Complete overview of OpenAI Codex capabilities: image-to-code, code review, non-interactive mode, multi-agent workflows, and GitHub integration.

Codex Features

Codex goes far beyond code completion. It is a full coding agent with capabilities that span the entire development lifecycle — from understanding designs to reviewing code before it ships.

Core Capabilities#

| Feature | Description | Best For | |---------|-------------|----------| | Image to Code | Turn screenshots and wireframes into working UI | Frontend developers, designers | | Code Review | AI-powered review with prioritized findings | Teams, solo developers, CI/CD | | Non-Interactive Mode | Scriptable codex exec for automation | DevOps, CI/CD pipelines | | Multi-Agent | Parallel agents with specialized roles | Complex projects, large codebases | | GitHub Integration | Automated PR reviews, @codex mentions | Teams using GitHub |

Interactive TUI#

The terminal UI is Codex's primary interface for interactive work. It provides:

Full-screen editor with syntax-highlighted code blocks and file diffs
Slash commands (/review, /diff, /model, /theme, /agent, /mcp)
Session resume — Pick up where you left off with codex resume
Image input — Paste or attach screenshots directly in the composer
Thread forking — Branch work into sub-agents without leaving the conversation

Web Search#

Codex can search the web for up-to-date information during tasks:

# Enable live web search
codex --search "Find the latest React Router v7 migration guide"

By default, Codex uses a cached web index to reduce prompt injection risks. The --search flag enables live results.

Warning

Web search results should be treated as untrusted input. Codex uses them for reference but you should verify critical information from web searches.

## Session Management

Codex stores transcripts locally so you can resume previous sessions:

# List and resume recent sessions
codex resume

# Resume a specific session
codex resume --session-id <id>

Themes and Customization#

Customize the TUI appearance:

# Open the theme picker
# Type /theme in an active session

You can add custom .tmTheme files under $CODEX_HOME/themes and select them in the picker. Your selection saves to tui.theme in config.toml.

MCP Tool Extensions#

Codex supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for connecting to external tools:

Figma — Pull designs directly into code generation
Databases — Query and modify data during tasks
Documentation — Access API docs and framework references
Custom tools — Build your own MCP servers

See MCP Servers for setup instructions.

What Sets Codex Apart#

Sandbox isolation — Commands run in a sandboxed environment (seatbelt on macOS, Landlock on Linux)
Open source CLI — Full source code on GitHub
Multi-surface — Same agent across CLI, IDE, desktop app, and cloud
AGENTS.md standard — Configuration files readable by multiple tools (Cursor, Aider, etc.)
Codex SDK — Programmatic control via @openai/codex-sdk for custom integrations