This Needs A Call

Self-host a voice call for your coding agent. Start a session from Codex, talk through an idea from your desk or phone, and let the Codex thread read the settled transcript in the background.

Requires Node.js 24+ for stable local URLs through Portless.

1. Clone and Link

git clone https://github.com/jacobparis/this-needs-a-call
cd this-needs-a-call
npm install
vercel link
DEV_MCP_SHARED_SECRET="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
vercel env add MCP_SHARED_SECRET development --value "$DEV_MCP_SHARED_SECRET" --yes --force

2. Install the Local Plugin

vercel env pull
vercel env run -- npm run install:codex-plugin -- \
  --app-url https://this-needs-a-call.localhost

3. Run Locally

vercel env run -- npm run dev:portless

Portless gives local development the same stable URL every time: https://this-needs-a-call.localhost.

4. Deploy for Phone Handoff

Use a separate production secret. Do not reuse the development secret.

vercel integration add upstash/upstash-kv
PROD_MCP_SHARED_SECRET="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
vercel env add MCP_SHARED_SECRET production --value "$PROD_MCP_SHARED_SECRET" --yes --force
DEPLOYMENT_URL="$(vercel deploy --prod --yes)"
vercel env run -e production -- npm run install:codex-plugin -- \
  --app-url "$DEPLOYMENT_URL"

The Upstash marketplace product is Redis-compatible storage. Production fails closed without UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL and UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN.

5. Start a Call

In Codex:

/this-needs-a-call

The skill creates a session URL at /sessions/<sessionId>, starts the monitor, and opens a voice call page. Use the in-page Share link or QR code to move the same session to another device.

Security

MCP_SHARED_SECRET protects session creation and the /mcp endpoint. Magic links are bearer credentials for a single call session: anyone with the link can claim that session, which is what enables phone handoff. Share them only with devices you trust.