1name: Set up a teammate1# Set up a teammate | Codex use cases

2tagline: Give Codex a durable view of your work so it can notice what changed.

3summary: Connect the tools where work happens, teach one thread what matters,

4 then add an automation so Codex can notice changed docs, buried asks, blocked

5 handoffs, and decisions that need your judgment.

6skills:

7 - token: slack

8 url: https://github.com/openai/plugins/tree/main/plugins/slack

9 description: Find the Slack context around asks, owner changes, blockers, and decisions.

10 - token: gmail

11 url: https://github.com/openai/plugins/tree/main/plugins/gmail

12 description: Find reply-worthy threads and cross-check them against the rest of

13 the workstream.

14 - token: google-calendar

15 url: https://github.com/openai/plugins/tree/main/plugins/google-calendar

16 description: Use the day's meetings to decide which updates matter now and which

17 can wait.

18 - token: notion

19 url: /codex/plugins

20 description: Read the project notes, trackers, or decision logs that define the

21 workstream.

22bestFor:

23 - Roles working with context across Slack, Gmail, calendar, docs, trackers,

24 code, and notes

25 - Understanding active work, recurring decisions, collaborators, and cutting

26 through noise

27 - Teams that need to escalate what deserves attention

28starterPrompt:

29 title: Check What Needs Attention

30 body: >-

31 Can you check @slack, @gmail, @google-calendar, and @notion and tell me what

32 needs my attention?

33 2 

3Need

34 4 

35 Look for anything important or surprising that I might miss.5Sources to check

36 suggestedEffort: low

37relatedLinks:

38 - label: Codex automations

39 url: /codex/app/automations

40 - label: Codex plugins

41 url: /codex/plugins

42techStack:

43 - need: Sources to check

44 goodDefault: Slack for active asks, Gmail for pending replies, Google Calendar

45 for timing, and Notion or docs for project state. Add GitHub, Linear,

46 MCPs, or local notes when they are where the work happens.

47 why: The stronger the view, the easier it is for Codex to understand the bigger

48 picture and find signal across sources.

49 6 

50## Use Codex as a teammate7Default options

51 8 

52Codex gets more useful when it can see the places where your work happens: Slack, Gmail, calendar, project trackers, docs, code, and local notes. Together, those sources show what you work on, who you work with, and which asks or decisions can get buried during the day.9Slack for active asks, Gmail for pending replies, Google Calendar for timing, and Notion or docs for project state. Add GitHub, Linear, MCPs, or local notes when they are where the work happens.

53 10 

54With that view, one Codex thread can become a proactive teammate. It learns what you care about as you use it, then an automation sends Codex back through the same sources and returns the signal worth interrupting you for.11Why it's needed

55 12 

56## Start a teammate thread13The stronger the view, the easier it is for Codex to understand the bigger picture and find signal across sources.

57 14 

58 

59 

601. Connect the plugins or MCPs for the tools where your work happens.

612. Start a new Codex thread and ask it to check those sources.

623. Tell Codex which items were useful and which were noise.

634. Add an automation to the thread, then pin the thread and watch for notifications.

645. Operate from the same thread: ask questions, get drafts, and tell Codex what action to take next.

65 

66 

67 

68## Run one useful check

69 

70Start with the tools that already hold your work context. For one person, that might be Gmail, Slack, calendar, Notion, GitHub, Linear, and a local notes folder. Ask Codex to check those sources and tell you what needs attention.

71 

72Use the starter prompt on this page for the first check. You can keep it general or make it specific to a workstream, account, launch, team, or project.

73 

74A useful Codex response can look like this:

75 

76 

77 

78<p>

79 <strong>One thing changed.</strong>

80 </p>

81 <p>

82 The renewal prep now says the customer needs security export wording before

83 the partner note goes out. The partner update still frames the work as broad

84 reporting automation.

85 </p>

86 <p>

87 The useful move is to keep Lina's note narrow: say the export helps audit

88 prep, link the renewal prep, and leave the broader automation claim out

89 until Owen signs off.

90 </p>

91 <p>

92 <strong>Priority:</strong> update the partner line before sending the review

93 packet.

94 </p>

95 

96 

97 

98Useful output names the trigger, shows the source, explains the implication, and recommends the next move. When you correct the thread, Codex learns more about how you operate: which sources matter, which owners already have the work, how direct drafts should sound, and what is worth bringing back.

99 

100## Turn the thread into an automation

101 

102Once the thread becomes useful, ask Codex to keep watching in that same thread. An automation is a scheduled check-in that sends Codex back through the sources you named, then posts a new message if it finds signal worth your attention. It can run hourly, every weekday morning, or at another specific time.

103 

104This is the right shape for Codex [automations](https://developers.openai.com/codex/app/automations): test the prompt in a normal thread first, then add an automation to that thread. Because Codex can compact long conversations, the same thread can keep improving with your corrections instead of starting over each morning.

105 

106## Operate from the same thread

107 

108The teammate becomes more valuable after the alert. Operate as if Codex were your coworker: ask questions in the same thread, then have it turn the signal into a reply, handoff note, or decision brief.

109 

110Codex can watch, explain, and draft. You still approve external actions.