Exec and Automation

Use Codex exec for non-interactive scripts, CI checks, and structured automation.

Key takeaways

Use codex exec when a task is repeatable, scoped, and should produce structured evidence: dependency audits, doc checks, refactor plans, CI helpers, and batch reviews.
Keep prompts deterministic, pin model, permissions, and working directory, and prefer JSON or line-oriented output when scripts consume the result.
Log query time, sources, and network policy whenever automation depends on code-mode web search for fresh evidence.
Pin --cd and artifact directories for image flows, and validate app-server v2 clients with a smoke test like codex debug app-server send-message-v2 --help.
Never let exec make production-impacting changes automatically, and verify cloud exec provider behavior separately from local codex exec.

Interactive Codex is useful for exploration. exec is useful when the task is repeatable, scoped, and should produce structured evidence.

Good Exec Use Cases

Use case	Expected output
Dependency audit	Findings, affected files, recommended fix
Documentation check	Missing pages, broken links, metadata gaps
Refactor planning	Change list, risk, verification plan
CI helper	Machine-readable result and concise summary
Batch review	Per-file findings with severity

Code mode can call standalone web search directly, including from nested JavaScript tool calls. Automation that depends on fresh web evidence should log query time, sources, and network policy.
codex exec --image and app/CLI image attachment flows now expose saved local file paths more reliably, so screenshot-based automation should pin --cd and artifact directories.
App-server integrations can read account token usage, and CLI/app-server auth supports ChatGPT v2 personal access tokens.
Include codex debug app-server send-message-v2 --help or an equivalent smoke test when validating internal app-server v2 clients.
Plugin automation should consume codex plugin add/remove --json, codex plugin list --available --json, and marketplace JSON outputs for audit logs.
Cloud exec provider behavior should be verified separately from local codex exec; do not assume identical permissions or environment requirements.

Exec and Automation

Use Codex exec for non-interactive scripts, CI checks, and structured automation.

Key takeaways

Use codex exec when a task is repeatable, scoped, and should produce structured evidence: dependency audits, doc checks, refactor plans, CI helpers, and batch reviews.
Keep prompts deterministic, pin model, permissions, and working directory, and prefer JSON or line-oriented output when scripts consume the result.
Log query time, sources, and network policy whenever automation depends on code-mode web search for fresh evidence.
Pin --cd and artifact directories for image flows, and validate app-server v2 clients with a smoke test like codex debug app-server send-message-v2 --help.
Never let exec make production-impacting changes automatically, and verify cloud exec provider behavior separately from local codex exec.

Interactive Codex is useful for exploration. exec is useful when the task is repeatable, scoped, and should produce structured evidence.

Use case	Expected output
Dependency audit	Findings, affected files, recommended fix
Documentation check	Missing pages, broken links, metadata gaps
Refactor planning	Change list, risk, verification plan
CI helper	Machine-readable result and concise summary
Batch review	Per-file findings with severity

Code mode can call standalone web search directly, including from nested JavaScript tool calls. Automation that depends on fresh web evidence should log query time, sources, and network policy.
codex exec --image and app/CLI image attachment flows now expose saved local file paths more reliably, so screenshot-based automation should pin --cd and artifact directories.
App-server integrations can read account token usage, and CLI/app-server auth supports ChatGPT v2 personal access tokens.
Include codex debug app-server send-message-v2 --help or an equivalent smoke test when validating internal app-server v2 clients.
Plugin automation should consume codex plugin add/remove --json, codex plugin list --available --json, and marketplace JSON outputs for audit logs.
Cloud exec provider behavior should be verified separately from local codex exec; do not assume identical permissions or environment requirements.