## Why
`execpolicy` currently keys `prefix_rule()` matching off the literal
first token. That works for rules like `["/usr/bin/git"]`, but it means
shared basename rules such as `["git"]` do not help when a caller passes
an absolute executable path like `/usr/bin/git`.
This PR lays the groundwork for basename-aware matching without changing
existing callers yet. It adds typed host-executable metadata and an
opt-in resolution path in `codex-execpolicy`, so a follow-up PR can
adopt the new behavior in `unix_escalation.rs` and other call sites
without having to redesign the policy layer first.
## What Changed
- added `host_executable(name = ..., paths = [...])` to the execpolicy
parser and validated it with `AbsolutePathBuf`
- stored host executable mappings separately from prefix rules inside
`Policy`
- added `MatchOptions` and opt-in `*_with_options()` APIs that preserve
existing behavior by default
- implemented exact-first matching with optional basename fallback,
gated by `host_executable()` allowlists when present
- normalized executable names for cross-platform matching so Windows
paths like `git.exe` can satisfy `host_executable(name = "git", ...)`
- updated `match` / `not_match` example validation to exercise the
host-executable resolution path instead of only raw prefix-rule matching
- preserved source locations for deferred example-validation errors so
policy load failures still point at the right file and line
- surfaced `resolvedProgram` on `RuleMatch` so callers can tell when a
basename rule matched an absolute executable path
- preserved host executable metadata when requirements policies overlay
file-based policies in `core/src/exec_policy.rs`
- documented the new rule shape and CLI behavior in
`execpolicy/README.md`
## Verification
- `cargo test -p codex-execpolicy`
- added coverage in `execpolicy/tests/basic.rs` for parsing, precedence,
empty allowlists, basename fallback, exact-match precedence, and
host-executable-backed `match` / `not_match` examples
- added a regression test in `core/src/exec_policy.rs` to verify
requirements overlays preserve `host_executable()` metadata
- verified `cargo test -p codex-core --lib`, including source-rendering
coverage for deferred validation errors
## Summary
Persist network approval allow/deny decisions as `network_rule(...)`
entries in execpolicy (not proxy config)
It adds `network_rule` parsing + append support in `codex-execpolicy`,
including `decision="prompt"` (parse-only; not compiled into proxy
allow/deny lists)
- compile execpolicy network rules into proxy allow/deny lists and
update the live proxy state on approval
- preserve requirements execpolicy `network_rule(...)` entries when
merging with file-based execpolicy
- reject broad wildcard hosts (for example `*`) for persisted
`network_rule(...)`
## Summary
We ideally shouldn't make it to this point in the first place, but if we
do try to append a rule that already exists, we shouldn't append the
same rule twice.
## Testing
- [x] Added unit test for this case
Adds an optional `justification` parameter to the `prefix_rule()`
execpolicy DSL so policy authors can attach human-readable rationale to
a rule. That justification is propagated through parsing/matching and
can be surfaced to the model (or approval UI) when a command is blocked
or requires approval.
When a command is rejected (or gated behind approval) due to policy, a
generic message makes it hard for the model/user to understand what went
wrong and what to do instead. Allowing policy authors to supply a short
justification improves debuggability and helps guide the model toward
compliant alternatives.
Example:
```python
prefix_rule(
pattern = ["git", "push"],
decision = "forbidden",
justification = "pushing is blocked in this repo",
)
```
If Codex tried to run `git push origin main`, now the failure would
include:
```
`git push origin main` rejected: pushing is blocked in this repo
```
whereas previously, all it was told was:
```
execpolicy forbids this command
```
We decided that `*.rules` is a more fitting (and concise) file extension
than `*.codexpolicy`, so we are changing the file extension for the
"execpolicy" effort. We are also changing the subfolder of `$CODEX_HOME`
from `policy` to `rules` to match.
This PR updates the in-repo docs and we will update the public docs once
the next CLI release goes out.
Locally, I created `~/.codex/rules/default.rules` with the following
contents:
```
prefix_rule(pattern=["gh", "pr", "view"])
```
And then I asked Codex to run:
```
gh pr view 7888 --json title,body,comments
```
and it was able to!
## Refactor of the `execpolicy` crate
To illustrate why we need this refactor, consider an agent attempting to
run `apple | rm -rf ./`. Suppose `apple` is allowed by `execpolicy`.
Before this PR, `execpolicy` would consider `apple` and `pear` and only
render one rule match: `Allow`. We would skip any heuristics checks on
`rm -rf ./` and immediately approve `apple | rm -rf ./` to run.
To fix this, we now thread a `fallback` evaluation function into
`execpolicy` that runs when no `execpolicy` rules match a given command.
In our example, we would run `fallback` on `rm -rf ./` and prevent
`apple | rm -rf ./` from being run without approval.
this PR
- adds a helper function to amend `.codexpolicy` files with new prefix
rules
- adds a utility to `Policy` allowing prefix rules to be added to
existing `Policy` structs
both additions will be helpful as we thread codexpolicy into the TUI
workflow
adding execpolicycheck tool onto codex cli
this is useful for validating policies (can be multiple) against
commands.
it will also surface errors in policy syntax:
<img width="1150" height="281" alt="Screenshot 2025-11-19 at 12 46
21 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8f99b403-564c-4172-acc9-6574a8d13dc3"
/>
this PR also changes output format when there's no match in the CLI.
instead of returning the raw string `noMatch`, we return
`{"noMatch":{}}`
this PR is a rewrite of: https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/6932 (due
to the numerous merge conflicts present in the original PR)
---------
Co-authored-by: Michael Bolin <mbolin@openai.com>
