents, Apple, markets, energy, infrastructure, and geopolitics, which he can also push into an Excel sheet with clickable source links.
Excalidraw Helps AI Turn Research Into Presentations
Riley has used Excalidraw for about two years, and he clearly loves how fast it is for making diagrams with keyboard shortcuts and rough, expressive visuals. The clever twist is his custom Codex skill: he can ask the agent to research something like DeepSeek and language-model advances, then generate a 12-slide Excalidraw presentation that serves as a rough shell he can edit afterward.
The Final Tool: Build the Weird Little App You Wish Existed
His last and favorite category is “your own” tool — because Codex can just make it. He shows an Electron desktop app called “leave a comment,” built in a single prompt for around $3 of tokens, that lets him attach images and videos to Google Docs comments via Firebase-backed public links — a tiny, niche workflow fix that perfectly matches his actual editing process. He ends by saying this habit of building tools for your own pain points is not just useful, but potentially how you stumble into a real business.