Delegate Coding Tasks to OpenAI Codex CLI

How to use

Use inline_3 in terminal calls — Codex is an interactive terminal app.

Codex installed: npm install -g @openai/codex

Use inline_3 in terminal calls — Codex is an interactive terminal app and hangs without a PTY.

For Hermes itself, inline_4 uses Hermes-managed Codex OAuth from inline_5 after inline_6; for the standalone Codex CLI, a valid CLI OAuth session may live under inline_7, so a missing inline_2 alone is not proof that Codex auth is missing.

Run one-shot coding tasks with Codex exec in a project workdir with a PTY.

terminal(command="codex exec 'Add dark mode toggle to settings'", workdir="~/project", pty=true)

For scratch work, create a temp directory, init a git repo, and run a one-shot Codex task there (Codex needs a git repo).

terminal(command="cd $(mktemp -d) && git init && codex exec 'Build a snake game in Python'", pty=true)

Run long tasks in background mode: start Codex in the background with a PTY, poll and read logs to monitor progress, submit input if Codex asks a question, and kill the session if needed.

# Start in background with PTY
terminal(command="codex exec --sandbox workspace-write 'Refactor the auth module'", workdir="~/project", background=true, pty=true)
# Returns session_id

# Monitor progress
process(action="poll", session_id="<id>")
process(action="log", session_id="<id>")

# Send input if Codex asks a question
process(action="submit", session_id="<id>", data="yes")

# Kill if needed
process(action="kill", session_id="<id>")

Flag effects: inline_8 runs one-shot and exits when done; inline_9 (inline_10) is sandboxed but auto-approves file changes in the workspace (the recommended auto-build mode); inline_11 removes sandbox and approvals (fastest, most dangerous; inline_12 still works as a hidden alias); inline_13 removes the Codex sandbox, useful when the host service context breaks bubblewrap.

Deprecated: inline_14 still works but the live CLI warns to use inline_9 instead.

Hermes gateway caveat: when invoking Codex from a Hermes gateway/service context, Codex inline_15 sandboxing may fail even when the same command works in the user's interactive shell.

Typical symptoms are bubblewrap/user-namespace errors such as inline_16 or inline_17.

In that context, prefer:

codex exec --sandbox danger-full-access "<task>"

Use process boundaries as the safety layer instead: explicit inline_18, clean git status before launch, narrow task prompts, inline_19 review, targeted tests, and human/agent confirmation before committing broad changes.

Run PR reviews.

Clone the repo to a temp directory for safe review, check out the PR, and run Codex review against a base branch.

terminal(command="REVIEW=$(mktemp -d) && git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git $REVIEW && cd $REVIEW && gh pr checkout 42 && codex review --base origin/main", pty=true)

Fix parallel issues with git worktrees: create a worktree per issue, launch Codex in each with background and PTY, monitor, then push and create PRs after completion and clean up the worktrees.

# Create worktrees
terminal(command="git worktree add -b fix/issue-78 /tmp/issue-78 main", workdir="~/project")
terminal(command="git worktree add -b fix/issue-99 /tmp/issue-99 main", workdir="~/project")

# Launch Codex in each
terminal(command="codex --sandbox workspace-write exec 'Fix issue #78: <description>. Commit when done.'", workdir="/tmp/issue-78", background=true, pty=true)
terminal(command="codex --sandbox workspace-write exec 'Fix issue #99: <description>. Commit when done.'", workdir="/tmp/issue-99", background=true, pty=true)

# Monitor
process(action="list")

# After completion, push and create PRs
terminal(command="cd /tmp/issue-78 && git push -u origin fix/issue-78")
terminal(command="gh pr create --repo user/repo --head fix/issue-78 --title 'fix: ...' --body '...'")

# Cleanup
terminal(command="git worktree remove /tmp/issue-78", workdir="~/project")

Batch PR reviews: fetch PR refs, launch parallel Codex review sessions with background and PTY, then post results as PR comments.

# Fetch all PR refs
terminal(command="git fetch origin '+refs/pull/*/head:refs/remotes/origin/pr/*'", workdir="~/project")

# Review multiple PRs in parallel
terminal(command="codex exec 'Review PR #86. git diff origin/main...origin/pr/86'", workdir="~/project", background=true, pty=true)
terminal(command="codex exec 'Review PR #87. git diff origin/main...origin/pr/87'", workdir="~/project", background=true, pty=true)

# Post results
terminal(command="gh pr comment 86 --body '<review>'", workdir="~/project")

Always use inline_3 — Codex is an interactive terminal app and hangs without a PTY.

Git repo required — Codex won't run outside a git directory; use inline_20 for scratch work.

Use inline_21 for one-shots — inline_22 runs and exits cleanly.

Use inline_9 for building — it auto-approves changes within the sandbox (inline_14 is deprecated for this).

Use background for long tasks: run with inline_23 and monitor with the inline_24 tool.

Don't interfere — monitor with inline_25/inline_26 and be patient with long-running tasks.

Parallel is fine — run multiple Codex processes at once for batch work.