use-cases/proactive-teammate.md Codex Docs, 2026-04-21 06:45 UTC → 2026-05-07 20:02 UTC

1# Set up a teammate | Codex use cases1---

2name: Set up a teammate

3tagline: Give Codex a durable view of your work so it can notice what changed.

4summary: Connect the tools where work happens, teach one thread what matters,

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

6 handoffs, and decisions that need your judgment.

7skills:

8 - token: slack

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

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

11 - token: gmail

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

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

14 the workstream.

15 - token: google-calendar

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

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

18 can wait.

19 - token: notion

20 url: /codex/plugins

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

22 workstream.

23bestFor:

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

25 code, and notes

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

27 through noise

28 - Teams that need to escalate what deserves attention

29starterPrompt:

30 title: Check What Needs Attention

31 body: >-

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

33 needs my attention?

2 34 

3Need

4 35 

5Sources to check36 Look for anything important or surprising that I might miss.

37 suggestedEffort: low

38relatedLinks:

39 - label: Codex automations

40 url: /codex/app/automations

41 - label: Codex plugins

42 url: /codex/plugins

43techStack:

44 - need: Sources to check

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

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

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

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

49 picture and find signal across sources.

50---

6 51 

7Default options52## Use Codex as a teammate

8 53 

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.54Codex 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.

10 55 

11Why it's needed56With 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.

12 57 

13The stronger the view, the easier it is for Codex to understand the bigger picture and find signal across sources.58## Start a teammate thread

59 

60 

61 

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

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

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

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

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

67 

68 

69 

70## Run one useful check

71 

72Start 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.

73 

74Use 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.

75 

76A useful Codex response can look like this:

77 

78 

79 

80<p>

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

82 </p>

83 <p>

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

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

86 reporting automation.

87 </p>

88 <p>

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

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

91 until Owen signs off.

92 </p>

93 <p>

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

95 packet.

96 </p>

97 

98 

99 

100Useful 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.

101 

102## Turn the thread into an automation

103 

104Once 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.

105 

106This 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.

107 

108## Operate from the same thread

109 

110The 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.

111 

112Codex can watch, explain, and draft. You still approve external actions.