OpenAI Codex Documentation
Reference for OpenAI Codex — AI coding agent available as CLI, desktop app, cloud, and IDE extension.
CRITICAL: grep references/ for detailed docs before answering.
Quick Start
# Install
npm install -g @openai/codex
# Interactive mode
codex "Explain this codebase"
# Non-interactive (CI/scripts)
codex exec "Fix all lint errors"
codex exec --json "List all TODO comments"
Key Concepts
| Concept |
Description |
| Approval modes |
Auto, Read-only, Full Access — control what Codex can do |
| Sandbox |
Filesystem/network isolation for safe execution |
| Rules |
Starlark-based execution policies (.codex/rules/) |
| Skills |
Task-specific capabilities (.agents/skills/) |
| AGENTS.md |
Custom system prompts per repo/directory |
| config.toml |
User/project config (~/.codex/config.toml) |
| MCP |
Model Context Protocol server integration |
| Multi-agent |
Spawn sub-agents for parallel work |
Key Topics
CLI
references/cli/features.md — Interactive mode, sessions, model selection
references/cli/reference.md — CLI command reference
references/cli/slash-commands.md — /model, /review, /plan, /permissions, etc.
references/noninteractive.md — codex exec for CI/scripts
Configuration
references/config-basic.md — config.toml basics
references/config-advanced.md — Advanced configuration
references/config-reference.md — Full config reference
references/config-sample.md — Sample config file
Security & Sandbox
references/concepts/sandboxing.md — Sandbox modes
references/rules.md — Execution policy rules (Starlark)
references/agent-approvals-security.md — Approval system
references/security/ — Security setup, threat model, FAQ
Customization
references/skills.md — Agent Skills system
references/guides/agents-md.md — AGENTS.md custom prompts
references/custom-prompts.md — Custom prompts (deprecated, use skills)
references/prompting.md — Prompting best practices
App & IDE
references/app/ — Codex desktop app (features, automations, worktrees)
references/ide/ — VS Code extension (features, commands, settings)
references/cloud/ — Codex Cloud environments
Integrations
references/mcp.md — MCP server configuration
references/integrations/github.md — GitHub integration
references/integrations/linear.md — Linear integration
references/integrations/slack.md — Slack integration
references/github-action.md — GitHub Action for CI
Enterprise
references/enterprise/admin-setup.md — Admin setup
references/enterprise/managed-configuration.md — Managed config
references/enterprise/governance.md — Governance policies
References
references/ — 64 doc files from developers.openai.com/codex
references/cli/ — CLI features, reference, slash commands
references/app/ — Desktop app docs
references/ide/ — IDE extension docs
references/security/ — Security & sandbox docs
references/enterprise/ — Enterprise administration
Source: wenerme/ai — distributed by TomeVault.
1---2name: wenerme-ai-codex-docs3description: OpenAI Codex Documentation4---56# OpenAI Codex Documentation78Reference for [OpenAI Codex](https://developers.openai.com/codex/overview) — AI coding agent available as CLI, desktop app, cloud, and IDE extension.910- [Docs](https://developers.openai.com/codex/overview) | [GitHub](https://github.com/openai/codex) | [Changelog](https://developers.openai.com/codex/changelog)1112CRITICAL: grep `references/` for detailed docs before answering.1314## Quick Start1516```bash17# Install18npm install -g @openai/codex1920# Interactive mode21codex "Explain this codebase"2223# Non-interactive (CI/scripts)24codex exec "Fix all lint errors"25codex exec --json "List all TODO comments"26```2728## Key Concepts2930| Concept | Description |31|---------|-------------|32| **Approval modes** | Auto, Read-only, Full Access — control what Codex can do |33| **Sandbox** | Filesystem/network isolation for safe execution |34| **Rules** | Starlark-based execution policies (`.codex/rules/`) |35| **Skills** | Task-specific capabilities (`.agents/skills/`) |36| **AGENTS.md** | Custom system prompts per repo/directory |37| **config.toml** | User/project config (`~/.codex/config.toml`) |38| **MCP** | Model Context Protocol server integration |39| **Multi-agent** | Spawn sub-agents for parallel work |4041## Key Topics4243### CLI44- `references/cli/features.md` — Interactive mode, sessions, model selection45- `references/cli/reference.md` — CLI command reference46- `references/cli/slash-commands.md` — `/model`, `/review`, `/plan`, `/permissions`, etc.47- `references/noninteractive.md` — `codex exec` for CI/scripts4849### Configuration50- `references/config-basic.md` — config.toml basics51- `references/config-advanced.md` — Advanced configuration52- `references/config-reference.md` — Full config reference53- `references/config-sample.md` — Sample config file5455### Security & Sandbox56- `references/concepts/sandboxing.md` — Sandbox modes57- `references/rules.md` — Execution policy rules (Starlark)58- `references/agent-approvals-security.md` — Approval system59- `references/security/` — Security setup, threat model, FAQ6061### Customization62- `references/skills.md` — Agent Skills system63- `references/guides/agents-md.md` — AGENTS.md custom prompts64- `references/custom-prompts.md` — Custom prompts (deprecated, use skills)65- `references/prompting.md` — Prompting best practices6667### App & IDE68- `references/app/` — Codex desktop app (features, automations, worktrees)69- `references/ide/` — VS Code extension (features, commands, settings)70- `references/cloud/` — Codex Cloud environments7172### Integrations73- `references/mcp.md` — MCP server configuration74- `references/integrations/github.md` — GitHub integration75- `references/integrations/linear.md` — Linear integration76- `references/integrations/slack.md` — Slack integration77- `references/github-action.md` — GitHub Action for CI7879### Enterprise80- `references/enterprise/admin-setup.md` — Admin setup81- `references/enterprise/managed-configuration.md` — Managed config82- `references/enterprise/governance.md` — Governance policies8384## References8586- `references/` — 64 doc files from developers.openai.com/codex87- `references/cli/` — CLI features, reference, slash commands88- `references/app/` — Desktop app docs89- `references/ide/` — IDE extension docs90- `references/security/` — Security & sandbox docs91- `references/enterprise/` — Enterprise administration9293---94> Source: [wenerme/ai](https://github.com/wenerme/ai) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).95<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-05-23 -->