Popular AI tools such as Claude Code and Codex can write code from scratch.You don't always need to reinvent the wheel; you can also use these tools to change code that already exists.I've used AI coding assistants like Codex and ChatGPT on several occasions to fix open-source apps that don't do everything that I want.
Open-source apps don't always have the one feature you want most Feature requests may never see the light of day Let me start out by saying that open-source software is incredible.People spend a lot of time and effort creating awesome software that they give away completely for free.Often, these apps can save you from having to pay for proprietary software that does similar things.
Open-source software is far from perfect, however.You may find that even if the software works perfectly (which isn't always the case), there's a particular feature you really want that is missing from the software.You can put in a feature request to the creator of the software, but even if multiple people request the same feature, there's no guarantee that it will be added.
It's hard enough to maintain open-source software, and the creator may simply not have the time to spend adding features just to please a handful of users.Related 5 free and open-source (FOSS) apps that are better than paid alternatives Professional-grade software without the price tag.Posts 9 By Dibakar Ghosh I used Codex to add missing KOReader features The Zen UI plugin lacked support for physical controls Close The good news is that even if you have no coding ability at all, you don't need to wait for someone else to add a feature to open-source software.
Using a tool such as Codex, you can do it yourself.That's the beauty of open source: common licenses such as GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache allow you to modify the code for your own personal use, although redistributing modified versions may come with additional requirements.When I installed the Zen UI plugin for KOReader on my jailbroken Kindle, I couldn't access some of the menus.
The software is intended predominantly for touchscreen Kindles, and some menus are accessed by swiping the screen.Since my Kindle 4 doesn't have a touchscreen, I had no way to access these menus, so I asked Codex for help.I asked it to map the missing menu to a physical button on my Kindle 4 instead of to the swipe gesture.
It took Codex about five minutes to look at the current code and suggest a modification.The first couple of attempts failed, but in less than 10 minutes, Codex had modified the Zen UI plugin so that I could access the missing menu using the Kindle 4's buttons.It now works exactly as I want it to.
I added one of my favorite Apple TV features to Jellyfin I was tired of missing crucial lines of dialogue Another change that I made using Codex was to the Jellyfin Web client.I use Jellyfin a lot for playing my personal collection of TV shows and movies.I regularly use a Meta Quest VR headset to watch the content on a giant virtual cinema screen.
One thing that really annoys me is when I’m watching a show or movie and the actor mumbles a crucial piece of dialogue that’s central to the plot.On an Apple TV, there's a great trick where you can use the Siri Remote to ask, "What did they say?" On supported content, playback skips back briefly and turns on the subtitles, so you can read the dialogue instead of trying to make out what they're mumbling.Since tvOS 18, you can set your Apple TV to show subtitles automatically when you skip back using the remote.
I really wished Jellyfin had this feature, so I asked Codex to add it to the Jellyfin Web client.It took a lot longer than Codex took to make changes to the Zen UI plugin, but Codex tested its own changes as it went, so the final result worked on the first try.Now, when I'm watching Jellyfin in a browser, I can tap the left arrow or the J key to skip back 10 seconds, and Jellyfin will automatically turn on the default subtitles for 15 seconds.
After the 15 seconds are up, it turns them off again, and the show or movie carries on.Codex can get things wrong It's important to take a backup before you start experimenting Before you let Codex loose on your open-source apps, it's worth taking the time to back up your current setup so that you can revert any changes.AI tools can and do get things wrong, and there's always a chance that granting some innocent-looking permission will end up with Codex breaking everything.
If you take a backup, then if the worst happens, you can at least restore the earlier working state, even if the feature you want still won't exist.You can then decide whether to try again or write off the idea.Make open-source apps your own I think that if I'd taken enough time, I might have eventually been able to figure out how to map the Zen UI feature to a physical button on my Kindle, but it would have involved a lot of head-scratching and frustration.
Using tools like Codex, you can make open-source apps do what you want just by asking.
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