core-agent-ide/codex-rs
Michael Bolin 648a420cbf
fix: enforce sandbox envelope for zsh fork execution (#12800)
## Why
Zsh fork execution was still able to bypass the `WorkspaceWrite` model
in edge cases because the fork path reconstructed command execution
without preserving sandbox wrappers, and command extraction only
accepted shell invocations in a narrow positional shape. This can allow
commands to run with broader filesystem access than expected, which
breaks the sandbox safety model.

## What changed
- Preserved the sandboxed `ExecRequest` produced by
`attempt.env_for(...)` when entering the zsh fork path in
[`unix_escalation.rs`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/core/src/tools/runtimes/shell/unix_escalation.rs).
- Updated `CoreShellCommandExecutor` to execute the sandboxed command
and working directory captured from `attempt.env_for(...)`, instead of
re-running a freshly reconstructed shell command.
- Made zsh-fork script extraction robust to wrapped invocations by
scanning command arguments for `-c`/`-lc` rather than only matching the
first positional form.
- Added unit tests in `unix_escalation.rs` to lock in wrapper-tolerant
parsing behavior and keep unsupported shell forms rejected.
- Tightened the regression in
[`skill_approval.rs`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/core/tests/suite/skill_approval.rs):
- `shell_zsh_fork_still_enforces_workspace_write_sandbox` now uses an
explicit `WorkspaceWrite` policy with `exclude_tmpdir_env_var: true` and
`exclude_slash_tmp: true`.
- The test attempts to write to `/tmp/...`, which is only reliably
outside writable roots with those explicit exclusions set.

## Verification
- Added and passed the new unit tests around `extract_shell_script`
parsing behavior with wrapped command shapes.
  - `extract_shell_script_supports_wrapped_command_prefixes`
  - `extract_shell_script_rejects_unsupported_shell_invocation`
- Verified the regression with the focused integration test:
`shell_zsh_fork_still_enforces_workspace_write_sandbox`.

## Manual Testing

Prior to this change, if I ran Codex via:

```
just codex --config zsh_path=/Users/mbolin/code/codex2/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/zsh --enable shell_zsh_fork
```

and asked:

```
what is the output of /bin/ps
```

it would run it, even though the default sandbox should prevent the
agent from running `/bin/ps` because it is setuid on MacOS.

But with this change, I now see the expected failure because it is
blocked by the sandbox:

```
/bin/ps exited with status 1 and produced no output in this environment.
```
2026-02-25 11:05:27 -08:00
..
.cargo chore(ci): add cargo audit workflow and policy (#7108) 2025-11-24 12:20:55 -08:00
.config fix flaky test: approval_matrix_covers_all_modes (#7028) 2025-11-20 14:37:42 -08:00
.github/workflows chore(ci): add cargo audit workflow and policy (#7108) 2025-11-24 12:20:55 -08:00
ansi-escape feat: add support for building with Bazel (#8875) 2026-01-09 11:09:43 -08:00
app-server Add app-server v2 thread realtime API (#12715) 2026-02-25 09:59:10 -08:00
app-server-protocol Add app-server v2 thread realtime API (#12715) 2026-02-25 09:59:10 -08:00
app-server-test-client feat: add search term to thread list (#12578) 2026-02-25 09:59:41 +00:00
apply-patch fix: codex-arg0 no longer depends on codex-core (#12434) 2026-02-21 00:20:42 -08:00
arg0 feat: pass helper executable paths via Arg0DispatchPaths (#12719) 2026-02-24 17:44:38 -08:00
async-utils feat: add support for building with Bazel (#8875) 2026-01-09 11:09:43 -08:00
backend-client feat: support multiple rate limits (#11260) 2026-02-10 20:09:31 -08:00
chatgpt [apps] Enforce simple logo url format. (#12374) 2026-02-20 22:05:55 +00:00
cli feat(network-proxy): add embedded OTEL policy audit logging (#12046) 2026-02-25 11:46:37 -05:00
cloud-requirements Cache cloud requirements (#11305) 2026-02-11 14:06:41 +00:00
cloud-tasks feat: split codex-common into smaller utils crates (#11422) 2026-02-11 12:59:24 +00:00
cloud-tasks-client add codex cloud list (#9324) 2026-01-16 08:56:38 -08:00
codex-api Handle websocket timeout (#12791) 2026-02-25 10:31:37 -08:00
codex-backend-openapi-models feat: support multiple rate limits (#11260) 2026-02-10 20:09:31 -08:00
codex-client Log headers in trace mode (#9214) 2026-01-14 18:38:12 +00:00
codex-experimental-api-macros feat: experimental flags (#10231) 2026-02-02 11:06:50 +00:00
config chore: move config diagnostics out of codex-core (#12427) 2026-02-20 23:19:29 -08:00
core fix: enforce sandbox envelope for zsh fork execution (#12800) 2026-02-25 11:05:27 -08:00
debug-client feat: add search term to thread list (#12578) 2026-02-25 09:59:41 +00:00
docs feat: add search term to thread list (#12578) 2026-02-25 09:59:41 +00:00
exec fix: flaky test due to second-resolution for thread ordering (#12692) 2026-02-25 09:59:25 +00:00
execpolicy feat(core): persist network approvals in execpolicy (#12357) 2026-02-23 21:37:46 -08:00
execpolicy-legacy feat: add support for building with Bazel (#8875) 2026-01-09 11:09:43 -08:00
feedback Add ability to attach extra files to feedback (#12370) 2026-02-20 22:26:14 +00:00
file-search app-server: add fuzzy search sessions for streaming file search (#10268) 2026-02-12 10:49:44 -08:00
hooks Allow hooks to error (#11615) 2026-02-16 14:11:05 +00:00
keyring-store feat: add support for building with Bazel (#8875) 2026-01-09 11:09:43 -08:00
linux-sandbox Ensure shell command skills trigger approval (#12697) 2026-02-24 12:13:20 -08:00
lmstudio chore(deps): bump tracing from 0.1.43 to 0.1.44 in /codex-rs (#9880) 2026-01-26 15:48:45 -08:00
login revert audio scope (#12700) 2026-02-24 13:38:28 -08:00
mcp-server feat: pass helper executable paths via Arg0DispatchPaths (#12719) 2026-02-24 17:44:38 -08:00
network-proxy feat(network-proxy): add embedded OTEL policy audit logging (#12046) 2026-02-25 11:46:37 -05:00
ollama chore: nuke chat/completions API (#10157) 2026-02-03 11:31:57 +00:00
otel otel: add host.name resource attribute to logs/traces via gethostname (#12352) 2026-02-25 09:54:45 -05:00
process-hardening feat: add support for building with Bazel (#8875) 2026-01-09 11:09:43 -08:00
protocol chore: migrate additional permissions to PermissionProfile (#12731) 2026-02-25 03:35:28 +00:00
responses-api-proxy Update pnpm versions to fix cve-2026-24842 (#12009) 2026-02-19 14:27:55 -08:00
rmcp-client Add configurable MCP OAuth callback URL for MCP login (#11382) 2026-02-19 13:32:10 -08:00
scripts Upgrade to rust 1.93 (#10080) 2026-01-28 17:46:18 +00:00
secrets Move sanitizer into codex-secrets (#12306) 2026-02-20 22:47:54 +00:00
shell-command fix(core) exec policy parsing 3 (#12485) 2026-02-22 06:26:13 +00:00
shell-escalation fix: keep shell escalation exec paths absolute (#12750) 2026-02-24 23:52:36 -08:00
skills refactor(core): move embedded system skills into codex-skills crate (#12435) 2026-02-21 08:34:08 +00:00
state nit: migration (#12772) 2026-02-25 13:56:52 +00:00
stdio-to-uds feat: add support for building with Bazel (#8875) 2026-01-09 11:09:43 -08:00
test-macros feat: add large stack test macro (#12768) 2026-02-25 13:19:21 +00:00
tui Promote js_repl to experimental with Node requirement (#12712) 2026-02-25 09:44:52 -08:00
utils feat: adding stream parser (#12666) 2026-02-25 13:27:58 +00:00
vendor build(linux-sandbox): always compile vendored bubblewrap on Linux; remove CODEX_BWRAP_ENABLE_FFI (#11498) 2026-02-11 21:30:41 -08:00
windows-sandbox-rs Protect workspace .agents directory in Windows sandbox (#11970) 2026-02-17 09:40:46 -08:00
.gitignore [MCP] Prefix MCP tools names with mcp__ (#5309) 2025-10-19 20:41:55 -04:00
BUILD.bazel Add feature-gated freeform js_repl core runtime (#10674) 2026-02-11 12:05:02 -08:00
Cargo.lock Revert "fix(bazel): replace askama templates with include_str! in memories" (#12795) 2026-02-25 18:06:17 +00:00
Cargo.toml Revert "fix(bazel): replace askama templates with include_str! in memories" (#12795) 2026-02-25 18:06:17 +00:00
clippy.toml fix: switch rate limit reset handling to timestamps (#5304) 2025-10-17 17:39:37 -07:00
config.md Fix link to MCP Servers config section (#5301) 2025-10-17 14:58:27 -07:00
default.nix fix(nix): include libcap dependency on linux builds (#12415) 2026-02-20 19:32:15 -08:00
deny.toml feat(tui): syntax highlighting via syntect with theme picker (#11447) 2026-02-21 20:26:58 -08:00
node-version.txt Add feature-gated freeform js_repl core runtime (#10674) 2026-02-11 12:05:02 -08:00
README.md Fix: update parallel tool call exec approval to approve on request id (#11162) 2026-02-10 09:38:00 -08:00
rust-toolchain.toml Revert "chore(deps): bump rust-toolchain from 1.93.0 to 1.93.1 in /co…dex-rs (#11886)" (#12035) 2026-02-17 12:29:03 -08:00
rustfmt.toml Update cargo to 2024 edition (#842) 2025-05-07 08:37:48 -07:00

Codex CLI (Rust Implementation)

We provide Codex CLI as a standalone, native executable to ensure a zero-dependency install.

Installing Codex

Today, the easiest way to install Codex is via npm:

npm i -g @openai/codex
codex

You can also install via Homebrew (brew install --cask codex) or download a platform-specific release directly from our GitHub Releases.

Documentation quickstart

What's new in the Rust CLI

The Rust implementation is now the maintained Codex CLI and serves as the default experience. It includes a number of features that the legacy TypeScript CLI never supported.

Config

Codex supports a rich set of configuration options. Note that the Rust CLI uses config.toml instead of config.json. See docs/config.md for details.

Model Context Protocol Support

MCP client

Codex CLI functions as an MCP client that allows the Codex CLI and IDE extension to connect to MCP servers on startup. See the configuration documentation for details.

MCP server (experimental)

Codex can be launched as an MCP server by running codex mcp-server. This allows other MCP clients to use Codex as a tool for another agent.

Use the @modelcontextprotocol/inspector to try it out:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector codex mcp-server

Use codex mcp to add/list/get/remove MCP server launchers defined in config.toml, and codex mcp-server to run the MCP server directly.

Notifications

You can enable notifications by configuring a script that is run whenever the agent finishes a turn. The notify documentation includes a detailed example that explains how to get desktop notifications via terminal-notifier on macOS. When Codex detects that it is running under WSL 2 inside Windows Terminal (WT_SESSION is set), the TUI automatically falls back to native Windows toast notifications so approval prompts and completed turns surface even though Windows Terminal does not implement OSC 9.

codex exec to run Codex programmatically/non-interactively

To run Codex non-interactively, run codex exec PROMPT (you can also pass the prompt via stdin) and Codex will work on your task until it decides that it is done and exits. Output is printed to the terminal directly. You can set the RUST_LOG environment variable to see more about what's going on. Use codex exec --ephemeral ... to run without persisting session rollout files to disk.

Experimenting with the Codex Sandbox

To test to see what happens when a command is run under the sandbox provided by Codex, we provide the following subcommands in Codex CLI:

# macOS
codex sandbox macos [--full-auto] [--log-denials] [COMMAND]...

# Linux
codex sandbox linux [--full-auto] [COMMAND]...

# Windows
codex sandbox windows [--full-auto] [COMMAND]...

# Legacy aliases
codex debug seatbelt [--full-auto] [--log-denials] [COMMAND]...
codex debug landlock [--full-auto] [COMMAND]...

Selecting a sandbox policy via --sandbox

The Rust CLI exposes a dedicated --sandbox (-s) flag that lets you pick the sandbox policy without having to reach for the generic -c/--config option:

# Run Codex with the default, read-only sandbox
codex --sandbox read-only

# Allow the agent to write within the current workspace while still blocking network access
codex --sandbox workspace-write

# Danger! Disable sandboxing entirely (only do this if you are already running in a container or other isolated env)
codex --sandbox danger-full-access

The same setting can be persisted in ~/.codex/config.toml via the top-level sandbox_mode = "MODE" key, e.g. sandbox_mode = "workspace-write".

Code Organization

This folder is the root of a Cargo workspace. It contains quite a bit of experimental code, but here are the key crates:

  • core/ contains the business logic for Codex. Ultimately, we hope this to be a library crate that is generally useful for building other Rust/native applications that use Codex.
  • exec/ "headless" CLI for use in automation.
  • tui/ CLI that launches a fullscreen TUI built with Ratatui.
  • cli/ CLI multitool that provides the aforementioned CLIs via subcommands.

If you want to contribute or inspect behavior in detail, start by reading the module-level README.md files under each crate and run the project workspace from the top-level codex-rs directory so shared config, features, and build scripts stay aligned.