## Problem
The app-server TUI (`tui_app_server`) lacked composer history support.
Pressing Up/Down to recall previous prompts hit a stub that logged a
warning and displayed "Not available in app-server TUI yet." New
submissions were silently dropped from the shared history file, so
nothing persisted for future sessions.
## Mental model
Codex maintains a single, append-only history file
(`$CODEX_HOME/history.jsonl`) shared across all TUI processes on the
same machine. The legacy (in-process) TUI already reads/writes this file
through `codex_core::message_history`. The app-server TUI delegates most
operations to a separate process over RPC, but history is intentionally
*not* an RPC concern — it's a client-local file.
This PR makes the app-server TUI access the same history file directly,
bypassing the app-server process entirely. The composer's Up/Down
navigation and submit-time persistence now follow the same code paths as
the legacy TUI, with the only difference being *where* the call is
dispatched (locally in `App`, rather than inside `CodexThread`).
The branch is rebuilt directly on top of `upstream/main`, so it keeps
the
existing app-server restore architecture intact.
`AppServerStartedThread`
still restores transcript history from the server `Thread` snapshot via
`thread_snapshot_events`; this PR only adds composer-history support.
## Non-goals
- Adding history support to the app-server protocol. History remains
client-local.
- Changing the on-disk format or location of `history.jsonl`.
- Surfacing history I/O errors to the user (failures are logged and
silently swallowed, matching the legacy TUI).
## Tradeoffs
| Decision | Why | Risk |
|----------|-----|------|
| Widen `message_history` from `pub(crate)` to `pub` | Avoids
duplicating file I/O logic; the module already has a clean, minimal API
surface. | Other workspace crates can now call these functions — the
contract is no longer crate-private. However, this is consistent with
recent precedent: `590cfa617` exposed `mention_syntax` for TUI
consumption, `752402c4f` exposed plugin APIs (`PluginsManager`), and
`14fcb6645`/`edacbf7b6` widened internal core APIs for other crates.
These were all narrow, intentional exposures of specific APIs — not
broad "make internals public" moves. `1af2a37ad` even went the other
direction, reducing broad re-exports to tighten boundaries. This change
follows the same pattern: a small, deliberate API surface (3 functions)
rather than a wholesale visibility change. |
| Intercept `AddToHistory` / `GetHistoryEntryRequest` in `App` before
RPC fallback | Keeps history ops out of the "unsupported op" error path
without changing app-server protocol. | This now routes through a single
`submit_thread_op` entry point, which is safer than the original
duplicated dispatch. The remaining risk is organizational: future
thread-op submission paths need to keep using that shared entry point. |
| `session_configured_from_thread_response` is now `async` | Needs
`await` on `history_metadata()` to populate real `history_log_id` /
`history_entry_count`. | Adds an async file-stat + full-file newline
scan to the session bootstrap path. The scan is bounded by
`history.max_bytes` and matches the legacy TUI's cost profile, but
startup latency still scales with file size. |
## Architecture
```
User presses Up User submits a prompt
│ │
▼ ▼
ChatComposerHistory ChatWidget::do_submit_turn
navigate_up() encode_history_mentions()
│ │
▼ ▼
AppEvent::CodexOp Op::AddToHistory { text }
(GetHistoryEntryRequest) │
│ ▼
▼ App::try_handle_local_history_op
App::try_handle_local_history_op message_history::append_entry()
spawn_blocking { │
message_history::lookup() ▼
} $CODEX_HOME/history.jsonl
│
▼
AppEvent::ThreadEvent
(GetHistoryEntryResponse)
│
▼
ChatComposerHistory::on_entry_response()
```
## Observability
- `tracing::warn` on `append_entry` failure (includes thread ID).
- `tracing::warn` on `spawn_blocking` lookup join error.
- `tracing::warn` from `message_history` internals on file-open, lock,
or parse failures.
## Tests
- `chat_composer_history::tests::navigation_with_async_fetch` — verifies
that Up emits `Op::GetHistoryEntryRequest` (was: checked for stub error
cell).
- `app::tests::history_lookup_response_is_routed_to_requesting_thread` —
verifies multi-thread composer recall routes the lookup result back to
the originating thread.
-
`app_server_session::tests::resume_response_relies_on_snapshot_replay_not_initial_messages`
— verifies app-server session restore still uses the upstream
thread-snapshot path.
-
`app_server_session::tests::session_configured_populates_history_metadata`
— verifies bootstrap sets nonzero `history_log_id` /
`history_entry_count` from the shared local history file.
|
||
|---|---|---|
| .codex/skills | ||
| .devcontainer | ||
| .github | ||
| .vscode | ||
| codex-cli | ||
| codex-rs | ||
| docs | ||
| patches | ||
| scripts | ||
| sdk | ||
| shell-tool-mcp | ||
| third_party | ||
| tools/argument-comment-lint | ||
| .bazelignore | ||
| .bazelrc | ||
| .bazelversion | ||
| .codespellignore | ||
| .codespellrc | ||
| .gitignore | ||
| .markdownlint-cli2.yaml | ||
| .npmrc | ||
| .prettierignore | ||
| .prettierrc.toml | ||
| AGENTS.md | ||
| announcement_tip.toml | ||
| BUILD.bazel | ||
| CHANGELOG.md | ||
| cliff.toml | ||
| defs.bzl | ||
| flake.lock | ||
| flake.nix | ||
| justfile | ||
| LICENSE | ||
| MODULE.bazel | ||
| MODULE.bazel.lock | ||
| NOTICE | ||
| package.json | ||
| pnpm-lock.yaml | ||
| pnpm-workspace.yaml | ||
| rbe.bzl | ||
| README.md | ||
| SECURITY.md | ||
| workspace_root_test_launcher.bat.tpl | ||
| workspace_root_test_launcher.sh.tpl | ||
npm i -g @openai/codex
or brew install --cask codex
Codex CLI is a coding agent from OpenAI that runs locally on your computer.
If you want Codex in your code editor (VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf), install in your IDE.
If you want the desktop app experience, run
codex app or visit the Codex App page.
If you are looking for the cloud-based agent from OpenAI, Codex Web, go to chatgpt.com/codex.
Quickstart
Installing and running Codex CLI
Install globally with your preferred package manager:
# Install using npm
npm install -g @openai/codex
# Install using Homebrew
brew install --cask codex
Then simply run codex to get started.
You can also go to the latest GitHub Release and download the appropriate binary for your platform.
Each GitHub Release contains many executables, but in practice, you likely want one of these:
- macOS
- Apple Silicon/arm64:
codex-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz - x86_64 (older Mac hardware):
codex-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
- Apple Silicon/arm64:
- Linux
- x86_64:
codex-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz - arm64:
codex-aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz
- x86_64:
Each archive contains a single entry with the platform baked into the name (e.g., codex-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl), so you likely want to rename it to codex after extracting it.
Using Codex with your ChatGPT plan
Run codex and select Sign in with ChatGPT. We recommend signing into your ChatGPT account to use Codex as part of your Plus, Pro, Team, Edu, or Enterprise plan. Learn more about what's included in your ChatGPT plan.
You can also use Codex with an API key, but this requires additional setup.
Docs
This repository is licensed under the Apache-2.0 License.