Codex isn’t great yet on Windows outside of WSL, and while we’ve merged
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/4269 to reduce the repetitive
manual approvals on readonly commands, we’ve noticed that users seem to
have more issues with GPT-5-Codex than with GPT-5 on Windows.
This change makes GPT-5 the default for Windows users while we continue
to improve the CLI harness and model for GPT-5-Codex on Windows.
## Summary
- Factor `load_config_as_toml` into `core::config_loader` so config
loading is reusable across callers.
- Layer `~/.codex/config.toml`, optional `~/.codex/managed_config.toml`,
and macOS managed preferences (base64) with recursive table merging and
scoped threads per source.
## Config Flow
```
Managed prefs (macOS profile: com.openai.codex/config_toml_base64)
▲
│
~/.codex/managed_config.toml │ (optional file-based override)
▲
│
~/.codex/config.toml (user-defined settings)
```
- The loader searches under the resolved `CODEX_HOME` directory
(defaults to `~/.codex`).
- Managed configs let administrators ship fleet-wide overrides via
device profiles which is useful for enforcing certain settings like
sandbox or approval defaults.
- For nested hash tables: overlays merge recursively. Child tables are
merged key-by-key, while scalar or array values replace the prior layer
entirely. This lets admins add or tweak individual fields without
clobbering unrelated user settings.
# Tool System Refactor
- Centralizes tool definitions and execution in `core/src/tools/*`:
specs (`spec.rs`), handlers (`handlers/*`), router (`router.rs`),
registry/dispatch (`registry.rs`), and shared context (`context.rs`).
One registry now builds the model-visible tool list and binds handlers.
- Router converts model responses to tool calls; Registry dispatches
with consistent telemetry via `codex-rs/otel` and unified error
handling. Function, Local Shell, MCP, and experimental `unified_exec`
all flow through this path; legacy shell aliases still work.
- Rationale: reduce per‑tool boilerplate, keep spec/handler in sync, and
make adding tools predictable and testable.
Example: `read_file`
- Spec: `core/src/tools/spec.rs` (see `create_read_file_tool`,
registered by `build_specs`).
- Handler: `core/src/tools/handlers/read_file.rs` (absolute `file_path`,
1‑indexed `offset`, `limit`, `L#: ` prefixes, safe truncation).
- E2E test: `core/tests/suite/read_file.rs` validates the tool returns
the requested lines.
## Next steps:
- Decompose `handle_container_exec_with_params`
- Add parallel tool calls
Before when you would enter `/di`, hit tab on `/diff`, and then hit
enter, it would execute `/diff`. But now it's just sending it as a text.
This fixes the issue.
- prefix command approval reasons with "Reason:"
- show keyboard shortcuts for some ListSelectionItems
- remove "description" lines for approval options, and make the labels
more verbose
- add a spacer line in diff display after the path
and some other minor refactors that go along with the above.
<img width="859" height="508" alt="Screenshot 2025-10-02 at 1 24 50 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4fa7ecaf-3d3a-406a-bb4d-23e30ce3e5cf"
/>
## Summary
- show the remaining context window percentage in `/status` alongside
existing token usage details
- replace the composer shortcut prompt with the context window
percentage (or an unavailable message) while a task is running
- update TUI snapshots to reflect the new context window line
## Testing
- cargo test -p codex-tui
------
https://chatgpt.com/codex/tasks/task_i_68dc6e7397ac8321909d7daff25a396c
## Summary
- show a dim “(no output)” placeholder when an executed command produces
no stdout or stderr so empty runs are visible
- update TUI snapshots to include the new placeholder in history
renderings
## Testing
- cargo test -p codex-tui
------
https://chatgpt.com/codex/tasks/task_i_68dc056c1d5883218fe8d9929e9b1657
We continue the separation between `codex app-server` and `codex
mcp-server`.
In particular, we introduce a new crate, `codex-app-server-protocol`,
and migrate `codex-rs/protocol/src/mcp_protocol.rs` into it, renaming it
`codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol.rs`.
Because `ConversationId` was defined in `mcp_protocol.rs`, we move it
into its own file, `codex-rs/protocol/src/conversation_id.rs`, and
because it is referenced in a ton of places, we have to touch a lot of
files as part of this PR.
We also decide to get away from proper JSON-RPC 2.0 semantics, so we
also introduce `codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/jsonrpc_lite.rs`, which
is basically the same `JSONRPCMessage` type defined in `mcp-types`
except with all of the `"jsonrpc": "2.0"` removed.
Getting rid of `"jsonrpc": "2.0"` makes our serialization logic
considerably simpler, as we can lean heavier on serde to serialize
directly into the wire format that we use now.
Here's the logic:
1. If text is empty and selector is open:
- Enter on a prompt without args should autosubmit the prompt
- Enter on a prompt with numeric args should add `/prompts:name ` to the
text input
- Enter on a prompt with named args should add `/prompts:name ARG1=""
ARG2=""` to the text input
2. If text is not empty but no args are passed:
- For prompts with numeric args -> we allow it to submit (params are
optional)
- For prompts with named args -> we throw an error (all params should
have values)
<img width="454" height="246" alt="Screenshot 2025-09-23 at 2 23 21 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fd180a1b-7d17-42ec-b231-8da48828b811"
/>
Fixing the "? for shortcuts"
- Only show the hint when composer is empty
- Don't reset footer on new task updates
- Reorder the elements
- Align the "?" and "/" with overlay on and off
Based on #4364
### Title
## otel
Codex can emit [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io/) **log events**
that
describe each run: outbound API requests, streamed responses, user
input,
tool-approval decisions, and the result of every tool invocation. Export
is
**disabled by default** so local runs remain self-contained. Opt in by
adding an
`[otel]` table and choosing an exporter.
```toml
[otel]
environment = "staging" # defaults to "dev"
exporter = "none" # defaults to "none"; set to otlp-http or otlp-grpc to send events
log_user_prompt = false # defaults to false; redact prompt text unless explicitly enabled
```
Codex tags every exported event with `service.name = "codex-cli"`, the
CLI
version, and an `env` attribute so downstream collectors can distinguish
dev/staging/prod traffic. Only telemetry produced inside the
`codex_otel`
crate—the events listed below—is forwarded to the exporter.
### Event catalog
Every event shares a common set of metadata fields: `event.timestamp`,
`conversation.id`, `app.version`, `auth_mode` (when available),
`user.account_id` (when available), `terminal.type`, `model`, and
`slug`.
With OTEL enabled Codex emits the following event types (in addition to
the
metadata above):
- `codex.api_request`
- `cf_ray` (optional)
- `attempt`
- `duration_ms`
- `http.response.status_code` (optional)
- `error.message` (failures)
- `codex.sse_event`
- `event.kind`
- `duration_ms`
- `error.message` (failures)
- `input_token_count` (completion only)
- `output_token_count` (completion only)
- `cached_token_count` (completion only, optional)
- `reasoning_token_count` (completion only, optional)
- `tool_token_count` (completion only)
- `codex.user_prompt`
- `prompt_length`
- `prompt` (redacted unless `log_user_prompt = true`)
- `codex.tool_decision`
- `tool_name`
- `call_id`
- `decision` (`approved`, `approved_for_session`, `denied`, or `abort`)
- `source` (`config` or `user`)
- `codex.tool_result`
- `tool_name`
- `call_id`
- `arguments`
- `duration_ms` (execution time for the tool)
- `success` (`"true"` or `"false"`)
- `output`
### Choosing an exporter
Set `otel.exporter` to control where events go:
- `none` – leaves instrumentation active but skips exporting. This is
the
default.
- `otlp-http` – posts OTLP log records to an OTLP/HTTP collector.
Specify the
endpoint, protocol, and headers your collector expects:
```toml
[otel]
exporter = { otlp-http = {
endpoint = "https://otel.example.com/v1/logs",
protocol = "binary",
headers = { "x-otlp-api-key" = "${OTLP_TOKEN}" }
}}
```
- `otlp-grpc` – streams OTLP log records over gRPC. Provide the endpoint
and any
metadata headers:
```toml
[otel]
exporter = { otlp-grpc = {
endpoint = "https://otel.example.com:4317",
headers = { "x-otlp-meta" = "abc123" }
}}
```
If the exporter is `none` nothing is written anywhere; otherwise you
must run or point to your
own collector. All exporters run on a background batch worker that is
flushed on
shutdown.
If you build Codex from source the OTEL crate is still behind an `otel`
feature
flag; the official prebuilt binaries ship with the feature enabled. When
the
feature is disabled the telemetry hooks become no-ops so the CLI
continues to
function without the extra dependencies.
---------
Co-authored-by: Anton Panasenko <apanasenko@openai.com>
