autonomous-skill

name	autonomous-skill
description	Use when work must continue across multiple Codex sessions with `.autonomous/` tracking, resumable execution, or autonomous handoff. Use for long-running, multi-session, or resume-later tasks.

Autonomous Skill - Long-Running Task Execution

Execute complex, long-running tasks across multiple sessions using a dual-agent pattern (Initializer + Executor) with automatic session continuation via Codex non-interactive mode.

Quick Start

Use the run-session.sh script to manage autonomous tasks:

# Start a new autonomous task
~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh "Build a REST API for todo app"

# Continue an existing task
~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --task-name build-rest-api-todo --continue

# List all tasks and their progress
~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --list

# Show help
~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --help

The runner intentionally leaves --model unset so Codex uses the active config.toml or selected profile model by default.

Directory Structure

All task data is stored in .autonomous/<task-name>/ under the project root:

project-root/
└── .autonomous/
    ├── build-rest-api/
    │   ├── task_list.md        # Master task checklist
    │   ├── progress.md         # Session-by-session notes
    │   ├── session.id          # Last Codex session ID for resumption
    │   └── session.log         # Codex stdout/stderr transcript with JSON events
    ├── refactor-auth/
    │   ├── task_list.md
    │   ├── progress.md
    │   └── session.id
    └── ...

This allows multiple autonomous tasks to run in parallel without conflicts.

Script Options

Usage:
  run-session.sh "task description"           Start new task (auto-generates name)
  run-session.sh --task-name <name> --continue Continue specific task
  run-session.sh --list                        List all tasks
  run-session.sh --help                        Show help

Options:
  --task-name <name>       Specify task name explicitly
  --continue, -c           Continue existing task
  --no-auto-continue       Don't auto-continue after session
  --max-sessions N         Limit to N sessions
  --list                   List all existing tasks
  --resume-last            Resume the most recent Codex session
  --network                Enable danger-full-access sandbox for tasks that need broader shell access

Workflow Overview

User Request → Generate Task Name → Create .autonomous/<task-name>/ → Execute Codex Sessions
                                                                            ↓
                                                                    ┌───────────────┐
                                                                    │ task_list.md  │
                                                                    │ exists?       │
                                                                    └───────┬───────┘
                                                                            │
                                                    ┌───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┐
                                                    │ NO                                        YES │
                                                    ▼                                              ▼
                                            ┌───────────────┐                            ┌───────────────┐
                                            │  INITIALIZER  │                            │   EXECUTOR    │
                                            │  - Analyze    │                            │  - Read state │
                                            │  - Break down │                            │  - Next task  │
                                            │  - Create     │                            │  - Implement  │
                                            │    task_list  │                            │  - Mark done  │
                                            └───────────────┘                            └───────────────┘
                                                                            │
                                                                            ▼
                                                                    ┌───────────────┐
                                                                    │ All complete? │
                                                                    └───────┬───────┘
                                                                            │
                                                            ┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
                                                            │ NO                        YES │
                                                            ▼                              ▼
                                                    Auto-continue               Exit with success
                                                    (3 sec delay)

Usage Examples

Example 1: Start New Task

~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh "Build a REST API for todo app"

Output:

ℹ Generated task name: build-rest-api-todo
==========================================
  SESSION 1 - build-rest-api-todo
==========================================

==========================================
  INITIALIZER SESSION
==========================================
Task: Build a REST API for todo app
Task Name: build-rest-api-todo
Task Directory: .autonomous/build-rest-api-todo

[Codex creates task_list.md with 25 tasks...]

✓ Initializer session complete
ℹ Session ID saved: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

=== Progress: 0/25 ===

Continuing in 3 seconds... (Press Ctrl+C to pause)

Example 2: Continue Existing Task

~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --task-name build-rest-api-todo --continue

Example 3: Resume with Session Context

# Resume the Codex session (preserves conversation context)
~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --task-name build-rest-api-todo --continue --resume-last

Example 4: List All Tasks

~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --list

Output:

==========================================
  AUTONOMOUS TASKS
==========================================
  ✓ build-rest-api-todo (25/25 - 100% complete) [session: 550e8400...]
  ○ refactor-auth (12/30 - 40%) [session: 661f9511...]
  ? incomplete-task (no task_list.md)

Example 5: With Network Access

# Enable network access for tasks that need API calls
~/.codex/skills/autonomous-skill/scripts/run-session.sh --network "Fetch data from GitHub API and analyze"

Key Files

For each task in .autonomous/<task-name>/:

File	Purpose
task_list.md	Master task list with checkbox progress
progress.md	Session-by-session progress notes
session.id	Last Codex session ID for resumption
session.log	JSON Lines output from Codex sessions

Important Notes

1. Task Isolation: Each task has its own directory, no conflicts
2. Task Naming: Auto-generated from description (lowercase, hyphens, max 30 chars)
3. Task List is Sacred: Never delete or modify task descriptions, only mark [x]
4. One Task at a Time per Session: Focus on completing tasks thoroughly
5. Auto-Continue: Sessions auto-continue with 3s delay; Ctrl+C to pause
6. Session Resumption: Use --resume-last to preserve Codex conversation context
7. Configured Model: The runner does not pass --model; it uses the active Codex config/profile model
8. Network Mode: --network switches the sandbox override to danger-full-access while keeping approval policy non-interactive
9. Git Hygiene: Consider adding .autonomous/ to .gitignore to avoid committing logs

Codex CLI Reference

The script uses these Codex commands internally. It intentionally uses config overrides instead of --full-auto so unattended runs do not inherit on-request approvals from the current CLI:

# Non-interactive execution with file edits (fully autonomous)
# Uses the configured model from the active Codex config/profile
codex exec \
  -c 'approval_policy="never"' \
  -c 'sandbox_mode="workspace-write"' \
  --skip-git-repo-check \
  --json \
  "prompt"

# Resume previous session
codex exec resume \
  -c 'approval_policy="never"' \
  -c 'sandbox_mode="workspace-write"' \
  --skip-git-repo-check \
  --json \
  <SESSION_ID> \
  "prompt"

# Full access (file edits + shell network / unrestricted filesystem) - use with caution!
codex exec \
  -c 'approval_policy="never"' \
  -c 'sandbox_mode="danger-full-access"' \
  --skip-git-repo-check \
  --json \
  "prompt"

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Task not found	Run --list to see existing tasks
Multiple tasks	Specify task name with --task-name
Session stuck	Check session.log in task directory
Need to restart	Delete task directory and start fresh
Resume failed	Remove session.id to start fresh session
Run paused for approval	Ensure the updated runner is using -c approval_policy="never" overrides
Codex not found	Install Codex CLI: npm install -g @openai/codex