ChatGPT Appshots Bring Your Mac's Frontmost App Into a Chat
OpenAI's Appshots feature lets ChatGPT users on macOS send the frontmost app window to a chat. An appshot can include the visible image and available text, making it possible to hand ChatGPT context from an API reference, email, error panel, or other app without describing it manually.
OpenAI's Appshots let ChatGPT take the current context from a Mac app and add it to a chat. OpenAI Developers says an Appshot captures the frontmost window, including its visible image and available text, and then behaves like an attachment. (OpenAI Developers on X; OpenAI Appshots documentation)
The approved OpenAI Developers announcement shows the intended workflow: ask for a summary of a Slack thread, use an API reference to write code, inspect an error or form, pull themes from replies on X, or draft follow-ups from messages. The feature is aimed at removing the manual step of describing what is already on screen. (OpenAI Developers on X)
How Appshots work
- Bring the app window you want to share to the front.
- Press both Command keys, or use a custom Appshots hotkey.
- Approve the macOS permissions if ChatGPT asks.
- Ask ChatGPT to perform a task using the Appshot.
By default, ChatGPT starts a new chat for the Appshot. If you interacted with a chat in the previous 60 seconds, OpenAI says the Appshot is added to that recent chat instead. Consecutive Appshots go to the same chat, which makes it possible to build a short sequence of visual context without manually attaching each capture. (OpenAI Appshots documentation)
What ChatGPT receives
An Appshot can include:
- An image of the visible frontmost window.
- Text that the app makes available, including text outside the visible scroll area when the app exposes it.
OpenAI says ChatGPT stores Appshots locally in the session file, like manually attached files or images. That local storage detail does not mean the capture stays outside the conversation: taking an Appshot shares the captured image and available text with ChatGPT. (OpenAI Appshots documentation)
Work and Codex examples
The OpenAI Developers post calls out tasks that benefit from app context: summarizing a Slack thread, reading an API reference, filling out a form, analyzing replies on X, and drafting responses from messages. In ChatGPT Work or Codex, OpenAI's documentation says ChatGPT can also use a matching installed plugin to access relevant app content. (OpenAI Developers on X; OpenAI Appshots documentation)
That makes Appshots a useful bridge between a visual desktop workflow and an agent task. It is still a context handoff, not a guarantee that ChatGPT can operate every app or read every part of a document.
Availability and limits
OpenAI documents Appshots as available in the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS. The CLI can include an existing Appshot when a chat is resumed, but the CLI cannot create a new Appshot. (OpenAI Appshots documentation)
There are several important capture limits:
- Only the frontmost window is captured.
- Google Docs, Gmail, Google Sheets, and Google Slides may provide only the visible screenshot rather than the full document or off-screen text.
- New Appshots require macOS permissions for Screen & System Audio Recording and Accessibility.
- Captured material should be reviewed like any screenshot or document shared with ChatGPT.
If Appshots do not work, OpenAI recommends checking System Settings > Privacy & Security, granting the two permissions to Codex Computer Use, restarting the app, and trying again. (OpenAI Appshots documentation)
A practical way to use them
Start with a window whose contents are safe to share, such as a non-sensitive API reference or an error panel. Ask ChatGPT to identify what it can read before requesting an action, especially when the app contains credentials, personal messages, or customer data. For documents and websites, verify whether ChatGPT received the full text or only the visible screenshot before relying on its answer.
Appshots turn “look at what I have open” into an explicit attachment workflow. The useful boundary is equally clear: macOS desktop only for new captures, frontmost window only, and available text depends on what the app exposes.
Sources
- OpenAI Developers on X, “Use appshots to…,” August 28, 2026: https://x.com/OpenAIDevs/status/2093437797982204052
- OpenAI Developers, “Appshots”: https://developers.openai.com/codex/appshots
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are ChatGPT Appshots?
Appshots let ChatGPT capture the frontmost app window on macOS and add the image and available text to a chat as an attachment.
How do I take an Appshot?
Bring the app window to the front and press both Command keys. You can configure a custom Appshots hotkey in ChatGPT settings, then ask ChatGPT to work with the captured context.
Which ChatGPT surfaces support new Appshots?
OpenAI documents Appshots as a feature of the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS. The CLI can include an existing Appshot in resumed chat history, but it cannot create a new one.
What permissions do Appshots need?
ChatGPT may request Screen & System Audio Recording to capture the frontmost window and Accessibility to read available text. Some apps may provide only the visible screenshot and not full off-screen text.