Codex CLI Cheat Sheet — Complete Reference

⌨️ 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

F13–F24 Extended function keys now recognized in TUINEW

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

Inline Q&A Ask questions inline while Codex continues working in parallelNEW

Prefixes

@ Mention files, dirs, tasks, plugins & skills; tasks support read/create/messageNEW

! Direct shell command

/ Slash command

/vim search Vim mode: / and ? searches with n/N navigationNEW

/vim undo/redo Vim mode: u = undo, Ctrl+R = redoNEW

/vim replace Vim replace mode: R enters replace; improved Esc handlingNEW

⚡ 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; picker selects code blocks or quotesNEW

/status Show session status

/fork Fork session with paginated history; temp forks stay privateNEW

/resume Resume session (picker / ID)NEW

/archive Archive current sessionNEW

/export Export conversation to Markdown fileNEW

/usage Daily, weekly and cumulative token usage dashboardNEW

/new [name] New session (optional name for thread)NEW

/exit Close interactive session

/cd [dir] Change TUI working directoryNEW

/pwd, /cwd Print current working directoryNEW

Project & Config

/goal Create/manage persistent goal workflow; enabled by defaultNEW

/init Create AGENTS.md

/import Selectively import setup and config from Claude Code or CursorNEW

/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

/app Handoff session to desktop app (macOS/Windows)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

--approve-for-me Auto-approve all actions (non-interactive)NEW

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

Noise relay Remote executors use E2E-encrypted Noise channels; native cwd + shell preserved cross-platformNEW

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 delete Permanently delete a session (with confirmation)NEW

codex exec resume [--output-schema] Resume non-interactive; supports structured output schemaNEW

codex queue [session-id] [msg] Send a message to an existing running sessionNEW

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)

gpt-6-astra GPT-6-Astra; default when model unconfigured in bundled pickerNEW

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"; works in code mode, nested JS calls; standalone for custom model providersNEW

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

bedrock managed-auth Encrypted local API-key auth for Amazon BedrockNEW

Bedrock credential refresh Credential refresh progress shown when connecting to Amazon BedrockNEW

System proxy (macOS/Win) Honors OS proxy settings incl. PAC/WPAD; covers auth + Responses API trafficNEW

[hooks] inline config Hooks stable — define inline in config.toml, observe MCP tools + apply_patchNEW

hooks async MCP Command hooks run async; can invoke MCP tools directlyNEW

hooks: Interrupt New hook event for command execution during an active turn interruptionNEW

🔓 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

worktree Experimental isolated git worktree checkout supportNEW

Approval Modes

Auto Read, edit, run in workdir

Read-only Browse files, no changes

Writes Read-only actions auto-approved; prompts only for writesNEW

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

Dangerous-cmd detection Detects more forced rm forms; clearer rejection reasonsNEW

Secret redaction Secrets stripped from displayed commands and session historyNEW

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

tool search default MCP tools use tool search by default when supportedNEW

MCP 2026-07-28 protocol Full protocol support with paginated tool/resource discoveryNEW

MCP grace period Configurable grace period for MCP server tool discoveryNEW

MCP tool result hooks Extensions can inspect or modify MCP tool results before they reach the modelNEW

MCP package-style names MCP server names support package-style naming conventionsNEW

MCP tool output limits Individual MCP tools can configure max output token limitsNEW

MCP OAuth coordination Plugin tool refresh and MCP OAuth recoordination on reconnectNEW

Interactive

/mcp MCP management UI

/mcp verbose Full MCP diagnostics, resources, and templatesNEW

interactive auth MCP tools request OAuth without experimental opt-inNEW

☁️ 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 remote-control pair Generate manual pairing code from a running daemonNEW

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

Multi-agent v2 Preserves runtime choices (model/reasoning/mode) across agent threadsNEW

Other Commands

Remote plugins Enabled by default; npm marketplace source; remote/local version shown in catalogNEW

Agent Plugin manifests Workspace plugin publishing; extra marketplaces (Amazon Bedrock, Claude Code)NEW

Portable Agent Plugins Installable plugins with search across multiple plugin catalogsNEW

codex marketplace add Install plugin marketplaces (GitHub, git URLs, local dirs, marketplace.json)NEW

marketplace catalogs Discovery shows "created-by-me" + auth-specific curated catalogsNEW

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, editor & pager detailsNEW

codex login Auth (ChatGPT / API / device code)

v2 personal access tokens Token usage visibility + v2 PAT support in account settingsNEW

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

app-server thread timeout App-server clients can set thread timeouts exceeding one hourNEW

App-server reconnect Auto-reconnects after disconnect, preserving draftsNEW

Windows daemon Shared background server for Windows; parallel sessions share one daemonNEW

codex exec-server Experimental remote exec server toolingNEW

codex app Launch Desktop app (macOS)

codex execpolicy check Validate execpolicy rule files