codex-delegator

name	codex-delegator
description	Delegate code generation tasks to Codex CLI for optimal performance. Use when implementing features, generating tests, refactoring code, or making bulk code changes. Triggers on "delegate to codex", "route to codex", "use codex", "code generation".
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Glob, Grep, Task

Codex Delegator Skill

Full documentation:

• ROUTING_SYSTEM.md
• ENTRYPOINTS.md

Real-World Performance (Tested 2026-01-18)

Metric	Value	Notes
Model version	gpt-5.2-codex	Latest research preview
Latency (simple)	3-4 seconds	Single function generation
Latency (complex)	5-6 seconds	Interface + class boilerplate
Token overhead	~900-1050 per session	Fixed session initialization cost
Default sandbox	read-only	Safe for code generation
Code quality	Production-ready	Proper generics, types, error handling

When to Use Codex

Codex excels at:

Task Type	Examples
Code Generation	Implement functions, create classes, add features
Test Generation	Write unit tests, integration tests, test fixtures
Refactoring	Extract methods, rename variables, restructure
Code Completion	Complete partial implementations, fill in stubs
Bulk Code Changes	Apply patterns across multiple files

Do NOT use for: Architecture decisions, security review, documentation-heavy tasks.

Delegation Methods

Method 1: MCP Tool (Recommended)

Use the delegate_to_model MCP tool for intelligent routing:

delegate_to_model(task: "Implement a binary search function in TypeScript")

The CompositeRouter automatically routes to Codex when:

• Task contains code generation keywords ("implement", "write", "create")
• Task is primarily code-focused (low reasoning complexity)
• Budget constraints favor Codex cost efficiency

Method 2: Direct CLI Execution

For explicit Codex invocation, use codex exec for non-interactive mode:

# Basic code generation (non-interactive)
codex exec "Implement a binary search function in TypeScript"

# Via nexus-agents CLI
nexus-agents orchestrate "Implement sorting algorithm" --cli=codex

# Explicit model selection (default is gpt-5.2-codex)
codex exec -m gpt-5.2-codex "Implement a debounce function"

# Full autonomous mode (dangerous - writes files)
codex exec --full-auto "Add error handling to all functions in utils.ts"

Important: Use codex exec NOT codex -p. The -p flag is for interactive sessions.

Method 3: Routing Audit

Check routing decisions before execution:

nexus-agents routing-audit "Implement authentication middleware" --format=json

Task Profiling

The router analyzes tasks using these signals:

Signal	Boost Codex When
codeGeneration	Keywords: implement, write, create
reasoningSimple	No "design", "architect", "analyze"
budgetSensitive	Keywords: quick, simple, straightforward
technicalContext	References to APIs, frameworks, libs

Examples

Generate Unit Tests

delegate_to_model(task: "Write Jest tests for the UserService class covering:
- createUser with valid input
- createUser with invalid email
- getUserById with existing user
- getUserById with non-existent user")

Implement Feature

delegate_to_model(task: "Implement a rate limiter middleware for Express.js that:
- Uses sliding window algorithm
- Supports configurable limits per route
- Returns 429 status when limit exceeded")

Refactor Code

delegate_to_model(task: "Refactor the payment processing module to:
- Extract validation logic into separate functions
- Replace callbacks with async/await
- Add TypeScript types for all parameters")

Bulk Changes

delegate_to_model(task: "Add JSDoc comments to all exported functions in src/utils/")

Routing Decision Flow

Task Input
    |
    v
TaskAnalyzer (profile task)
    |
    v
BudgetRouter (filter by constraints)
    |
    v
TopsisRouter (rank: quality 50%, cost 30%, latency 20%)
    |
    v
LinUCBBandit (contextual learning)
    |
    v
Codex selected if: high codeGeneration + low reasoningComplexity

Codex Capabilities

Capability	Score	Notes
Code Generation	0.95	Primary strength
Context Window	400K	Large file support
Cost Efficiency	High	Lower than Claude for code tasks
Latency	3-6s	Fast for focused code tasks

Best Practices (From Real Testing)

1. Be explicit in prompts - Include "Just output the function/code, no explanation" for cleaner output
2. Batch related requests - Session overhead is ~900 tokens, batch similar generations
3. Validate generated code - Run tsc --noEmit on TypeScript before integration
4. Set appropriate timeouts - Use 90s timeout for complex generations
5. Handle ambiguity - Codex asks clarifying questions for ambiguous prompts (graceful)

Fallback Behavior

If Codex is unavailable:

1. Circuit breaker detects failure
2. Router falls back to Claude or Gemini
3. Task executes with alternative CLI
4. Outcome recorded for learning

Configuration

# nexus-agents.yaml
routing:
  enableTopsisRanking: true
  enableLinUCBSelection: true

  topsis:
    qualityWeight: 0.5
    costWeight: 0.3
    latencyWeight: 0.2

Debugging

# Check Codex availability
nexus-agents doctor

# View routing decision for task
nexus-agents routing-audit "task description" --verbose

# Show bandit learning stats
nexus-agents routing-audit "task" --bandit-stats

Anti-rationalization — Codex delegation

Excuse	Counter
"Codex is fastest, always use it"	Codex is fastest for code generation. For research/docs, Gemini wins on context; for design, Claude wins. Match the CLI to the task type.
"I'll route everything through Codex"	Performance floors fire when one CLI is overweighted. Spread load per the routing system (CompositeRouter).
"Skip the model probe"	Required after init (#1402). Without it, you may try to use a model the CLI doesn't expose.
"Codex failed, retry with same params"	Transient retry already runs (#1531). If it failed twice, the failure is real — fall back to a different CLI per the routing chain.

Red flags

• Direct adapter call bypassing UnifiedAdapterRegistry
• No timeout set on the codex call
• Codex used for tasks classified as research/documentation (better routed to Gemini)
• Repeated rate-limit errors with no failover

Verification checklist

• Routing decision made via CompositeRouter.route() — no direct adapter instantiation
• Timeout set appropriate to task complexity (see CLAUDE.md complexity tier table)
• Failure mode tested — fallback CLI fires on rate-limit / connection-error
• Outcome recorded for adaptive routing (per CLAUDE.md routing changes)