Codex + xCloud

Install one-click apps with Codex on xCloud

Installing one-click apps with Codex means running OpenAI's terminal agent against the xCloud MCP server so it can install a catalogue app on your server and, if the install fails, tell you which phase broke and why.

Skill: xcloud:deploy
Toolsets: oneclick-apps, catalog, servers
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Codex All Codex guides

YouThe Uptime Kuma install on Frankfurt failed. Which phase, and what do the events say?

oneclickApps_statusread-only

sites_eventsread-only

AgentIt stopped in post_install. The last event reports that the container never became healthy. The server is not too small, so a retry is reasonable. Want me to try again with the same key?

YouYes, once.

oneclickApps_installneeds approval

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Codex to Install one-click apps on xCloud?

Connect Codex once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add the xCloud MCP server
Run this in your terminal. This form comes from xCloud's connect guide; OpenAI's Codex page documents codex mcp add for local commands, so if your version rejects --url, use the config.toml step below.
Terminal
```
codex mcp add xcloud --url https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Or write it in config.toml
Codex reads ~/.codex/config.toml. Add a table for the server with its url. A Streamable HTTP server needs only the url, and the same file is where you set a bearer_token_env_var if you use an API key instead of OAuth.
TOML
```
[mcp_servers.xcloud]
url = "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
```
3
Sign in and check
Run the login command, approve the teams and choose Read-only or Full access in the browser, then type /mcp in Codex to see xcloud and its tools. Optional: Codex is also listed for the xCloud Agent Plugins package, which adds the xCloud skills.
Terminal
```
codex mcp login xcloud
```

Check it worked

Then ask Codex for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

The Uptime Kuma install on Frankfurt failed. Show me the failed phase and the last events for that site before you touch anything.

In practice

How Does One-click apps Work from Codex?

Codex is at its best in this job when something goes wrong, because the failure path is a sequence of reads that a terminal agent handles well. Say you ran an install earlier and it did not finish. You open Codex in a shell and ask which phase failed. It calls oneclickApps_status for the app's site, reads is_terminal and failed_phase, and tells you in a line whether the install stopped at pre_install, install, post_install or provisioning. Then it pulls the site's recent events with sites_events and quotes the relevant lines. That is the same information as Recent Events in the dashboard, without leaving the terminal.

The rule Codex follows here is that a failed install is not retried blindly. It first checks whether the cause is something a retry cannot fix, such as a server that is too small or an app that needs another stack, and says so. If the cause is clear and fixable, it proposes the change, restates the app, the server and the address, and waits for your approval before calling oneclickApps_install again. The idempotency key on a repeated request is what stops a second copy of the app from appearing, so a retry in the same session reuses it.

A first install in Codex reads the same as it does anywhere. Codex calls oneclickApps_index and oneclickApps_compatibility, reports whether the server fits, installs on your yes and polls to the end. Two Codex habits are worth knowing. The server must be logged in, so run codex mcp login xcloud once after adding it, and the /mcp command inside Codex shows whether xcloud is listed. If your Codex build rejects the add command with a URL, the config.toml table works the same way.

Codex specific: If codex mcp login xcloud has not been run, or the login expired, the xCloud tools disappear and Codex may answer from memory instead of the status call. Type /mcp to confirm xcloud is listed before you trust a status answer. Also keep any API token out of config.toml and use bearer_token_env_var, since the failure path reads site events and the token is shared across every call in the session.

What xCloud does for one-click apps

xCloud lists the one-click catalogue, checks whether an app fits a given server, installs it once you approve and reports each install phase until it finishes. Afterwards the agent can fetch the login details and stop, start or redeploy the app. A few apps install only from the dashboard, and the agent tells you where to click.

Find the app. The agent searches the catalogue by name or purpose and shows what it found. An empty catalogue means the list has not synced on that environment, so the agent never answers that an app does not exist from an empty list.
Read the install form. The agent reads the app's fields. Fields xCloud generates for you can be left out. For the address you choose a free xCloud staging hostname or your own domain, and a live domain needs the full site name.
Check the server fits. You name the server, or the agent lists yours and asks. The compatibility check covers the server stack, runtime, state, billing and RAM, CPU and disk against the latest monitoring snapshot. If monitoring data is missing the resource check was skipped, and the agent says the result is inconclusive.
Approve and install. The agent restates the app, the server and the address, and asks once. On your yes it sends the install with an explicit confirmation and an idempotency key, so a retried request cannot create a second copy.
Poll the install. The agent polls the install status every five to ten seconds until it is terminal. A failure names its phase: pre_install, install, post_install or provisioning, so you know where it stopped.
Hand over and manage. The agent gives you the URL. It fetches the login details only when you ask, shows them once in the reply and tells you to store them in a password manager. Later it can stop, start, restart or redeploy the app after your approval.

Reference

One-click apps Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Codex works within when it installs one-click apps. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Catalogue	Searchable by name. It holds hundreds of apps, and most run on a Docker server. Public facts such as supported stacks and minimum size come from the catalogue listing
Compatibility check	Per server: stack, runtime, server state, billing and RAM, CPU and disk. monitor_available set to false means the resource check was skipped, not passed
Too-small servers	A server that is too small stays too small. The agent suggests a larger server instead of retrying the install
Stack requirements	An app that needs another stack is refused with a 422 that reads "This app requires a ... server. This server is on the ... stack."
Dashboard-only installs	n8n, Supabase, Nextcloud, Mautic, LibreChat, Open WebUI, Ollama, Umami, WireGuard, phpMyAdmin and Site.pro. The API answers 404 for these eleven; install them from Add site, One-Click Apps in the dashboard
Address	Staging hostname for a free xCloud address, or go live with your own domain. A demo site promoted to a live domain cannot return to the demo address
Idempotency	The install carries an Idempotency-Key, so a retried request cannot create a duplicate site
Install phases	pre_install, install, post_install and provisioning. is_terminal marks the end, and failed_phase says where a failure happened
Credentials	Read on request and shown once in the reply. Some apps have none to read because you create the first admin inside the app
Lifecycle	Stop, start, restart and redeploy run synchronously. Stop takes the app offline and redeploy recreates its containers. Both answer 422 while an install is running or after a failed install
Agentic servers	An OpenClaw, Hermes, Paperclip or DeepSeek Harness server never takes a one-click app

Rules Codex has to follow

Installing, stopping and redeploying an app stop for your approval; browsing the catalogue and the compatibility check never change anything.
A missing resource reading is reported as inconclusive, never as a pass.
Login details are shown once, only when you ask, and never repeated in a summary or a later message.
For the eleven dashboard-only apps the agent checks that the server fits, then gives you the dashboard path instead of trying the install.
A failed install is not retried blindly: the agent names the failed phase and reads the site's recent events first.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Codex to Do for One-click apps?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

The Uptime Kuma install on Frankfurt failed. Show me the failed phase and the last events for that site before you touch anything.

Prompt

Check whether Immich fits my Amsterdam server and tell me if the resource check was inconclusive.

Prompt

Retry the Uptime Kuma install on Frankfurt only if the failure was not a size or stack problem. Ask me first.

Prompt

Which one-click apps are compatible with my Frankfurt server?

Prompt

Search the one-click catalogue for a self-hosted blog and tell me what each result needs from a server.

Prompt

Install Uptime Kuma on the Frankfurt server on a staging hostname, wait until it is ready, then give me the login details.

Prompt

Check whether Immich fits my Amsterdam server before I install it, and tell me if the resource check was inconclusive.

Prompt

I want n8n on my Frankfurt server. Check that the server fits, then tell me where to click to install it.

Prompt

The Uptime Kuma install on the Frankfurt server failed. Which phase failed, and what do the recent events say?

Prompt

Redeploy the Ghost app on blog.example.com, but tell me what a redeploy does before you run it.

Codex and One-click apps: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Codex install one-click apps through xCloud.

Can Codex tell me why a one-click app install failed?

Yes. It reads the install status, which names the failed phase, then the site's recent events, and it quotes both. It tells you whether the failure looks fixable. A size or stack problem is reported as such rather than retried.

Will Codex run the install again on its own after a failure?

No. A retry is an install, so it stops for your approval, and Codex first checks whether the cause is one a retry cannot fix. If you approve, the repeated request carries the same idempotency key so it cannot create a duplicate site.

Can an agent install any app in the one-click catalogue?

Most of them. Eleven apps install only from the dashboard: n8n, Supabase, Nextcloud, Mautic, LibreChat, Open WebUI, Ollama, Umami, WireGuard, phpMyAdmin and Site.pro. For those the agent checks that your server fits and points you to Add site, One-Click Apps.

How does the agent know an app will fit my server?

It runs the compatibility check for that server, which covers the stack, runtime, server state, billing and the RAM, CPU and disk readings from the latest monitoring snapshot. If monitoring data is missing, the agent tells you the resource check was inconclusive.

What does a 422 during an app install mean?

Usually that the app needs a different server stack than the one you picked, and the message names both. Pick a server on the required stack. A 422 on stop, start or redeploy means an install is still running or the last install failed.

Where do the login details for a one-click app come from?

The agent can read them from xCloud when you ask and shows them once in the reply. Store them in a password manager. Some apps have no generated login because you create the first administrator inside the app.

Can an agent stop or restart a one-click app?

Yes. Stop, start, restart and redeploy are available, and they run straight away once you approve. Stop takes the app offline and redeploy recreates its containers, so the agent asks before either.

Other agents