115 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
115 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
## Non-interactive mode
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Use Codex in non-interactive mode to automate common workflows.
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```shell
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codex exec "count the total number of lines of code in this project"
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```
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In non-interactive mode, Codex does not ask for command or edit approvals. By default it runs in `read-only` mode, so it cannot edit files or run commands that require network access.
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Use `codex exec --full-auto` to allow file edits. Use `codex exec --sandbox danger-full-access` to allow edits and networked commands.
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### Default output mode
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By default, Codex streams its activity to stderr and only writes the final message from the agent to stdout. This makes it easier to pipe `codex exec` into another tool without extra filtering.
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To write the output of `codex exec` to a file, in addition to using a shell redirect like `>`, there is also a dedicated flag to specify an output file: `-o`/`--output-last-message`.
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### JSON output mode
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`codex exec` supports a `--json` mode that streams events to stdout as JSON Lines (JSONL) while the agent runs.
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Supported event types:
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- `thread.started` - when a thread is started or resumed.
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- `turn.started` - when a turn starts. A turn encompasses all events between the user message and the assistant response.
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- `turn.completed` - when a turn completes; includes token usage.
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- `turn.failed` - when a turn fails; includes error details.
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- `item.started`/`item.updated`/`item.completed` - when a thread item is added/updated/completed.
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- `error` - when the stream reports an unrecoverable error; includes the error message.
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Supported item types:
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- `agent_message` - assistant message.
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- `reasoning` - a summary of the assistant's thinking.
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- `command_execution` - assistant executing a command.
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- `file_change` - assistant making file changes.
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- `mcp_tool_call` - assistant calling an MCP tool.
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- `web_search` - assistant performing a web search.
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- `todo_list` - the agent's running plan when the plan tool is active, updating as steps change.
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Typically, an `agent_message` is added at the end of the turn.
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Sample output:
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```jsonl
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{"type":"thread.started","thread_id":"0199a213-81c0-7800-8aa1-bbab2a035a53"}
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{"type":"turn.started"}
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{"type":"item.completed","item":{"id":"item_0","type":"reasoning","text":"**Searching for README files**"}}
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{"type":"item.started","item":{"id":"item_1","type":"command_execution","command":"bash -lc ls","aggregated_output":"","status":"in_progress"}}
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{"type":"item.completed","item":{"id":"item_1","type":"command_execution","command":"bash -lc ls","aggregated_output":"2025-09-11\nAGENTS.md\nCHANGELOG.md\ncliff.toml\ncodex-cli\ncodex-rs\ndocs\nexamples\nflake.lock\nflake.nix\nLICENSE\nnode_modules\nNOTICE\npackage.json\npnpm-lock.yaml\npnpm-workspace.yaml\nPNPM.md\nREADME.md\nscripts\nsdk\ntmp\n","exit_code":0,"status":"completed"}}
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{"type":"item.completed","item":{"id":"item_2","type":"reasoning","text":"**Checking repository root for README**"}}
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{"type":"item.completed","item":{"id":"item_3","type":"agent_message","text":"Yep — there’s a `README.md` in the repository root."}}
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{"type":"turn.completed","usage":{"input_tokens":24763,"cached_input_tokens":24448,"output_tokens":122}}
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```
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### Structured output
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By default, the agent responds with natural language. Use `--output-schema` to provide a JSON Schema that defines the expected JSON output.
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The JSON Schema must follow the [strict schema rules](https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/structured-outputs).
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Sample schema:
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```json
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{
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"type": "object",
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"properties": {
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"project_name": { "type": "string" },
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"programming_languages": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } }
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},
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"required": ["project_name", "programming_languages"],
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"additionalProperties": false
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}
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```
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```shell
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codex exec "Extract details of the project" --output-schema ~/schema.json
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...
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{"project_name":"Codex CLI","programming_languages":["Rust","TypeScript","Shell"]}
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```
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Combine `--output-schema` with `-o` to only print the final JSON output. You can also pass a file path to `-o` to save the JSON output to a file.
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### Git repository requirement
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Codex requires a Git repository to avoid destructive changes. To disable this check, use `codex exec --skip-git-repo-check`.
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### Resuming non-interactive sessions
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Resume a previous non-interactive session with `codex exec resume <SESSION_ID>` or `codex exec resume --last`. This preserves conversation context so you can ask follow-up questions or give new tasks to the agent.
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```shell
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codex exec "Review the change, look for use-after-free issues"
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codex exec resume --last "Fix use-after-free issues"
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```
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Only the conversation context is preserved; you must still provide flags to customize Codex behavior.
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```shell
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codex exec --model gpt-5-codex --json "Review the change, look for use-after-free issues"
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codex exec --model gpt-5 --json resume --last "Fix use-after-free issues"
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```
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## Authentication
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By default, `codex exec` will use the same authentication method as Codex CLI and VSCode extension. You can override the api key by setting the `CODEX_API_KEY` environment variable.
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```shell
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CODEX_API_KEY=your-api-key-here codex exec "Fix merge conflict"
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```
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NOTE: `CODEX_API_KEY` is only supported in `codex exec`.
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