ChatGPT desktop app found to bundle 1.7GB LibreOffice suite
Developer Simon Willison discovered that the recently rebranded OpenAI application includes a full copy of the open-source office suite in its local cache folder.
The OpenAI Codex desktop application, which has recently been rebranded as the ChatGPT app, has been found to include a complete copy of the LibreOffice suite. The discovery highlights the substantial amount of data the software stores locally on user devices.
Developer Simon Willison identified the files while inspecting his system using the OmniDiskSweeper utility. He noted that the application contained approximately 1.7GB of data related to the office suite within his local cache directory.
The bundled software is located in the user’s ~/.cache/ folder, a standard location for temporary files and application data. While the size of the bundle is significant, the exact functional purpose of including LibreOffice within the ChatGPT app remains unconfirmed by OpenAI.
The finding was published on Willison’s personal blog on 1 September 2026. As the discovery is observational rather than based on an official statement from the company, it is unclear whether this 1.7GB bundle is present in all versions of the application or only specific builds.
The inclusion of a full office suite in a generative AI desktop client has raised questions among developers about the underlying architecture of the software. The presence of such a large file set in the cache folder suggests the app may rely on LibreOffice for document processing or conversion tasks.
OpenAI has not yet responded to the discovery. Until further details are provided, the 1.7GB footprint remains a notable aspect of the application’s local storage requirements.
