Codex CLI Reference Guide

March 21, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Comprehensive reference for OpenAI Codex CLI: installation, configuration, skill system, invocation patterns, and advanced features.

Table of Contents

Overview

Codex CLI is OpenAI's terminal-native coding agent. It connects to OpenAI models (o4-mini, o3, GPT-4.1) and executes tasks autonomously or with human approval. Codex reads, writes, and executes code directly in your local environment.

Key capabilities:

  • File creation and modification
  • Shell command execution
  • Multi-step task planning and execution
  • Skill-based specialization
  • Sandboxed execution for safety

Installation

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 22 or newer
  • npm (comes with Node.js)
  • Git (recommended)
  • An OpenAI API key

Install via npm

npm install -g @openai/codex

Verify installation

codex --version
codex --help

Update to latest

npm update -g @openai/codex

First-time setup

# Set API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

# Or add to shell profile for persistence
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Run initial configuration
codex configure

Configuration

Configuration file location

Codex CLI reads configuration from:

  1. ~/.codex/config.yaml - Global user config
  2. .codex/config.yaml - Project-local config (overrides global)

Configuration options

# ~/.codex/config.yaml
model: o4-mini                    # Default model
approval_mode: suggest            # Default approval mode
history: true                     # Enable conversation history
notify: true                      # Desktop notifications on completion

Model selection

ModelBest ForSpeedCost
o4-miniGeneral coding tasksFastLow
o3Complex reasoning, architectureSlowerHigher
gpt-4.1Broad knowledge, writingFastMedium
# Override model per invocation
codex --model o3 "design the database schema"

Approval Modes

Codex CLI supports three approval modes that control how much autonomy the agent has.

suggest (default)

The agent proposes changes. You approve or reject each one.

codex --approval-mode suggest "add input validation"

Use when: Learning the tool, working on critical code, reviewing each step.

auto-edit

The agent automatically applies file edits but asks before executing shell commands.

codex --approval-mode auto-edit "refactor auth module"

Use when: You trust the agent with file changes but want to control command execution.

full-auto

The agent executes everything autonomously. All file edits and shell commands run without approval.

codex --approval-mode full-auto "set up test infrastructure"

Use when: Working in sandboxed environments, CI/CD pipelines, or trusted automated workflows. Codex applies network-disabled sandboxing by default in this mode.

Skill System

Skills are modular packages that give Codex specialized capabilities and domain knowledge.

Skill Locations

Codex discovers skills from these directories (in priority order):

PriorityLocationScope
1.codex/skills/Project-local
2~/.codex/skills/User-global
3/usr/local/share/codex/skills/System-wide

Priority rule: Project-local skills override global skills with the same name.

Skill Discovery

When invoked, Codex:

  1. Scans skill directories for agents/openai.yaml files
  2. Reads skill names and descriptions
  3. Matches user queries to relevant skills
  4. Loads matched skill instructions and tools

Explicit invocation:

codex --skill code-reviewer "review the latest PR"

Auto-discovery: Codex matches the user prompt against skill descriptions:

codex "analyze code quality"   # Matches skills with "code quality" in description

agents/openai.yaml Schema

The agents/openai.yaml file is the primary skill configuration for Codex CLI.

Required fields

name: my-skill                    # Unique identifier (kebab-case)
description: >                    # What this skill does (discovery text)
  Expert guidance for X. Analyzes Y, generates Z.

instructions: |                   # Behavioral instructions for the agent
  You are a senior X specialist.

  When the user asks about Y:
  1. First, analyze the context
  2. Apply framework Z
  3. Produce structured output

tools:                            # Tool definitions (see below)
  - name: analyzer
    description: Analyzes X
    command: python scripts/analyzer.py

Optional fields

model: o4-mini                    # Preferred model for this skill
version: 1.0.0                   # Skill version

Complete example

name: code-reviewer
description: >
  Automated code review. Analyzes pull requests for complexity,
  risk, and quality. Generates review reports with prioritized findings.
instructions: |
  You are an expert code reviewer with deep knowledge of software
  engineering best practices, security patterns, and code quality.

  ## Review Process
  1. Understand the PR context (what changed and why)
  2. Run the PR analyzer tool for automated checks
  3. Review findings and add human-level insights
  4. Generate a structured review report

  ## Priorities
  - Security vulnerabilities (critical)
  - Logic errors (high)
  - Performance issues (medium)
  - Style and conventions (low)

  ## Output Format
  Always provide:
  - Summary of changes
  - Risk assessment (low/medium/high/critical)
  - Specific findings with file and line references
  - Actionable recommendations
tools:
  - name: pr_analyzer
    description: >
      Analyzes git diff between branches for review complexity,
      risk patterns, and generates review priorities
    command: python scripts/pr_analyzer.py
  - name: code_quality_checker
    description: >
      Checks source code for SOLID violations, code smells,
      complexity metrics, and structural issues
    command: python scripts/code_quality_checker.py
  - name: review_report_generator
    description: >
      Generates a formatted review report from analysis results
    command: python scripts/review_report_generator.py
model: o4-mini
version: 1.0.0

Tool Definitions

Tools expose scripts to the Codex agent. Each tool maps to a command that Codex can execute.

tools:
  - name: tool_name               # Identifier (snake_case)
    description: >                # When and why to use this tool
      Detailed description of what the tool does and
      what output to expect
    command: python scripts/tool.py   # Execution command
    args:                         # Optional argument definitions
      - name: input_path
        description: Path to input file or directory
        required: true
      - name: format
        description: Output format
        required: false
        default: text

Tool naming conventions:

  • Use snake_case for tool names
  • Match the Python script name (without .py extension)
  • Be descriptive: pr_analyzer not analyze

Command path rules:

  • Paths are relative to the skill directory
  • python scripts/tool.py resolves to <skill-dir>/scripts/tool.py
  • Ensure scripts are executable and have proper shebangs

Invocation Patterns

Basic usage

# Simple task
codex "add error handling to the API routes"

# With specific model
codex --model o3 "design the caching architecture"

# With specific skill
codex --skill senior-fullstack "scaffold a Next.js app"

File context

# Pass specific files as context
codex --file src/auth.ts --file src/types.ts "add JWT validation"

# Work in a specific directory
cd my-project && codex "fix the failing tests"

Multi-turn conversation

Codex maintains conversation context within a session:

codex
> Create a User model with email and name fields
> Add validation for the email field
> Now create a migration for this model
> exit

Piping and integration

# Pipe file content as context
cat error.log | codex "explain these errors and suggest fixes"

# Use output in scripts
codex --quiet "generate a .gitignore for a Node.js project" > .gitignore

Built-in Features

Conversation history

Codex saves conversation history for context continuity:

# Continue previous conversation
codex --resume "now add the tests we discussed"

File watching

Codex monitors file changes in the working directory to maintain up-to-date context.

Multimodal input

# Pass an image for analysis
codex --image screenshot.png "implement this UI design"

Quiet mode

# Suppress UI, output only the result
codex --quiet "what is the main entry point of this project"

Environment Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
OPENAI_API_KEYAPI key for authentication(required)
CODEX_HOMEOverride config directory~/.codex
CODEX_MODELDefault modelo4-mini
CODEX_APPROVAL_MODEDefault approval modesuggest
CODEX_QUIETSuppress UI outputfalse

Sandboxing and Security

Default sandbox behavior

In full-auto mode, Codex applies sandboxing by default:

  • Network disabled - no outbound connections
  • Filesystem restricted - writes only to project directory
  • No secret access - environment variables filtered

macOS sandbox

On macOS, Codex uses Apple's sandbox-exec to enforce restrictions.

Linux sandbox

On Linux, Codex uses a combination of namespace isolation and seccomp filters.

Disabling sandbox (advanced)

# Only when you explicitly need network access
codex --approval-mode full-auto --no-sandbox "install dependencies and run tests"

Warning: Disabling the sandbox removes safety guardrails. Only use in trusted environments.

UI Metadata and Output

Terminal UI

Codex renders a rich terminal UI showing:

  • Current task and progress
  • File modifications (diff view)
  • Command execution output
  • Approval prompts

Structured output

# Get JSON-structured output
codex --output-format json "list all TODO comments in the codebase"

Notification support

# Desktop notification on task completion
codex --notify "run the full test suite"

Troubleshooting

Common issues

"API key not found"

# Verify key is set
echo $OPENAI_API_KEY

# Set it
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

"Skill not found"

# Check skill location
ls .codex/skills/
ls ~/.codex/skills/

# Verify agents/openai.yaml exists
cat .codex/skills/my-skill/agents/openai.yaml

"Permission denied" when executing tools

# Ensure scripts are executable
chmod +x .codex/skills/my-skill/scripts/*.py

"Model not available"

# Check available models
codex models list

# Fall back to default
codex --model o4-mini "your task"

Debug mode

# Verbose output for debugging
codex --verbose "your task"

# Show full request/response logs
CODEX_DEBUG=1 codex "your task"

Reset configuration

# Reset global config
rm ~/.codex/config.yaml
codex configure

# Clear conversation history
rm -rf ~/.codex/history/