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Codex CLI
OpenAI’s local coding agent that runs directly in your terminal.
Open SourceVerified: 2026-04-06
Codex CLI is the open-source terminal agent from OpenAI. The official README describes it as a coding agent that runs locally, with ChatGPT sign-in, API-key access, and direct installation through npm, Homebrew, or release binaries.
Best for
Developers who want an official OpenAI terminal agent instead of bolting models onto a generic wrapper.
Review summary
A fast-moving official CLI for teams that want local execution, OpenAI-native auth, and a strong agentic coding model path.
Pros
- Open source
- Runs locally
- Works with ChatGPT plans or API keys
Cons
- Young ecosystem relative to older terminal tools
- Platform support is narrower than generic Node CLIs
Categories
Coding AgentsTerminal Copilots
Install
The official Codex repo documents direct installation from npm, Homebrew, and release binaries.
npm:
npm install -g @openai/codex
Homebrew:
brew install --cask codex
Quickstart
Interactive mode:
codex
If you prefer API keys:
export OPENAI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
codex
Then give Codex a concrete task, for example:
summarize this codebase and point out the riskiest modules