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This reference covers the detailed configuration for the bundled codex plugin. For setup and routing decisions, start with Codex harness.

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Plugin config surface

All Codex harness settings live under plugins.entries.codex.config. 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          discovery: {
            enabled: true,
            timeoutMs: 2500,
          },
          appServer: {
            mode: "guardian",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Supported top-level fields:
FieldDefaultMeaning
discoveryenabledModel discovery settings for Codex app-server model/list.
appServermanaged stdio app-serverTransport, command, auth, approval, sandbox, and timeout settings.
codexDynamicToolsLoading"searchable"Use "direct" to put OpenClaw dynamic tools directly in the initial Codex tool context.
codexDynamicToolsExclude[]Additional OpenClaw dynamic tool names to omit from Codex app-server turns.
codexPluginsdisabledNative Codex plugin/app support for migrated source-installed curated plugins. See Native Codex plugins.
computerUsedisabledCodex Computer Use setup. See Codex Computer Use.

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App-server transport

By default, OpenClaw starts the managed Codex binary shipped with the bundled plugin: 
codex app-server --listen stdio://
This keeps the app-server version tied to the bundled codex plugin instead of whichever separate Codex CLI happens to be installed locally. Set appServer.command only when you intentionally want to run a different executable. For an already-running app-server, use WebSocket transport: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            transport: "websocket",
            url: "ws://gateway-host:39175",
            authToken: "${CODEX_APP_SERVER_TOKEN}",
            requestTimeoutMs: 60000,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Supported appServer fields:
FieldDefaultMeaning
transport"stdio""stdio" spawns Codex; "websocket" connects to url.
commandmanaged Codex binaryExecutable for stdio transport. Leave unset to use the managed binary.
args["app-server", "--listen", "stdio://"]Arguments for stdio transport.
urlunsetWebSocket app-server URL.
authTokenunsetBearer token for WebSocket transport.
headers{}Extra WebSocket headers.
clearEnv[]Extra environment variable names removed from the spawned stdio app-server process after OpenClaw builds its inherited environment.
requestTimeoutMs60000Timeout for app-server control-plane calls.
turnCompletionIdleTimeoutMs60000Quiet window after a turn-scoped app-server request while OpenClaw waits for turn/completed.
mode"yolo" unless local Codex requirements disallow YOLOPreset for YOLO or guardian-reviewed execution.
approvalPolicy"never" or an allowed guardian approval policyNative Codex approval policy sent to thread start, resume, and turn.
sandbox"danger-full-access" or an allowed guardian sandboxNative Codex sandbox mode sent to thread start and resume.
approvalsReviewer"user" or an allowed guardian reviewerUse "auto_review" to let Codex review native approval prompts when allowed.
defaultWorkspaceDircurrent process directoryWorkspace used by /codex bind when --cwd is omitted.
serviceTierunsetOptional Codex app-server service tier. "priority" enables fast-mode routing, "flex" requests flex processing, and null clears the override. Legacy "fast" is accepted as "priority".
The plugin blocks older or unversioned app-server handshakes. Codex app-server must report stable version 0.125.0 or newer.

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Approval and sandbox modes

Local stdio app-server sessions default to YOLO mode: approvalPolicy: "never", approvalsReviewer: "user", and sandbox: "danger-full-access". This trusted local operator posture lets unattended OpenClaw turns and heartbeats make progress without native approval prompts that nobody is around to answer. If Codex’s local system requirements file disallows implicit YOLO approval, reviewer, or sandbox values, OpenClaw treats the implicit default as guardian instead and selects allowed guardian permissions. Hostname-matching [[remote_sandbox_config]] entries in the same requirements file are honored for the sandbox default decision. Set appServer.mode: "guardian" for Codex guardian-reviewed approvals: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            mode: "guardian",
            serviceTier: "priority",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
The guardian preset expands to approvalPolicy: "on-request", approvalsReviewer: "auto_review", and sandbox: "workspace-write" when those values are allowed. Individual policy fields override mode. The older guardian_subagent reviewer value is still accepted as a compatibility alias, but new configs should use auto_review.

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Auth and environment isolation

Auth is selected in this order:
  1. An explicit OpenClaw Codex auth profile for the agent.
  2. The app-server’s existing account in that agent’s Codex home.
  3. For local stdio app-server launches only, CODEX_API_KEY, then OPENAI_API_KEY, when no app-server account is present and OpenAI auth is still required.
When OpenClaw sees a ChatGPT subscription-style Codex auth profile, it removes CODEX_API_KEY and OPENAI_API_KEY from the spawned Codex child process. That keeps Gateway-level API keys available for embeddings or direct OpenAI models without making native Codex app-server turns bill through the API by accident. Explicit Codex API-key profiles and local stdio env-key fallback use app-server login instead of inherited child-process env. WebSocket app-server connections do not receive Gateway env API-key fallback; use an explicit auth profile or the remote app-server’s own account. Stdio app-server launches inherit OpenClaw’s process environment by default, but OpenClaw owns the Codex app-server account bridge and sets both CODEX_HOME and HOME to per-agent directories under that agent’s OpenClaw state. Codex’s own skill loader reads $CODEX_HOME/skills and $HOME/.agents/skills, so both values are isolated for local app-server launches. That keeps Codex-native skills, plugins, config, accounts, and thread state scoped to the OpenClaw agent instead of leaking in from the operator’s personal Codex CLI home. OpenClaw plugins and OpenClaw skill snapshots still flow through OpenClaw’s own plugin registry and skill loader. Personal Codex CLI assets do not. If you have useful Codex CLI skills or plugins that should become part of an OpenClaw agent, inventory them explicitly: 
openclaw migrate codex --dry-run
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes
If a deployment needs additional environment isolation, add those variables to appServer.clearEnv: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            clearEnv: ["CODEX_API_KEY", "OPENAI_API_KEY"],
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
appServer.clearEnv only affects the spawned Codex app-server child process. CODEX_HOME and HOME remain reserved for OpenClaw’s per-agent Codex isolation on local launches.

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Dynamic tools

Codex dynamic tools default to searchable loading. OpenClaw does not expose dynamic tools that duplicate Codex-native workspace operations:
  • read
  • write
  • edit
  • apply_patch
  • exec
  • process
  • update_plan
Remaining OpenClaw integration tools, such as messaging, sessions, media, cron, browser, nodes, gateway, heartbeat_respond, and web_search, are available through Codex tool search under the openclaw namespace. This keeps the initial model context smaller. sessions_yield and message-tool-only source replies stay direct because those are turn-control contracts. Set codexDynamicToolsLoading: "direct" only when connecting to a custom Codex app-server that cannot search deferred dynamic tools or when debugging the full tool payload.

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Timeouts

OpenClaw-owned dynamic tool calls are bounded independently from appServer.requestTimeoutMs. Each Codex item/tool/call request uses the first available timeout in this order:
  • A positive per-call timeoutMs argument.
  • For image_generate, agents.defaults.imageGenerationModel.timeoutMs.
  • For the media-understanding image tool, tools.media.image.timeoutSeconds converted to milliseconds, or the 60 second media default.
  • The 30 second dynamic-tool default.
Dynamic tool budgets are capped at 600000 ms. On timeout, OpenClaw aborts the tool signal where supported and returns a failed dynamic-tool response to Codex so the turn can continue instead of leaving the session in processing. After OpenClaw responds to a Codex turn-scoped app-server request, the harness also expects Codex to finish the native turn with turn/completed. If the app-server goes quiet for appServer.turnCompletionIdleTimeoutMs after that response, OpenClaw best-effort interrupts the Codex turn, records a diagnostic timeout, and releases the OpenClaw session lane so follow-up chat messages are not queued behind a stale native turn. Any non-terminal notification for the same turn, including rawResponseItem/completed, disarms that short watchdog because Codex has proven the turn is still alive. The longer terminal watchdog continues to protect genuinely stuck turns. Timeout diagnostics include the last app-server notification method and, for raw assistant response items, the item type, role, id, and a bounded assistant text preview.

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Model discovery

By default, the Codex plugin asks the app-server for available models. Model availability is owned by Codex app-server, so the list can change when OpenClaw upgrades the bundled @openai/codex version or when a deployment points appServer.command at a different Codex binary. Availability can also be account-scoped. Use /codex models on a running gateway to see the live catalog for that harness and account. If discovery fails or times out, OpenClaw uses a bundled fallback catalog for:
  • GPT-5.5
  • GPT-5.4 mini
  • GPT-5.2
The current bundled harness is @openai/codex 0.130.0. A model/list probe against that bundled app-server returned:
Model idDefaultHiddenInput modalitiesReasoning efforts
gpt-5.5YesNotext, imagelow, medium, high, xhigh
gpt-5.4NoNotext, imagelow, medium, high, xhigh
gpt-5.4-miniNoNotext, imagelow, medium, high, xhigh
gpt-5.3-codexNoNotext, imagelow, medium, high, xhigh
gpt-5.3-codex-sparkNoNotextlow, medium, high, xhigh
gpt-5.2NoNotext, imagelow, medium, high, xhigh
Hidden models can be returned by the app-server catalog for internal or specialized flows, but they are not normal model-picker choices. 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 use only the fallback catalog: 
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          discovery: {
            enabled: false,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

​
Workspace bootstrap files

Codex handles AGENTS.md itself through native project-doc discovery. OpenClaw does not write synthetic Codex project-doc files or depend on Codex fallback filenames for persona files, because Codex fallbacks only apply when AGENTS.md is missing. For OpenClaw workspace parity, the Codex harness resolves the other bootstrap files, including SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, IDENTITY.md, USER.md, HEARTBEAT.md, BOOTSTRAP.md, and MEMORY.md when present, and forwards them through Codex developer instructions on thread/start and thread/resume. This keeps workspace persona and profile context visible on the native Codex behavior-shaping lane without duplicating AGENTS.md.

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Environment overrides

Environment overrides remain available for local testing:
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_BIN
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_ARGS
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_MODE=yolo|guardian
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_APPROVAL_POLICY
  • OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_SANDBOX
OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_BIN bypasses the managed binary when appServer.command is unset. OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_GUARDIAN=1 was removed. Use plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.mode: "guardian" instead, or OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_MODE=guardian for one-off local testing. Config is preferred for repeatable deployments because it keeps the plugin behavior in the same reviewed file as the rest of the Codex harness setup.