noninteractive.md Codex Docs, 2026-03-07 18:10 UTC → 2026-04-17 00:44 UTC

11 11 

12- Run as part of a pipeline (CI, pre-merge checks, scheduled jobs).12- Run as part of a pipeline (CI, pre-merge checks, scheduled jobs).

13- Produce output you can pipe into other tools (for example, to generate release notes or summaries).13- Produce output you can pipe into other tools (for example, to generate release notes or summaries).

14- Fit naturally into CLI workflows that chain command output into Codex and pass Codex output to other tools.

14- Run with explicit, pre-set sandbox and approval settings.15- Run with explicit, pre-set sandbox and approval settings.

15 16 

16## Basic usage17## Basic usage

33codex exec --ephemeral "triage this repository and suggest next steps"34codex exec --ephemeral "triage this repository and suggest next steps"

34```35```

35 36 

37If stdin is piped and you also provide a prompt argument, Codex treats the prompt as the instruction and the piped content as additional context.

38 

39This makes it easy to generate input with one command and hand it directly to Codex:

40 

41```bash

42curl -s https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/comments \

43 | codex exec "format the top 20 items into a markdown table" \

44 > table.md

45```

46 

47For more advanced stdin piping patterns, see [Advanced stdin piping](#advanced-stdin-piping).

48 

36## Permissions and safety49## Permissions and safety

37 50 

38By default, `codex exec` runs in a read-only sandbox. In automation, set the least permissions needed for the workflow:51By default, `codex exec` runs in a read-only sandbox. In automation, set the least permissions needed for the workflow:

235#### Alternative: Use the Codex GitHub Action248#### Alternative: Use the Codex GitHub Action

236 249 

237If you want to avoid installing the CLI yourself, you can run `codex exec` through the [Codex GitHub Action](https://developers.openai.com/codex/github-action) and pass the prompt as an input.250If you want to avoid installing the CLI yourself, you can run `codex exec` through the [Codex GitHub Action](https://developers.openai.com/codex/github-action) and pass the prompt as an input.

251 

252## Advanced stdin piping

253 

254When another command produces input for Codex, choose the stdin pattern based on where the instruction should come from. Use prompt-plus-stdin when you already know the instruction and want to pass piped output as context. Use `codex exec -` when stdin should become the full prompt.

255 

256### Use prompt-plus-stdin

257 

258Prompt-plus-stdin is useful when another command already produces the data you want Codex to inspect. In this mode, you write the instruction yourself and pipe in the output as context, which makes it a natural fit for CLI workflows built around command output, logs, and generated data.

259 

260```bash

261npm test 2>&1 \

262 | codex exec "summarize the failing tests and propose the smallest likely fix" \

263 | tee test-summary.md

264```

265 

266More prompt-plus-stdin examples

267 

268### Summarize logs

269 

270```bash

271tail -n 200 app.log \

272 | codex exec "identify the likely root cause, cite the most important errors, and suggest the next three debugging steps" \

273 > log-triage.md

274```

275 

276### Inspect TLS or HTTP issues

277 

278```bash

279curl -vv https://api.example.com/health 2>&1 \

280 | codex exec "explain the TLS or HTTP failure and suggest the most likely fix" \

281 > tls-debug.md

282```

283 

284### Prepare a Slack-ready update

285 

286```bash

287gh run view 123456 --log \

288 | codex exec "write a concise Slack-ready update on the CI failure, including the likely cause and next step" \

289 | pbcopy

290```

291 

292### Draft a pull request comment from CI logs

293 

294```bash

295gh run view 123456 --log \

296 | codex exec "summarize the failure in 5 bullets for the pull request thread" \

297 | gh pr comment 789 --body-file -

298```

299 

300### Use `codex exec -` when stdin is the prompt

301 

302If you omit the prompt argument, Codex reads the prompt from stdin. Use `codex exec -` when you want to force that behavior explicitly.

303 

304The `-` sentinel is useful when another command or script is generating the entire prompt dynamically. This is a good fit when you store prompts in files, assemble prompts with shell scripts, or combine live command output with instructions before handing the whole prompt to Codex.

305 

306```bash

307cat prompt.txt | codex exec -

308```

309 

310```bash

311printf "Summarize this error log in 3 bullets:\n\n%s\n" "$(tail -n 200 app.log)" \

312 | codex exec -

313```

314 

315```bash

316generate_prompt.sh | codex exec - --json > result.jsonl

317```