OpenAI has shared technical details about Codex CLI, its AI-powered agent designed to assist developers in the code development process.

Codex CLI Functionalities

Codex CLI is capable of automating several tasks, including writing code, running tests, and fixing bugs. The agent operates under human supervision, allowing developers to maintain control over the development process.

Effectiveness and Limitations

While AI agents like Codex CLI and Claude Code are reaching a new level of usefulness for rapid prototyping and generating boilerplate code, they are not perfect. OpenAI itself uses Codex to improve the product, but acknowledges that these tools can be brittle outside of their training data and require human oversight for production work. The initial phase of a project can be fast and efficient, but the final stages often require debugging and workarounds to overcome the agent's limitations.