1. Create your Pear account
Sign up at pearmcp.com, connect Apple iCloud or Microsoft 365, then copy your Pear API key from Settings. Make PEAR_API_KEY available to the Codex local client process through your environment or secret manager. Codex reads the Bearer token from that variable, so the key is not hardcoded into its shared MCP config.
Apple Reminders compatibility
Apple Reminders availability depends on the Apple account. For Apple, Pear can read and write only the legacy reminder lists Apple still exposes through CalDAV. If the account has been upgraded to Apple's newer Reminders store, Pear cannot access those native lists and does not copy them into a separate reminder store. Apple may instead return compatibility placeholders, such as repeated "Where are my reminders?" items; Pear did not create them. Pear's safe fallback hides known placeholders and blocks writes to affected lists. Reconnecting iCloud or replacing the App-Specific Password will not change this Apple limitation. Calendar, Contacts, and Mail are unaffected, and Microsoft To Do uses Microsoft Graph and is unaffected. Full modern Apple Reminders access would require an Apple-platform companion using EventKit with the user's permission; Pear does not currently provide one.
Read the Apple Reminders compatibility note2. Add Pear to the shared Codex MCP config
Run this once from a shell where PEAR_API_KEY is set. Codex stores the MCP server entry in the configuration shared by the CLI, IDE extension, and ChatGPT desktop app, then reads the token from each client process's environment.
codex mcp add pear --url "https://pearmcp.com/api/mcp" --bearer-token-env-var PEAR_API_KEY codex mcp list
Codex also supports explicit static OAuth client settings. Pear's dedicated CLI OAuth registration and lifecycle certification are still planned, and the desktop surface has no separately certified Pear client, so both OAuth paths remain candidates rather than working fallbacks today.
Do not use URL-only OAuth as a fallback. Without a configured static public Client ID, current Codex local clients can attempt Dynamic Client Registration before Pear's login screen. Pear intentionally exposes no DCR endpoint, so that path is incompatible.
3. Verify each client before a work session
Use codex mcp list to confirm Pear is registered. If your shell profile does not export PEAR_API_KEY, export it again before launching Codex.
For debugging, codex mcp add --help should show--url and--bearer-token-env-var options for Streamable HTTP MCP servers.
In the ChatGPT desktop app, open Settings, then MCP servers, and confirm Pear appears after restarting the app. Shared configuration is setup documentation only: a CLI run cannot supply the desktop app's separate lifecycle evidence, or vice versa.
Useful Codex CLI prompts
- Check my calendar before planning this deploy window.
- Create Microsoft To Do tasks for these release follow-ups, or first confirm Apple exposes a usable legacy CalDAV list.
- Find a free 30-minute slot next week and draft an email to confirm it.
- Search recent mail from this vendor before I update the integration docs.
What to test in Codex CLI
- Read and update calendar events, tasks, contacts, and mail from the same coding assistant.
- Turn TODO comments, release notes, and planning docs into Microsoft To Do tasks or usable legacy Apple CalDAV reminders.
- Check availability before scheduling work with teammates or customers.
- Keep Apple iCloud and Microsoft 365 context available without writing local automation scripts.
Codex CLI workflows worth testing
- Ask Codex to create Microsoft To Do follow-ups, or usable legacy Apple CalDAV reminders, while it updates a changelog.
- Have Codex check your calendar before scheduling a migration or customer call.
- Let Codex search recent mail from a vendor before editing integration code or docs.
