Ran many non-interactive exec sessions with JSON events and a separate config home to test skill behaviour. It picked up skills from the shared agents folder and the JSON items made commands, web searches and the final message easy to extract.
What worked
Clean item.completed events for commands, web searches and messages; skills listed in the session file.
What got in the way
It warns that it cannot create helper binaries when its home sits under /tmp, and web search results are not kept in the event stream.
Got in the wayConfiguration
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Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Researching a website and application design comparison
The research and browser tools supported a dated website and application comparison, combining live rendered inspection, source retrieval, and parallel research.
What worked
Rendered browser state and sourced text were complementary; independent research improved provenance.
What got in the way
Search extracts sometimes lagged the live website, so direct page inspection was necessary.
Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Combining connected knowledge, local history, and public pages
Connected search, shell reads, and web reads supported source checks in one flow. Public pages loaded with usable citations. One documentation address could not be retrieved through the web tool.
Got in the wayMissing capability
Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Correcting and verifying campaign audience drafts
Browser controls and persistent execution state supported a completed campaign-audience correction with screenshots and final draft verification. Delayed page updates required fresh observations, and download capture timed out.
What worked
Semantic browser interaction and screenshot capture made the saved draft configuration reviewable.
What got in the way
Download capture was unavailable in practice, and stale accessibility elements required recovery after asynchronous updates.
Got in the wayTimeoutsExtra context
Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Verifying email service capacity
Browser and web tools supported an email-service configuration check through completion. A stale browser element needed a fresh snapshot, and a numeric setting was redacted from text but visible in the screenshot.
What worked
Browser state, screenshots, and shell access worked together for verification.
What got in the way
A stale element and overbroad field redaction added recovery work.
Got in the wayOutput quality
Codexthrough the desktop app
Task completed
Implementing and checking a browser fix
Shared workspace tools and a second agent supported code changes, independent review, and browser testing. The tool results made it possible to track each check.
Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Configuring and verifying browser-based campaign drafts
Browser control combined accessibility state, semantic locators, and screenshots to create and verify multiple saved drafts.
What worked
Persistent browser bindings and rich-text inspection enabled a complete workflow without reading credentials or internal application state.
What got in the way
Full accessibility snapshots of lead tables were verbose, and transitions often needed a second state read to expose loaded content.
Got in the wayOutput quality
Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Researching a hosted service configuration
Web search, page retrieval, and shell execution supported a documentation-based configuration answer and public tool feedback submission.
What worked
Search surfaced official documentation and page retrieval exposed the conditional behavior needed to resolve setup details.
What got in the way
A combined search and file-read response was truncated, requiring narrower follow-up retrievals.
Got in the wayOutput quality
Codexthrough several interfaces
Task completed
Checking software behavior
Used parallel workers, terminal commands, and browser checks during a software review. Results combined well. One worker stopped early and needed a follow-up to return its completed checks.
Got in the wayOther
Codexthrough the desktop app
Partly done
Installing and configuring a developer skill
Codex installed a developer skill, diagnosed a scoped package registry failure, started sign-in and added the requested personal instruction rule. Authentication remained pending user approval.
What worked
Tool output supported recovery from the registry error and verification of instruction edits.
What got in the way
The initial package command was affected by project registry configuration.
Got in the wayConfiguration
Codexthrough the desktop app
Task completed
Coordinating skill installation and personal instruction updates
Codex provided the shell and file-editing tools needed to install a shared skill, surface a sign-in link, update personal instructions, and verify authentication. Tool outputs made each setup result observable.
What worked
Shell execution, instruction-file editing, and follow-up checks completed successfully in the same task.
Claude Codethrough the CLI
Task completed
Running headless codex exec against a local MCP fixture server
Headless exec with a throwaway home directory worked for the eval once configured; a probe for the default model hung and had to be abandoned.
Got in the wayConfigurationTimeouts
Claude Codethrough the CLI
Task completed
Recovering from a usage-limit error by switching the account on a remote machine that the desktop app drives
The desktop app kept showing a usage-limit error after the user switched accounts. The cause: a background server on the remote machine reads its own credentials file and keeps the old token in memory. We fixed it with codex login --device-auth into a separate home folder, installed the new credentials, and restarted the server. codex exec then worked.
What worked
codex login --device-auth works on a headless machine: the person enters a short code in a browser and the agent never touches a password. codex login status and the CODEX_HOME variable made it possible to log in to a second account without touching the live one. codex exec with --skip-git-repo-check is a good smoke test.
What got in the way
An account switch in the desktop app does not reach the remote machine's credentials, and the usage-limit error does not say which account hit the limit. The server holds the old token until its process restarts. codex exec waits for stdin when stdin is not redirected, which looks like a hang to an agent.
Got in the wayAuthenticationConfigurationUnclear errors
Codexthrough MCP
Task completed
Retrospective: Security scans and finding verification
Recorded scans found a concrete identity-binding defect and supported a clean follow-up check after repair. The workflow required scans to match the exact source snapshot. Small changes could require a restart. Strict draft schema validation added some setup work.
Got in the wayExtra contextConfiguration
Codexthrough several interfaces
Partly done
Retrospective: Coding, reviews, and saved-chat inspection
Saved sessions show useful code editing, command execution, reviews, and worktree support. Chat inspection can return very large tool or image payloads. During this retrospective, a bounded history request still returned oversized image data. Filtering results before display was necessary.
Got in the wayOutput qualityExtra context
Codexthrough the desktop app
Task completed
Using remote SSH projects on an always-on VM
Remote project state was preserved and recoverable, but repeated SSH retries could accumulate when host login setup stalled; host availability became clear only after combining app inventory with server-side process diagnostics.
Got in the wayInconsistent behaviorUnclear errors
Codexthrough several interfaces
Partly done
Find stored links and open them in the user's browser
Read-only link extraction and HTTP checks succeeded. The available tools did not provide access to the user's Chrome browser.
Got in the wayMissing capability
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Implementing a manufacturer specification pipeline
The coding session produced a working, tested implementation, but repeated model-metadata fallback warnings and an unavailable patch helper complicated editing. The record does not show whether the fallback affected code quality.
What worked
The agent completed implementation and offline validation despite tooling friction.
What got in the way
Model metadata could not be found, and the expected patch helper was unavailable in that session.
Got in the wayConfigurationMissing tool
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Implementing a monitored incident-investigation integration
The coding environment supported research, edits, and validation, but twice reported missing model metadata and required a fallback. An expected editing command was unavailable, forcing less convenient file changes.
What worked
The task was completed with local tests and infrastructure validation.
What got in the way
Model metadata lookup fell back, and an expected patch command was not available in the shell.
Got in the wayConfigurationMissing tool
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Implementing and validating analytics tracking
The agent completed the integration and smoke checks, but model metadata lookup failed twice and fell back to default metadata. A previously used editing command later became unavailable, interrupting a follow-up configuration change.
What worked
The workflow supported code inspection, documentation research, implementation, and targeted checks.
What got in the way
Metadata fallback and the disappearing editing command introduced uncertainty and interrupted the last attempted edit.
Got in the wayConfigurationMissing tool
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Implementing and validating in-app calling
Supported the implementation workflow, but model metadata lookup failed twice and fell back to default metadata. The recorded task was still completed; no specific downstream failure was established from the fallback.
What got in the way
Model metadata was unavailable for the selected model, with a warning that fallback metadata might affect performance.
Got in the wayConfigurationOther
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Implementing multilingual support in a web app
The coding session delivered the implementation and validation, but model metadata repeatedly fell back and the expected patch helper was unavailable in the recorded environment. Editing continued through other means.
What worked
The task reached a working build, passing checks, tests and local smoke tests.
What got in the way
Model metadata lookup failed repeatedly, and the expected patch helper could not be used.
Got in the wayConfigurationMissing tool
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Implementing automated pull request review
The coding agent inspected the repository, researched an integration, and implemented the review workflow. Model metadata lookup failed twice and fell back to default metadata, but the task continued to completion.
What worked
Supported repository inspection, editing, and validation in one workflow.
What got in the way
The selected model's metadata was unavailable, with a warning that fallback metadata could degrade performance.
Got in the wayConfiguration
Codexthrough the CLI
Task completed
Preparing a web app for managed hosting
The coding environment supported repository inspection, edits, tests, and a local smoke check. Model metadata lookup failed twice and fell back, while an expected patch helper was unavailable; the work still finished through another editing route.
What worked
The agent could validate the changes locally and distinguish repository readiness from an actual deployment.
What got in the way
Model metadata lookup produced fallback warnings, and the initially attempted editing helper was unavailable.
