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OpenAI Codex CLI
OpenAI's open-source (Apache-2.0) Rust coding agent for the terminal, sharing an engine with the Codex IDE extension, desktop app and Codex Cloud. Runs commands inside an OS sandbox by default.
github.com/openai/codexActive
Release rust-v0.164.0 on 2026-10-23; repo pushed 2026-10-23 (gh api). (checked 2026-10-25)
In Coding agents
Where it stands apart
- Where do the commands it runs execute by default? on your machine inside an OS sandbox or container (5% of 21 others)
What it shares with most of the community
- Is it actively maintained? active (71% of 21 others)
- How is the main thing licensed? permissive open source (MIT/Apache/BSD) (52% of 21 others)
- How is it mainly sustained? company with a paid product, tier, or ads (71% of 21 others)
- Who is it for? developers (95% of 21 others)
- Whose models can you use? Pick the first that applies. any provider or endpoint you configure (your own key, custom URL, or local model) (67% of 21 others)
- Is pointing it at a model running on your own machine (e.g. Ollama, LM Studio) a documented setup? yes, documented (67% of 21 others)
- Can users add their own tools through MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers? yes (95% of 21 others)
Nearest neighbors
- Amp 82% of 17 shared answers match
- Factory Droid 76% of 17 shared answers match
- Claude Code 65% of 17 shared answers match
Every answer
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is it actively maintained? | active | source 2026-10-25 |
| How is the main thing licensed? | permissive open source (MIT/Apache/BSD) Apache-2.0 | source 2026-10-25 |
| How is it mainly sustained? | company with a paid product, tier, or ads Open-source CLI funded by ChatGPT subscriptions and API usage. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? | partly (some features need the maker's servers) CLI is local; default models are hosted by OpenAI, but --oss with Ollama/LM Studio runs fully local. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Do you need an account to use it? | account required Sign in with ChatGPT or use an OpenAI API key. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Who is it for? | developers | source 2026-10-25 |
| Which shared standard or format does it mainly build on? | AGENTS.md AGENTS.md (which OpenAI helped launch) is its native instructions file. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Where do you primarily use it? | terminal (CLI or TUI) Same agent also ships as an IDE extension, desktop app and Codex Cloud. | source 2026-10-25 |
| How does finished work usually come back to you? | both are first-class CLI edits locally; Codex Web/Cloud (chatgpt.com/codex) runs tasks in the background and returns PRs. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Whose models can you use? Pick the first that applies. | any provider or endpoint you configure (your own key, custom URL, or local model) Custom model_providers with base_url; but wire_api 'responses' is the only supported value, so the endpoint must speak OpenAI's Responses API. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Is pointing it at a model running on your own machine (e.g. Ollama, LM Studio) a documented setup? | yes, documented --oss with oss_provider = ollama or lmstudio. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Out of the box, does it ask you before editing files or running shell commands? | doesn't ask (a sandbox or automatic reviewer may still block risky actions) Recommended 'Auto' preset in git repos: reads, edits and runs commands in the workspace automatically inside the sandbox; asks for network access or writes outside the workspace. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Where do the commands it runs execute by default? | stands apart on your machine inside an OS sandbox or container OS-level sandbox (Seatbelt/Landlock; Windows sandbox) with no network by default. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Can users add their own tools through MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers? | yes codex mcp add local or remote servers. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Does it read project instructions from AGENTS.md? | yes, AGENTS.md is its main instructions file /init creates AGENTS.md. | source 2026-10-25 |
| Does it use the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) for agent-editor connections? | no No native ACP; Zed maintains a codex-acp adapter. | source 2026-10-25 |
| When you first set it up, how do you pay for the models it uses by default? | a subscription plan from the tool's maker Included in ChatGPT Free/Go/Plus/Pro/Business plans; credits or API key for more. | source 2026-10-25 |
Sources
This page was derived from:
- GitHub · github.com/openai/codex · read 2026-10-25
- GitHub · github.com/openai/codex/releases · read 2026-10-25
- GitHub · github.com/zed-industries/codex-acp · read 2026-10-25
- Web page · learn.chatgpt.com/docs/agent-approvals-security · read 2026-10-25
- Web page · learn.chatgpt.com/docs/codex/cli · read 2026-10-25
- Web page · learn.chatgpt.com/docs/config-file/config-reference · read 2026-10-25
- Web page · learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing · read 2026-10-25
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