codex-prompting

name	codex-prompting
description	Drive Codex pane workers from a god session. Use when writing Codex briefs, choosing Codex launcher flags or models, sending mid-turn follow-ups, or translating a Claude skill-dependent task for a Codex worker.

Codex worker prompting

Treat Codex as its own launcher, not as Claude Code with a different binary. Write a self-contained brief, preserve the repository-authored AGENTS.md, and pass the generated worker protocol by absolute-path pointer injection.

Discover the live command surface

Run codex --version and codex --help before relying on a release-specific flag. In an interactive Codex pane, type / without submitting; read the popup as the live slash-command authority. Recheck after every Codex upgrade.

Live-verified against codex-cli 0.144.4 on 2026-07-15:

/model /fast /ide /permissions /keymap /vim /experimental /approve
/memories /skills /import /hooks /review /rename /new /archive /delete
/resume /fork /init /compact /plan /goal /agent /side /copy /raw /diff
/mention /status /usage /title /statusline /theme /pets /mcp /plugins
/logout /exit /feedback /ps /stop /clear /personality /subagents

The popup is contextual: feature-gated or unavailable commands may be hidden. Do not copy a list from another Codex release into a brief without probing the target pane.

Write Codex-native briefs

• Put durable project rules in repository-authored AGENTS.md. Codex loads applicable AGENTS.md files natively from the project hierarchy.
• Keep the generated worker protocol separate. Inject its absolute path and the brief's absolute path; do not overwrite or synthesize repository AGENTS.md.
• Invoke loaded skills with $<skill-name>. Type $ in the composer without submitting to open Codex's live skill/template picker; select from the names shown there. $ask-matt <question>, for example, loads and follows the Ask Matt skill [live 2026-07-15, codex-cli 0.144.4].
• Never translate that invocation to Claude-style slash syntax. /ask-matt fails with Unrecognized command; / opens Codex's own command surface, while $ opens its skill/template surface.
• Route skill-dependent tasks to Codex with $<skill-name> when the required skill appears in its picker. Inline the relevant procedure, checklist, template, and acceptance rules only as optional hardening or when the skill is unavailable. Route to a Claude worker when the task specifically requires a skill that only Claude loads. Claude pane workers also load user-level Claude skills [live 2026-07-15].
• Specify owned files, exclusions, exact verification commands, Git contract, report path, and completion sentinel. Assume no implied workflow from a coordinator-side skill name.

Codex's $ skill invocation and / command invocation are separate surfaces. Probe both in the target pane after a Codex upgrade; never assume a skill name is also a slash command.

Submit and follow up safely

Use one herdr pane run per prompt. It sends the text and Enter as one request; never split paste and submit. Keep herdr agent wait --status working as the submission check required by the launcher policy.

Codex queues a mid-turn pane run as a separate pending user turn and submits it after the active turn finishes [live 2026-07-15]. Set queues_midturn = true only for a Codex version verified this way. Send worker messages through the msg verb; never use raw herdr agent send as a messaging channel.

Select models and permissions explicitly

Set the launch model with codex --model <model> (or -m <model>). Change it interactively with /model. State reasoning or behavior requirements in the brief; do not paste Claude-only model directives and assume Codex interprets them.

--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox disables both confirmation prompts and Codex sandboxing. It is not merely an automatic-approval flag. Use it only when the worker already runs inside an externally enforced sandbox and the team explicitly accepts unrestricted execution. The default Codex sandbox can deny the Herdr socket used by worker-to-god msg; choose the permissive launcher trade-off deliberately rather than weakening every worker by default.