Agent profile

Codex

OpenAI's lightweight open-source coding agent that runs in your terminal and executes code locally, using OpenAI models.

Overview

CodexOverview
VendorOpenAI
LicenseApache-2.0CLI is Apache-2.0; underlying models are OpenAI-proprietary and vendor-locked
Latest version0.140.0v0.140.0 (2026-06-15)
GitHub stars91500APPROX snapshot
LanguageRust~96% Rust
InterfaceCLI
PricingUsage-basedCLI free OSS; pay OpenAI API or ChatGPT plan

Agent capabilities

CodexAgent capabilities
TopologySingle agent
Planning
Tool callingNative function calling
ExtensibilityCustom toolsVerify MCP/plugin support
MemoryConversation buffer
Code executionNativeRuns locally
Browser/computer useNoneVerify
MCPNot confirmed on fetched page — verify
MultimodalTextVerify image input

Models

CodexModels
Model-agnosticNo
ProvidersOpenAIOpenAI models only; ChatGPT plan or API key
Local modelsNone
BYO keyYesOpenAI API key or ChatGPT plan

Self-hosting

CodexSelf-hosting
Self-host difficultyEasyFIRST-PARTY: Node 22 + npm i -g @openai/codex + OpenAI API key (the exact steps our preset runs)
DeployNative, BinaryRust binary; npm/brew install; confirm first-party
ScalingSingle process
Config complexityTrivialFIRST-PARTY: measured on a DigitalOcean s-1vcpu-1gb (1 vCPU / 1 GB, Ubuntu 22.04), harness run 20260826-195645, 2026-08-26. Node 22 plus one global npm package, no config file and no service unit; configuration is an API key. Installed within our 60s polling resolution.
Min vCPU (measured)1 vCPUFIRST-PARTY: measured on a DigitalOcean s-1vcpu-1gb (1 vCPU / 1 GB, Ubuntu 22.04), harness run 20260826-195645, 2026-08-26. Installed and verified on a single vCPU.
Min RAM (measured)1 GBFIRST-PARTY: measured on a DigitalOcean s-1vcpu-1gb (1 vCPU / 1 GB, Ubuntu 22.04), harness run 20260826-195645, 2026-08-26. Proven on a 1 GB box, with the same caveat as claude-code: the harness installs and verifies codex but never drives a session, so this is the floor for installed-and-ready, not for a running task.
Idle RAM (measured)None residentFIRST-PARTY: measured on a DigitalOcean s-1vcpu-1gb (1 vCPU / 1 GB, Ubuntu 22.04), harness run 20260826-195645, 2026-08-26. Nothing resident. Like claude-code, codex is invoked per session rather than run as a service; the idle box measured 323 MB, essentially all OS, our agent (~68 MB) and Caddy (~50 MB).
Infra costVery lowFIRST-PARTY: measured on a DigitalOcean s-1vcpu-1gb (1 vCPU / 1 GB, Ubuntu 22.04), harness run 20260826-195645, 2026-08-26. No resident process, so no standing cost beyond the box.
One-click on AgentOceanYesFIRST-PARTY: production install preset in src/lib/products.ts (id: codex); BYO OpenAI key

Project health

CodexProject health
MaturityProduction
MaintenanceActivev0.140 June 2026
Release cadenceWeeklyEstimate; fast versioning
DocsGoodEstimate
CommunityLarge

A dash (—) marks a value we have not yet verified first-hand. Record last verified 2026-06-17.

Run Codex on your own VPS — one click

Codex is a one-click install on any AgentOcean VPS: pick a plan, tick the preset, and it's live in minutes.

Codex head-to-head