Codex in Russia without a VPN or a ChatGPT account — GPT models on a RuAPI key, paid in USDT
Codex CLI is OpenAI's terminal coding agent, and its source code is open (Apache-2.0). But OpenAI doesn't serve Russia: you can't officially sign in with ChatGPT or get an OpenAI API key from there, and a ChatGPT subscription is paid by card. Add RuAPI as a provider in ~/.codex/config.toml and Codex runs on gpt-5.4, gpt-5.5, gpt-6.1-sol and other GPT models, and on Claude, DeepSeek or Gemini too if you like. You pay in USDT only for tokens.
model = "gpt-5.4"
model_provider = "ruapi"
[model_providers.ruapi]
name = "RuAPI"
base_url = "https://www.ruapi.ai/v1"
wire_api = "responses"
experimental_bearer_token = "sk-..."
model_catalog_url = "https://www.ruapi.ai/v1/models?for=codex"
The file is ~/.codex/config.toml (on Windows, %USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml). Replace sk-... with your RuAPI key. Even easier: one command from the Console installs Codex and adds this block for you.
What gets in the way of Codex in Russia, and how RuAPI fixes it
No way to pay for ChatGPT.
The free ChatGPT plan gives Codex only small limits; regular use needs a paid plan, which is paid by bank card — and Russian bank cards don't work abroad. A RuAPI balance is topped up in USDT from 5 USDT and is spent only on the tokens Codex uses — there's no monthly fee.
OpenAI doesn't work with Russia.
Russia is on neither the ChatGPT country list (help.openai.com) nor the OpenAI API one (developers.openai.com; both checked Nov 1, 2026). So signing in to Codex with a ChatGPT account and OpenAI API keys are officially unavailable from Russia. With RuAPI as the provider, Codex sends requests to www.ruapi.ai, which opens from Russia without a VPN.
One block in config.toml is enough.
Codex supports third-party providers: describe RuAPI in ~/.codex/config.toml together with your key. You don't need to sign in to an OpenAI account for this, and the /model menu lists the models your key can use by itself: GPT plus Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini and others (Codex 0.161 or newer).
How to connect Codex to RuAPI: 3 steps
About five minutes: an account, a key and one command in the terminal — or one settings file if you prefer to do it by hand.
Sign up for RuAPI instead of buying ChatGPT Plus
Create an account at www.ruapi.ai with email, Google or Yandex. Top up the balance in USDT from 5 USDT; if you have no USDT yet, you can buy it with rubles via SBP: docs.ruapi.ai/en/buy-usdt.
You can try Codex before paying with the $0.05 new accounts usually get right away. gpt-6-luna, deepseek-flash and claude-haiku-5-5 work on it — put one of them in the model line (the Console command fills in gpt-6-luna for you). The other models unlock after your first top-up.
Create a key for Codex
Console → API Keys → "Create API key". Codex decides on its own how many steps a task takes, so give the key a spending limit — it won't spend more than that.
Install Codex and add the provider
- Quickest: Console → API Keys → Connect Claude Code, Cline & more → Codex → Copy command. Paste the command into a terminal: if Codex is not installed yet, it installs it via npm (plus Node.js if it is missing), adds the settings to ~/.codex/config.toml without touching the rest, and opens Codex.
- By hand: npm install -g @openai/codex (you need version 0.161 or newer: codex --version), then open ~/.codex/config.toml (on Windows, %USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml; create it if it doesn't exist) and paste the block from the example at the top of the page, replacing sk-... with your key.
- Run codex in your project folder; switch models with /model. The request shows up in Console → Usage Logs.
Full guide with troubleshooting: docs.ruapi.ai/en/integrations/codex
What goes into config.toml
Provider
model_provider = "ruapi"
wire_api = "responses"
Address and key
base_url = "https://www.ruapi.ai/v1"
experimental_bearer_token = "sk-..."
Model
model = "gpt-5.4"
in a session: /model — the model list refreshes by itself
GPT model prices for Codex
The GPT models Codex works with, in USD per 1M tokens, taken from the pricing page. No subscription and no monthly limits: you pay for tokens only.
| model | input $/M | output $/M |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-6-astra | $12.00 cache read $1.20 >272K: $24.00 | $60.00 >272K: $90.00 |
| gpt-6.1-sol | $2.40 cache read $0.12 >272K: $4.80 | $12.00 >272K: $18.00 |
| gpt-5.5 | $6.00 cache read $0.60 >272K: $12.00 | $36.00 >272K: $54.00 |
| gpt-5.6-sol | $4.80 cache read $0.48 >272K: $9.60 | $24.00 >272K: $36.00 |
| gpt-5.4 | $3.00 cache read $0.30 >272K: $6.00 | $18.00 >272K: $27.00 |
| gpt-5.6-terra | $2.40 cache read $0.24 >272K: $4.80 | $14.40 >272K: $21.60 |
| gpt-5.6-luna | $0.24 cache read $0.0240 >272K: $0.48 | $1.44 >272K: $2.16 |
| gpt-6-luna | $0.12 cache read $0.0120 >272K: $0.24 | $0.60 >272K: $0.90 |
| gpt-5.4-mini | $0.90 cache read $0.0900 | $5.40 |
Columns: input is new input tokens, “cache read” is input tokens OpenAI serves from the prompt cache, output is the model’s reply. At every step of a task Codex sends the model its instructions and the session history again; the repeated part of the prompt usually hits the cache and costs several times less. The pricing page shows an “est. effective w/ cache” figure.
The grey “>272K” line is OpenAI’s tier for long prompts: once a prompt is longer than the threshold, the whole request is billed at that tier.
Codex via RuAPI vs. a ChatGPT subscription
| Codex + RuAPI | Codex with a ChatGPT account | |
|---|---|---|
| Access from Russia | www.ruapi.ai — direct, no VPN | Russia isn't on the ChatGPT or OpenAI API country lists |
| Payment | USDT from 5 USDT; foreign-issued cards accepted too | Small Codex limits on the free plan; paid plans by bank card |
| How usage is billed | Only for the tokens you use, no monthly fee | Monthly subscription with Codex usage limits |
| Models | The text GPT models on the pricing page, from gpt-5.4-mini to gpt-6-astra, plus Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, Kimi, GLM, Qwen, MiniMax and Grok | The models included in your plan |
OpenAI information is from the ChatGPT (help.openai.com) and OpenAI API (developers.openai.com) supported-country lists, the Codex docs and the ChatGPT plan descriptions (checked Nov 1, 2026).