Codex Review

codex-review

Review a spec, plan, or implementation with Codex (codex exec, read-only OS sandbox). If Codex is unavailable (CLI missing, usage limits, runtime error), a Claude subagent reviews instead. Either way, findings are written to output_file, which the calling skill reads back verbatim.

The shared review policy — evidence tags, severities, the adversarial pass, severity escalation, the consensus matrix, the convergence loop, the auto-integration gates, the CodeRabbit nit→P2 mapping, and escalation triggers — lives in ../pipeline/references/review-chain.md. This skill covers only the Codex-specific mechanics; do not restate the shared rules here.

1. Context Reception

The calling skill (typically pipeline) passes:

2. Try Codex First

Prerequisites

command -v codex &>/dev/null || CODEX_UNAVAILABLE=1
# Auth is managed by Codex CLI internally — do NOT check codex whoami or OPENAI_API_KEY

Prompt construction

1. Read ${SKILL_DIR}/templates/review-{review_type}-prompt.md.

2. Resolve placeholders per this mapping (templates use {{SPEC_PATH}} / {{PLAN_PATH}} — there is no {{INPUT_FILE}}):

   review_type	Placeholder ← source
   spec	{{SPEC_PATH}} ← input_file
   plan	{{PLAN_PATH}} ← input_file; {{SPEC_PATH}} ← spec_path
   impl	{{SPEC_PATH}} ← spec_path; {{PLAN_PATH}} ← plan_path; {{BASE_REF}} ← base_ref; {{COMMIT_LIST}} ← commit_list. For impl, input_file is the diff base_ref..HEAD, which the reviewer computes with git diff — it is not substituted into a placeholder.
   all	{{OUTPUT_PATH}} ← output_file

3. Write the resolved prompt to /tmp/cloclo-codex-prompt-$(date +%s).md (referenced below as $PROMPT_FILE).

Execution (FOREGROUND)

echo "Codex is reviewing (read-only sandbox)... output -> $output_file"

# Pre-clear stale review file so the post-run guard can't validate old content
# as success.
rm -f "$output_file"

# `< /dev/null` is MANDATORY: in a non-interactive shell (background subshell, CI
# job, inherited pipe) codex-cli blocks forever on "Reading additional input from
# stdin...". Closing stdin forces it to start from the positional prompt alone.
# `timeout 900` caps a stuck session at 15 minutes.
timeout 900 codex exec \
  -s read-only \
  -o "$output_file" \
  "$(cat "$PROMPT_FILE")" \
  < /dev/null \
  > "${output_file}.runtime.log" 2>&1
CODEX_EXIT=$?

rm -f "$PROMPT_FILE"

• -s read-only — OS-level sandbox. Codex has full read access to the repo (source, git history, CLAUDE.md); writes are blocked at the kernel level. Belt + suspenders with the template's "don't modify code" instruction.
• -o "$output_file" — the final agent message is captured directly into the review file (no stdout pollution, no tool call needed). This removes the old "Codex forgot to call its write tool → empty file despite exit 0" failure mode.
• > "${output_file}.runtime.log" 2>&1 — stdout + stderr (auth/quota/network diagnostics) go to the sibling runtime log; $output_file holds only the review.

Result check (mandatory post-run guard)

if [ $CODEX_EXIT -eq 0 ] && [ -s "$output_file" ] \
   && grep -qiE 'Verdict.*(PASS|CONCERNS|FAIL)' "$output_file"; then
  echo "[codex-review] OK: $output_file"
else
  echo "[codex-review] FAIL: exit=$CODEX_EXIT, empty/missing/no-verdict. Falling back to Claude." >&2
  # fall through to the Claude fallback (section 3)
fi

The verdict sniff rejects auth-error / refusal text that would otherwise pass the [ -s ] check. Log to session.log either way.

3. Claude Fallback

When Codex is unavailable or fails the guard, dispatch a Claude subagent to review.

Subagent type: use superpowers:code-reviewer if it appears in your available agent types — this is known to the running session, not something you can query from the shell (there is no such CLI subcommand; do not try to discover it via bash). Otherwise use general-purpose.

Model: always opus for the fallback review. Do not downgrade to Sonnet — reviews are where the model gap catches real bugs.

Prompt: reuse the same resolved template from §2 (templates/review-{review_type}-prompt.md, same placeholder substitution) as the single source of truth. Do not hand-write a separate fallback prompt — the template already covers both runtimes (its OBJECTIF FINAL block tells a Write-capable runtime to call Write on {{OUTPUT_PATH}} before concluding).

rm -f "$output_file"   # pre-clear, same guarantee as the Codex path

Agent(
  subagent_type: <selected above>,
  model: "opus",
  prompt: <resolved templates/review-{review_type}-prompt.md>
)

After dispatch, apply the same result guard as §2 (exit 0 + non-empty + verdict sniff). If the subagent also fails, warn and return — never skip the review silently.

4. Result Handling

• Read output_file in its entirety.
• Return raw content to the calling skill — no summarization, no reformatting.
• Log to session.log:

  [timestamp] Review (type=spec|plan|impl, engine=codex|claude) complete: /path/to/output_file
  

5. Shared Review Policy — see review-chain.md

The following are defined once in ../pipeline/references/review-chain.md. Follow it; do not duplicate:

• Adversarial triple-perspective pass (Skeptic / Devil's Advocate / Edge-Case Hunter), including when it runs per maturity.
• Evidence tagging — [TOOL] / [CODE] / [LLM-JUDGMENT] on every finding, plus the low-evidence warning.
• Severities P0 / P1 / P2 and severity escalation across reviewers.
• Consensus matrix and [DISAGREEMENT] / [CONSENSUS] handling for multi-model reviews.
• Convergence loop when iterate is set.
• Auto-integration gates, escalation triggers, and the CodeRabbit nit→P2 mapping.

6. Important Rules

• NEVER summarize or filter findings. Return the raw file as written.
• NEVER skip the review entirely. Codex fails → Claude reviews; Claude fails → warn and return.
• Foreground only. No background promises, no polling loops.
• Clean up temp files. The /tmp prompt is deleted; output_file in session_dir/ is permanent.
• Log which engine was used (codex vs claude) so the caller and user know.
• Tag every finding per review-chain.md — no untagged findings.