2025-08-21 20:07:41 -07:00
## `apply_patch`
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
2025-08-21 20:07:41 -07:00
Use the `apply_patch` shell command to edit files.
Your patch language is a stripped‑ down, file‑ oriented diff format designed to be easy to parse and safe to apply. You can think of it as a high‑ level envelope:
*** Begin Patch
[ one or more file sections ]
*** End Patch
Within that envelope, you get a sequence of file operations.
You MUST include a header to specify the action you are taking.
Each operation starts with one of three headers:
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
2025-08-21 20:07:41 -07:00
*** Add File: <path> - create a new file. Every following line is a + line (the initial contents).
*** Delete File: <path> - remove an existing file. Nothing follows.
*** Update File: <path> - patch an existing file in place (optionally with a rename).
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
2025-08-21 20:07:41 -07:00
May be immediately followed by * * * Move to: <new path> if you want to rename the file.
Then one or more “hunks”, each introduced by @@ (optionally followed by a hunk header).
Within a hunk each line starts with:
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
For instructions on [context_before] and [context_after]:
- By default, show 3 lines of code immediately above and 3 lines immediately below each change. If a change is within 3 lines of a previous change, do NOT duplicate the first change’ s [context_after] lines in the second change’ s [context_before] lines.
- If 3 lines of context is insufficient to uniquely identify the snippet of code within the file, use the @@ operator to indicate the class or function to which the snippet belongs. For instance, we might have:
@@ class BaseClass
[3 lines of pre-context]
- [old_code]
+ [new_code]
[3 lines of post-context]
- If a code block is repeated so many times in a class or function such that even a single `@@` statement and 3 lines of context cannot uniquely identify the snippet of code, you can use multiple `@@` statements to jump to the right context. For instance:
@@ class BaseClass
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@@ def method():
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
[3 lines of pre-context]
- [old_code]
+ [new_code]
[3 lines of post-context]
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The full grammar definition is below:
Patch := Begin { FileOp } End
Begin := "*** Begin Patch" NEWLINE
End := "*** End Patch" NEWLINE
FileOp := AddFile | DeleteFile | UpdateFile
AddFile := "*** Add File: " path NEWLINE { "+" line NEWLINE }
DeleteFile := "*** Delete File: " path NEWLINE
UpdateFile := "*** Update File: " path NEWLINE [ MoveTo ] { Hunk }
MoveTo := "*** Move to: " newPath NEWLINE
Hunk := "@@" [ header ] NEWLINE { HunkLine } [ "*** End of File" NEWLINE ]
HunkLine := (" " | "-" | "+") text NEWLINE
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
2025-08-21 20:07:41 -07:00
A full patch can combine several operations:
*** Begin Patch
*** Add File: hello.txt
+Hello world
*** Update File: src/app.py
*** Move to: src/main.py
@@ def greet():
-print("Hi")
+print("Hello, world!")
*** Delete File: obsolete.txt
*** End Patch
fix: provide tolerance for apply_patch tool (#993)
As explained in detail in the doc comment for `ParseMode::Lenient`, we
have observed that GPT-4.1 does not always generate a valid invocation
of `apply_patch`. Fortunately, the error is predictable, so we introduce
some new logic to the `codex-apply-patch` crate to recover from this
error.
Because we would like to avoid this becoming a de facto standard (as it
would be incompatible if `apply_patch` were provided as an actual
executable, unless we also introduced the lenient behavior in the
executable, as well), we require passing `ParseMode::Lenient` to
`parse_patch_text()` to make it clear that the caller is opting into
supporting this special case.
Note the analogous change to the TypeScript CLI was
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/930. In addition to changing the
accepted input to `apply_patch`, it also introduced additional
instructions for the model, which we include in this PR.
Note that `apply-patch` does not depend on either `regex` or
`regex-lite`, so some of the checks are slightly more verbose to avoid
introducing this dependency.
That said, this PR does not leverage the existing
`extract_heredoc_body_from_apply_patch_command()`, which depends on
`tree-sitter` and `tree-sitter-bash`:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/5a5aa899143f9b9ef606692c401b010368b15bdb/codex-rs/apply-patch/src/lib.rs#L191-L246
though perhaps it should.
2025-06-03 09:06:38 -07:00
2025-08-21 20:07:41 -07:00
It is important to remember:
- You must include a header with your intended action (Add/Delete/Update)
- You must prefix new lines with `+` even when creating a new file
- File references can only be relative, NEVER ABSOLUTE.
You can invoke apply_patch like:
```
shell {"command":["apply_patch","*** Begin Patch\n*** Add File: hello.txt\n+Hello, world!\n*** End Patch\n"]}
```