How do I install the Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add vamseeachanta/codex-skill-loader-broken-symlink-recovery in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery safe to use?

SkillMD's automated safety review verdict for this skill is PASS. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery?

vamseeachanta (@vamseeachanta) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery by vamseeachanta

Name: Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery
Author: vamseeachanta

File contents

Codex skill-loader broken symlink recovery

Use when a Codex run in workspace-hub fails early with an error like:

failed to stat skills entry ... /workspace-hub/.Codex/skills/skills (symlink): No such file or directory

Why this matters

This failure happens before issue execution meaningfully begins. It is easy to mistake it for a prompt, auth, or issue-scope problem. In practice, the cause can be a broken repo-local symlink under .Codex/skills/.

Detection

Inspect the failing process log for codex_core_skills::loader errors.
Check whether the offending path is a symlink:
- test -L .Codex/skills/skills && readlink .Codex/skills/skills
Check whether the symlink target actually exists from the repo root:
- test -e .Codex/skills/skills && echo exists || echo missing

Known bad state observed in workspace-hub:

.Codex/skills/skills -> ../.Codex/skills
from repo root this resolved to a missing path, so Codex failed before execution.

Recovery pattern

Treat the run as infrastructure-blocked, not issue-blocked.
Salvage any other active runs first; do not assume all provider runs are invalid.
Verify issue completion independently using:
- process list/poll/log
- git status
- git log --oneline -n 5
- gh issue view <n>
If another run already completed the issue, clean leftover drift and close via evidence rather than rerunning blindly.
Before launching new Codex work from the root repo, verify the symlink path again.

Practical notes

A watch-pattern error notification from Codex can be a repo bootstrap defect rather than task failure.
Keep external git verification authoritative; Codex/Codex may still leave unrelated residue like temp prompt files or runtime drift files.
In workspace-hub, also check for stray edits to scripts/testing/coverage-results.json after agent runs and revert them unless explicitly in scope.

Minimal verification bundle

Use this bundle before deciding to rerun:

git -C /path/to/worktree status --short
git -C /path/to/worktree log --oneline -n 5
gh issue view <issue> --json number,title,state,comments,url

If the issue is already landed/closed, prefer cleanup + closeout over another Codex launch.

---name: codex-skill-loader-broken-symlink-recoverydescription: Diagnose Codex startup failures in workspace-hub caused by a broken `.Codex/skills/skills` symlink and recover without misattributing the failure to issue scope.license: MIT---# Codex skill-loader broken symlink recoveryUse when a Codex run in `workspace-hub` fails early with an error like:- `failed to stat skills entry ... /workspace-hub/.Codex/skills/skills (symlink): No such file or directory`## Why this mattersThis failure happens before issue execution meaningfully begins. It is easy to mistake it for a prompt, auth, or issue-scope problem. In practice, the cause can be a broken repo-local symlink under `.Codex/skills/`.## Detection1. Inspect the failing process log for `codex_core_skills::loader` errors.2. Check whether the offending path is a symlink: - `test -L .Codex/skills/skills && readlink .Codex/skills/skills`3. Check whether the symlink target actually exists from the repo root: - `test -e .Codex/skills/skills && echo exists || echo missing`Known bad state observed in `workspace-hub`:- `.Codex/skills/skills -> ../.Codex/skills`- from repo root this resolved to a missing path, so Codex failed before execution.## Recovery pattern1. Treat the run as infrastructure-blocked, not issue-blocked.2. Salvage any other active runs first; do not assume all provider runs are invalid.3. Verify issue completion independently using: - `process list/poll/log` - `git status` - `git log --oneline -n 5` - `gh issue view <n>`4. If another run already completed the issue, clean leftover drift and close via evidence rather than rerunning blindly.5. Before launching new Codex work from the root repo, verify the symlink path again.## Practical notes- A watch-pattern `error` notification from Codex can be a repo bootstrap defect rather than task failure.- Keep external git verification authoritative; Codex/Codex may still leave unrelated residue like temp prompt files or runtime drift files.- In workspace-hub, also check for stray edits to `scripts/testing/coverage-results.json` after agent runs and revert them unless explicitly in scope.## Minimal verification bundleUse this bundle before deciding to rerun:```bashgit -C /path/to/worktree status --shortgit -C /path/to/worktree log --oneline -n 5gh issue view <issue> --json number,title,state,comments,url```If the issue is already landed/closed, prefer cleanup + closeout over another Codex launch.

Frequently asked questions

Codex Skill Loader Broken Symlink Recovery