Before you start
Which way fits you
Setup
How to connect Video Compressor to ChatGPT
Install the app in Applications
Move Video Compressor to the Applications folder. The settings point to that location, so keep the app there.
Open Integrate with AI
Open Video Compressor, click Integrate with AI in the toolbar and choose the ChatGPT tab.
Connect
Turn on ChatGPT & Codex and click Connect to ChatGPT. If it says Not found on this Mac, install ChatGPT or Codex first.
Restart
Quit and reopen ChatGPT, or start a new Codex session. New tools load only on start.
Check the toolbar
The button now reads ChatGPT ✓. If you connected Claude as well, it shows Claude + ChatGPT ✓.
Video Compressor opens by itself when ChatGPT sends a video. Progress shows on the MacBook notch.
Usage
What to ask ChatGPT
In agent mode or Codex, describe what you need. The compressed file is saved next to the original as name_100MB.mp4.
Compress ~/Movies/Keynote_final.mov to 100 MBcompress_video
What quality will ~/Desktop/demo.mov have at 25 MB?estimate_quality
Compress all .mov files in ~/Desktop/Recordings to 50 MB in H.264compress_video · codec h264
Where are the videos I compressed today?compression_history
Regular ChatGPT chat
Fit a video into a ChatGPT chat
A regular chat can’t run apps on your Mac, but you don’t need the integration for this. The notch drop works with any chat app or website.
Drop the video on the notch
Drag the video to the top of the screen. The notch opens. Release the file on it. Or right-click the video in Finder and choose Compress for Claude: the name says Claude, but the result works anywhere.
Paste it into ChatGPT
When the notch shows the new size and ⌘V, click the ChatGPT message field and paste.
The size limit for the notch drop is 400 MB by default. Set it in the app’s quality panel under Compress for Claude: limit to match the limit you hit.
For advanced users
Manual setup
The button writes this block to the Codex settings file. Add it yourself if you prefer.
[mcp_servers.video-compressor] command = "/Applications/Video Compressor.app/Contents/MacOS/VideoCompressor" args = ["--mcp"] startup_timeout_sec = 30 tool_timeout_sec = 120
tool_timeout_sec gives long videos two minutes per call. For longer files ChatGPT checks progress with compression_status.
Troubleshooting
Questions about ChatGPT and video
Why can’t I upload a large video to ChatGPT?
ChatGPT limits the size of uploaded files. Compress the video under the limit on your Mac first, then attach the smaller file.
Does the integration work in a regular ChatGPT chat?
No. A regular chat can’t run apps on your Mac. The integration works in ChatGPT agent mode and Codex. In a regular chat, drop the video on the notch and paste the compressed file.
ChatGPT doesn’t see the tool
Check that the toolbar shows ChatGPT with a checkmark, then restart ChatGPT or open a new Codex session. Make sure Video Compressor is in the Applications folder.
Is my video uploaded to compress it?
No. Video Compressor compresses on your Mac with the hardware encoder. ChatGPT only gets the file path and the result size.
How do I disconnect it?
Open Integrate with AI, choose ChatGPT and click Disconnect ChatGPT. The block is removed from ~/.codex/config.toml.