Codex CLI Cheat Sheet

Codex CLI v0.135.0 Last updated: May 28, 2026
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
General Controls
CtrlC Cancel input / interrupt
CtrlL Clear screen
CtrlG Open prompt in $EDITOR
CtrlO Copy latest agent responseNEW
EscEsc Undo last action
Prompt History
↑↓ Navigate prompt history
CtrlR Reverse search history + recall accepted slash commandsNEW
While Running
Enter / Tab Enter injects instructions now; Tab queues follow-up for next turn
Alt, / Alt. Decrease / increase reasoning levelNEW
Prefixes
@ Mention files, dirs, plugins & skills (unified picker)NEW
! Direct shell command
/ Slash command
⚡ Slash Commands
Model & Mode
/model Switch model
/fast Toggle fast mode
/plan Plan mode (read-only)
/review Review current changes
/diff Show diff of changes
/permissions View/update permissions
/theme Change color theme
Session
/clear Clear conversation
/compact Compact context
/copy Copy last response
/status Show session status
/fork Fork session
/resume Resume session (picker / ID)NEW
/new New session
/exit Close interactive session
Project & Config
/goal Create/manage persistent goal workflow; enabled by defaultNEW
/init Create AGENTS.md
/mention Mention file/context
/agent Switch/manage agent
/apps Manage apps
Tools & Misc
/vim Toggle modal Vim editing in composer (customizable keymaps)NEW
/ide Inject IDE context into sessionNEW
/hooks Browse and manage hooks (pre/post-compaction)NEW
/mcp List MCP tools / servers
/ps Show background terminals
/logout Log out
🖥️ CLI Flags
Basic Usage
codex "prompt" Start with initial prompt
--model Set model (e.g. gpt-5.4)
-i, --image <file> Attach image file(s)
Directory & Profile
--cd <dir> Change working directory
--add-dir <dir> Add additional directory
--profile <name> Use named profile
Search & Automation
--search Enable live web search
--full-auto Sandboxed low-friction auto mode
-a, --ask-for-approval Set approval policy
Local & OSS
--oss Use open-source models
--local-provider Use local model provider
Feature Control
--enable <flag> Enable feature flag
--disable <flag> Disable feature flag
--config key=val Override config values
Remote
--remote <ws://url> Connect to remote app-server (ws:// or wss://)NEW
--remote-auth-token-env <ENV> Bearer token env var for WebSocket authNEW
Session
codex resume --last Continue most recent interactive session
--sandbox Set sandbox mode
--no-alt-screen Inline TUI, keep scrollback
🚀 Exec & Scripting
Exec Mode
codex exec "prompt" Non-interactive execution
codex e "prompt" Short alias for exec
--full-auto Skip all approval prompts
--sandbox Run in sandbox
cat f | codex exec "prompt" Pipe stdin + separate CLI promptNEW
Output
--json JSONL event stream (incl. reasoning-token usage)NEW
-o, --output-last-message Write final message to file
--output-schema JSON schema for final response
--skip-git-repo-check Allow exec outside Git repo
Session Management
codex resume Resume a session (picker / ID)
codex resume --last Resume most recent
codex resume --all Show all sessions across directoriesNEW
codex fork Fork a session
codex exec resume [--output-schema] Resume non-interactive; supports structured output schemaNEW
Environment
CODEX_API_KEY API key env var
🤖 Models & Config
Available Models
gpt-5.4 Most capable (recommended)
gpt-5.3-codex Coding-optimized
gpt-5.4-mini Fast & cost-effective mini
gpt-5.3-codex-spark Near-instant coding (Pro only)
Config Locations
~/.codex/config.toml User config (global)
.codex/config.toml Project config (local)
Config Settings
model Default model
approval_policy Approval behavior
sandbox_mode Sandbox type
web_search "cached" | "live" | "disabled"
personality Agent personality
reasoning_effort Thinking depth
log_dir Log directory path
review_model Override model for /review
tui.theme TUI color theme
tui.keymaps Configurable TUI key bindingsNEW
notify TUI notification preferencesNEW
tui.status_line Custom status line (can include thread title)NEW
hooks.session_start.source Detect /clear vs fresh startup in hooksNEW
provider = "amazon-bedrock" Built-in AWS Bedrock provider with AWS profile supportNEW
bedrock console-login AWS Bedrock auth now accepts console-login credentialsNEW
[hooks] inline config Hooks stable — define inline in config.toml, observe MCP tools + apply_patchNEW
🔓 Features & Approval
Feature Flags
codex features list List known flags + maturity
undo Undo operations
shell_tool Shell tool support
web_search_request Live web search requests
web_search_cached Cached web search mode
unified_exec Unified background execution
shell_snapshot Shell state capture
child_agents_md Subagent instructions support
exec_policy Exec policy rules
experimental_windows_sandbox Windows-only sandbox feature flag
elevated_windows_sandbox Windows proxy-only networking / elevated sandbox supportNEW
steer Steer running agent threads
Approval Modes
Auto Read, edit, run in workdir
Read-only Browse files, no changes
Full Access All access incl. network ⚠️
Permission profiles Persist across TUI sessions and MCP sandbox statesNEW
Sandbox Modes
read-only Read-only shell sandbox (no file writes)
workspace-write Write inside working roots
danger-full-access Unsandboxed local access ⚠️
codex sandbox Run command under Codex sandbox
Memory ControlsNEW
--memory Set memory mode (on/off/sync)NEW
--memory-reset Clear session memoryNEW
--memory-cleanup Run memory extension cleanupNEW
🔌 MCP
CLI Commands
codex mcp list List MCP servers
codex mcp get <name> --json Show server config (--json = raw entry)
codex mcp add <name> Add MCP server
codex mcp remove <name> Remove MCP server
codex mcp login OAuth login (HTTP only)
codex mcp logout Remove OAuth credentials
Transports
--url <url> Streamable HTTP URL (recommended)
-- <cmd> Stdio launcher command
--env KEY=VAL Env vars for stdio transport (mcp add only)NEW
Server Mode
codex mcp-server Run Codex as MCP server
Advanced
resource reads MCP resource content in tool resultsNEW
server elicitations MCP server-driven prompts/confirmationsNEW
file uploads File parameter uploads to MCP toolsNEW
Interactive
/mcp MCP management UI
/mcp verbose Full MCP diagnostics, resources, and templatesNEW
☁️ Cloud & Agents
Cloud Commands
codex cloud Cloud task picker
codex cloud exec --env ID Submit task to cloud
codex cloud status Show task status
codex cloud list List cloud tasks
codex remote-control Headless app-server operationNEW
codex cloud apply <task_id> Apply cloud task diff locallyNEW
codex cloud diff Show task diff
--attempts N Best-of-N runs (1–4)
codex apply <task_id> Top-level apply helper
AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md Project agent config file
/init Create AGENTS.md
/agent Switch agent
Subagents
Subagents Spawn child agents on request
~/.codex/agents/ Custom agent definitionsNEW
agents.max_threads Concurrent agent cap (def: 6)NEW
agents.max_depth Nesting depth (def: 1)NEW
Other Commands
codex marketplace add Install plugin marketplaces (GitHub, git URLs, local dirs, marketplace.json)NEW
devcontainer --secure Secure devcontainer profile with bubblewrap (Linux); macOS sandbox Unix socket allowlistsNEW
codex update Update Codex CLI to latest versionNEW
codex doctor Diagnose environment, config & connectivity issuesNEW
codex login Auth (ChatGPT / API / device code)
Device code flow Useful when browser callback login failsNEW
codex login status Check auth (for CI)
codex logout Remove credentials
codex completion Shell completions (bash/zsh/fish)
codex app-server Run app server / remote tooling (Unix socket transport + resume/fork pagination)NEW
codex exec-server Experimental remote exec server toolingNEW
codex app Launch Desktop app (macOS)
codex execpolicy check Validate execpolicy rule files