Codex Exec

Autonomous task execution via the codex CLI. Runs non-interactively. Progress streams to stderr; final result on stdout.

codex exec "task description" < /dev/null

For large context, pipe it via stdin. The prompt stays as the argument, context is passed as <stdin> automatically:

cat context.txt | codex exec "question about the context"

Sandbox

All `codex` Bash calls require `dangerouslyDisableSandbox: true` (network access to OpenAI API). Without it, codex crashes with an Operation not permitted panic from the system-configuration crate before the model runs.

Stdin Gotcha

Codex reads from stdin whenever stdin is non-TTY (per codex exec --help: "If stdin is piped and a prompt is also provided, stdin is appended as a <stdin> block"). In subagent and subprocess contexts the harness leaves stdin connected to a pipe that never EOFs, so a bare codex exec "..." hangs forever, printing only Reading additional input from stdin....

Always redirect stdin on non-piped invocations:

codex exec "task description" < /dev/null

The piped form (cat context.txt | codex exec "...") is safe — cat closes the pipe after the file, sending EOF.

Synchronous Execution

Run codex via the Bash tool as a foreground call (do not set run_in_background). Set timeout: 600000, the Bash maximum. A larger value is not honored: the harness backgrounds the call immediately and hard-kills codex at 600s, truncating its output. Within a valid timeout, codex runs foreground and returns its result synchronously when it finishes in time.

If codex outlives the timeout, the harness force-backgrounds it (returning a task ID and an output file path) and the run continues to completion uninterrupted. Recover it by reading the output file: Read the path, then Read it again once the <task-notification> reports completion. Never wait with Monitor (it returns immediately, and events that arrive after your final text are dropped), and never return the task ID, an interim file snapshot, or "Waiting for codex to finish" as the result — each is a false-empty return.

Permission Levels

Omitting --sandbox falls back to the codex config and project trust level (trusted projects run workspace-write), so always pass the flag explicitly.

For fix or implementation tasks, default to --sandbox workspace-write --full-auto so Codex can edit files without confirmation prompts. Use --sandbox read-only for analysis or research tasks.

Options

Prompt Shaping

Codex uses XML tags in its own context scaffolding, so the model parses them natively. Structure prompts with XML tags for clearer responses:

• <task>: The concrete job and relevant context.
• <structured_output_contract>: Required output shape, ordering, and format.
• <compact_output_contract>: Same purpose but for concise prose responses.
• <grounding_rules>: When claims must be evidence-based.
• <dig_deeper_nudge>: Push past surface-level findings to check for second-order failures.
• <verification_loop>: When correctness matters — ask Codex to verify before finalizing.

Keep prompts compact, with tight output contracts. One clear task per exec call.

Parallel Execution

Codex supports parallel sub-agents via spawn_agent / wait_agent. The model will not fan out unless the prompt explicitly requests it. See references/parallel-execution.md for patterns and limitations.

Interpreting Results

• Exec output is a starting point, not a guaranteed solution
• Cross-reference suggestions with project documentation and conventions
• Test incrementally rather than applying all changes at once
• For file-editing tasks, always review the diff before committing