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The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

simonwillison.net

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Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#101

Post by nomel »

simongg wrote: post #14
nomel wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bundling all of LibreOffice seems like a pretty huge dependency What's the alternative library you see?

Apache POI

I don't think that's anywhere near equivalent. That's for reading and writing Microsoft Office docs. It has no office functionality. LibreOffice has a full API, for example to run calculations on spreadsheets [1].

The goal of bringing in dependencies is so you don't have to duplicate the functionality, in this case, crafted over decades of effort.

[1] https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/SDKGuide/C...

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#103

Post by doc_ick »

cpursley wrote: post #72
doc_ick wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On top of everyone else’s great points, if you make your own “fork” of something, then you have to consistently maintain it. Which can be done with tokens, but an extra cost with something that’s not as user tested.

I’m not talking about forking, but using standard libraries and native frameworks instead pretending electron is a desktop app.

Ah good point, I thought this was coming across from the "recreate" your own approach. I would fully agree with you on using native frameworks, though the eletron desktop is a great "entry" onto desktops ensuring companies only have to update 1 source, as opposed to natives everywhere.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#104

Post by benatkin »

simonw wrote: post #4

(This is more of a tweet than a blog post, it really wasn't written with Hacker News in mind.)

Indeed, but that likely wouldn't have stopped someone from submitting it with a misleading title. HN is known to get a lot of misleading titles submitted and to have to change them. The tag is better, it doesn't say "a full copy". In the screenshot it shows "headless" in the filename. I would simply add the tiny detail of headless to the and use this title for HN: Codex Bundles Headless LibreOffice

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#105

Post by written-beyond »

isityettime wrote: post #78

The new app is an unbelievable mess. Settings are senselessly organized, too. The whole thing has this aesthetic slickness and then underneath it's like the people who make it have never even used it. It's not surprising that it's pulled in absolutely massive dependencies, although I'm not sure it's the wrong call on some operating systems. LibreOffice is pretty tried and true.

HOW DOES IT WORK FOR YOU PEOPLE?!

Istg on windows, I can't get codex app, new chatgpt or chatgpt classic to work without hanging on even a moderately sized chat. I tried all of the different tricks people recommended but that shit just crawls. It was stable at some point, classic that is, but then it started being a laggy mess.

I've uninstalled new chatgpt/codex app. I can't access phone chats on it, I can't use the desktop allocated chat messages on it. I have to use up codex limits. I am so surprised that OpenAI ships that hot garbage on windows.

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#106

Post by dofm »

embedding-shape wrote: post #44
zatkin wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never installed the ChatGPT app on my Mac until today. I ran the app, signed in, and I see the same. % ls ~/.cache/codex-runtimes/codex-primary-runtime/dependencies/native/libreoffice-headless libreoffice manifest.json

On a Windows installation I see this: PS C:\Users\user> ls C:\Users\user\.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime\dependencies\native\ Mode LastWriteTime Length Name ---- ------------- ------ ---- d----- 8/27/2026 10:09 AM git d----- 6/16/2026 9:18 PM jxrlib d----- 8/26/2026 7:37 PM libheif d----- 6/17/2026 5:32 AM poppler d----- 8/27/2026 10:09 AM powershell So doesn't seem bundled with all installs at least.

Is this perhaps because the aim is to read Office documents and there are (maybe, I don't know for sure) default components within Windows that can do that?

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#107

Post by fg137 »

petilon wrote: post #71

There is a serious threat to Microsoft here, if everyone starts using AI for generating and updating Office docs. At some point Office will become just a viewer.

I have not created or read any Word document for a very long time. I only create PowerPoint presentations a few times a year for work, which could be easily replaced with PowerPoint online or Google Slides or even just some markdown files.

But I have a license for the entire office 365 including Copilot premium.

Guess why?

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#108

Post by zamadatix »

TZubiri wrote: post #63
zamadatix wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite the title, I'm not sure it's actually bundled. Some of the skills plugins will download it on the first run. So it depends where they are grabbing it from rather than the presence of the binary on the system, but I haven't checked that deep into where they actually grab it.

The license itself may be present in the cache folder. Alternatively, ChatGPT might happily disclose authorship and licensing if asked. I'm not convinced of the argument that the fact that it is not bundled at download or even at install-time, would free them of the GPL responsibilities. And at this point. I'm also not sure HOW the devs bundled libreoffice, whether they just mentioned in a prompt (use libreoffice), o…

I finally did find the license in

  ~/.cache/codex-runtimes/codex-primary-runtime/dependencies/native/libreoffice-headless/libreoffice/LibreOfficeDev.app/Contents/Resources/LICENSE

Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice

#109

Post by verdverm »

cpursley wrote: post #76
verdverm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

one does not just "throw tokens" at a problem, Ai is not that capable, and we are talking about MS Office file format, likely a NP hard problem

AI is especially good at ports like this where there’s a known and well tested surface area.

"ports like this" skips the part about Microsoft/enterprise software having a known and well tested surface area, the few examples we've seen are exceptional cases I suspect
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