Codex CLI: A Complete Guide

Learn how to use Codex CLI, OpenAI’s coding agent for your terminal. This four-part series takes you from installation to advanced workflows, with practical examples you can use immediately.

What You’ll Learn

This comprehensive series covers everything you need to become productive with Codex CLI:

• Part 1: Getting Started - Installation on Mac, Linux, and Windows, authentication, and your first safe session
• Part 2: Control and Safety - Understanding approval modes, essential commands, and making your first safe edits
• Part 3: Practical Workflows - Real-world examples for blogging and Python development
• Part 4: Advanced Features - Automation, troubleshooting, custom configurations, and mastery

Series Progress

All Posts in This Series

Getting Started

New to Codex CLI? Start with Part 1: Getting Started with Codex CLI to begin your journey.

Each post builds on the previous one, so I recommend reading them in order. However, each post is also designed to be useful on its own if you need to jump to a specific topic.

Who Is This Series For?

This series is designed for:

• Developers who write code and want to be more productive
• Technical writers who maintain blog posts and documentation
• Python developers looking for refactoring and debugging help
• Anyone curious about AI coding assistants and how to use them safely

You should have:

• Basic command line familiarity
• A terminal you’re comfortable using
• An OpenAI account (ChatGPT subscription or API access)

No prior AI tool experience required—we start from the very beginning!

Series Philosophy

Throughout this series, I emphasize:

• Safety first: Learn to control what Codex can do before giving it more autonomy
• Practical examples: Every concept is demonstrated with real workflows
• Honest assessment: I share both where Codex excels and where it struggles
• Progressive learning: Each post builds on previous knowledge

My goal is to help you become genuinely productive with Codex CLI, not just impressed by demos.

Questions or Feedback?

If you have questions about Codex CLI or suggestions for topics I should cover, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me through the contact form or leave comments on individual posts.