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Codex Harness

The bundled codex plugin lets OpenClaw run embedded agent turns through the Codex app-server instead of the built-in PI harness. Use this when you want Codex to own the low-level agent session: model discovery, native thread resume, native compaction, and app-server execution. OpenClaw still owns chat channels, session files, model selection, tools, approvals, media delivery, and the visible transcript mirror. The harness is off by default. It is selected only when the codex plugin is enabled and the resolved model is a codex/* model, or when you explicitly force embeddedHarness.runtime: "codex" or OPENCLAW_AGENT_RUNTIME=codex. If you never configure codex/*, existing PI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, local, and custom-provider runs keep their current behavior.

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Pick the right model prefix

OpenClaw has separate routes for OpenAI and Codex-shaped access:
Model refRuntime pathUse when
openai/gpt-5.4OpenAI provider through OpenClaw/PI plumbingYou want direct OpenAI Platform API access with OPENAI_API_KEY.
openai-codex/gpt-5.4OpenAI Codex OAuth provider through PIYou want ChatGPT/Codex OAuth without the Codex app-server harness.
codex/gpt-5.4Bundled Codex provider plus Codex harnessYou want native Codex app-server execution for the embedded agent turn.
The Codex harness only claims codex/* model refs. Existing openai/*, openai-codex/*, Anthropic, Gemini, xAI, local, and custom provider refs keep their normal paths.

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Requirements

  • OpenClaw with the bundled codex plugin available.
  • Codex app-server 0.118.0 or newer.
  • Codex auth available to the app-server process.
The plugin blocks older or unversioned app-server handshakes. That keeps OpenClaw on the protocol surface it has been tested against. For live and Docker smoke tests, auth usually comes from OPENAI_API_KEY, plus optional Codex CLI files such as ~/.codex/auth.json and ~/.codex/config.toml. Use the same auth material your local Codex app-server uses.

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Minimal config

Use codex/gpt-5.4, enable the bundled plugin, and force the codex harness: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    },
  },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: "codex/gpt-5.4",
      embeddedHarness: {
        runtime: "codex",
        fallback: "none",
      },
    },
  },
}
If your config uses plugins.allow, include codex there too: 
{
  plugins: {
    allow: ["codex"],
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    },
  },
}
Setting agents.defaults.model or an agent model to codex/<model> also auto-enables the bundled codex plugin. The explicit plugin entry is still useful in shared configs because it makes the deployment intent obvious.

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Add Codex without replacing other models

Keep runtime: "auto" when you want Codex for codex/* models and PI for everything else: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    },
  },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: {
        primary: "codex/gpt-5.4",
        fallbacks: ["openai/gpt-5.4", "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"],
      },
      models: {
        "codex/gpt-5.4": { alias: "codex" },
        "codex/gpt-5.4-mini": { alias: "codex-mini" },
        "openai/gpt-5.4": { alias: "gpt" },
        "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6": { alias: "opus" },
      },
      embeddedHarness: {
        runtime: "auto",
        fallback: "pi",
      },
    },
  },
}
With this shape:
  • /model codex or /model codex/gpt-5.4 uses the Codex app-server harness.
  • /model gpt or /model openai/gpt-5.4 uses the OpenAI provider path.
  • /model opus uses the Anthropic provider path.
  • If a non-Codex model is selected, PI remains the compatibility harness.

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Codex-only deployments

Disable PI fallback when you need to prove that every embedded agent turn uses the Codex harness: 
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: "codex/gpt-5.4",
      embeddedHarness: {
        runtime: "codex",
        fallback: "none",
      },
    },
  },
}
Environment override: 
OPENCLAW_AGENT_RUNTIME=codex \
OPENCLAW_AGENT_HARNESS_FALLBACK=none \
openclaw gateway run
With fallback disabled, OpenClaw fails early if the Codex plugin is disabled, the requested model is not a codex/* ref, the app-server is too old, or the app-server cannot start.

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Per-agent Codex

You can make one agent Codex-only while the default agent keeps normal auto-selection: 
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      embeddedHarness: {
        runtime: "auto",
        fallback: "pi",
      },
    },
    list: [
      {
        id: "main",
        default: true,
        model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
      },
      {
        id: "codex",
        name: "Codex",
        model: "codex/gpt-5.4",
        embeddedHarness: {
          runtime: "codex",
          fallback: "none",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}
Use normal session commands to switch agents and models. /new creates a fresh OpenClaw session and the Codex harness creates or resumes its sidecar app-server thread as needed. /reset clears the OpenClaw session binding for that thread.

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Model discovery

By default, the Codex plugin asks the app-server for available models. If discovery fails or times out, it uses the bundled fallback catalog:
  • codex/gpt-5.4
  • codex/gpt-5.4-mini
  • codex/gpt-5.2
You can tune discovery under plugins.entries.codex.config.discovery: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          discovery: {
            enabled: true,
            timeoutMs: 2500,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Disable discovery when you want startup to avoid probing Codex and stick to the fallback catalog: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          discovery: {
            enabled: false,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

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App-server connection and policy

By default, the plugin starts Codex locally with: 
codex app-server --listen stdio://
You can keep that default and only tune Codex native policy: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            approvalPolicy: "on-request",
            sandbox: "workspace-write",
            serviceTier: "priority",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
For an already-running app-server, use WebSocket transport: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            transport: "websocket",
            url: "ws://127.0.0.1:39175",
            authToken: "${CODEX_APP_SERVER_TOKEN}",
            requestTimeoutMs: 60000,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Supported appServer fields:
FieldDefaultMeaning
transport"stdio""stdio" spawns Codex; "websocket" connects to url.
command"codex"Executable for stdio transport.
args["app-server", "--listen", "stdio://"]Arguments for stdio transport.
urlunsetWebSocket app-server URL.
authTokenunsetBearer token for WebSocket transport.
headers{}Extra WebSocket headers.
requestTimeoutMs60000Timeout for app-server control-plane calls.
approvalPolicy"never"Native Codex approval policy sent to thread start/resume/turn.
sandbox"workspace-write"Native Codex sandbox mode sent to thread start/resume.
approvalsReviewer"user"Use "guardian_subagent" to let Codex guardian review native approvals.
serviceTierunsetOptional Codex service tier, for example "priority".
The older environment variables still work as fallbacks for local testing when the matching config field is unset:
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_BIN
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_ARGS
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_APPROVAL_POLICY
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_SANDBOX
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_GUARDIAN=1
Config is preferred for repeatable deployments.

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Common recipes

Local Codex with default stdio transport: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    },
  },
}
Codex-only harness validation, with PI fallback disabled: 
{
  embeddedHarness: {
    fallback: "none",
  },
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
      },
    },
  },
}
Guardian-reviewed Codex approvals: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            approvalPolicy: "on-request",
            approvalsReviewer: "guardian_subagent",
            sandbox: "workspace-write",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Remote app-server with explicit headers: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            transport: "websocket",
            url: "ws://gateway-host:39175",
            headers: {
              "X-OpenClaw-Agent": "main",
            },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Model switching stays OpenClaw-controlled. When an OpenClaw session is attached to an existing Codex thread, the next turn sends the currently selected codex/* model, provider, approval policy, sandbox, and service tier to app-server again. Switching from codex/gpt-5.4 to codex/gpt-5.2 keeps the thread binding but asks Codex to continue with the newly selected model.

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Codex command

The bundled plugin registers /codex as an authorized slash command. It is generic and works on any channel that supports OpenClaw text commands. Common forms:
  • /codex status shows live app-server connectivity, models, account, rate limits, MCP servers, and skills.
  • /codex models lists live Codex app-server models.
  • /codex threads [filter] lists recent Codex threads.
  • /codex resume <thread-id> attaches the current OpenClaw session to an existing Codex thread.
  • /codex compact asks Codex app-server to compact the attached thread.
  • /codex review starts Codex native review for the attached thread.
  • /codex account shows account and rate-limit status.
  • /codex mcp lists Codex app-server MCP server status.
  • /codex skills lists Codex app-server skills.
/codex resume writes the same sidecar binding file that the harness uses for normal turns. On the next message, OpenClaw resumes that Codex thread, passes the currently selected OpenClaw codex/* model into app-server, and keeps extended history enabled. The command surface requires Codex app-server 0.118.0 or newer. Individual control methods are reported as unsupported by this Codex app-server if a future or custom app-server does not expose that JSON-RPC method.

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Tools, media, and compaction

The Codex harness changes the low-level embedded agent executor only. OpenClaw still builds the tool list and receives dynamic tool results from the harness. Text, images, video, music, TTS, approvals, and messaging-tool output continue through the normal OpenClaw delivery path. When the selected model uses the Codex harness, native thread compaction is delegated to Codex app-server. OpenClaw keeps a transcript mirror for channel history, search, /new, /reset, and future model or harness switching. The mirror includes the user prompt, final assistant text, and lightweight Codex reasoning or plan records when the app-server emits them. Media generation does not require PI. Image, video, music, PDF, TTS, and media understanding continue to use the matching provider/model settings such as agents.defaults.imageGenerationModel, videoGenerationModel, pdfModel, and messages.tts.

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Troubleshooting

Codex does not appear in /model: enable plugins.entries.codex.enabled, set a codex/* model ref, or check whether plugins.allow excludes codex. OpenClaw falls back to PI: set embeddedHarness.fallback: "none" or OPENCLAW_AGENT_HARNESS_FALLBACK=none while testing. The app-server is rejected: upgrade Codex so the app-server handshake reports version 0.118.0 or newer. Model discovery is slow: lower plugins.entries.codex.config.discovery.timeoutMs or disable discovery. WebSocket transport fails immediately: check appServer.url, authToken, and that the remote app-server speaks the same Codex app-server protocol version. A non-Codex model uses PI: that is expected. The Codex harness only claims codex/* model refs.