## Why
We want terminal tool review analytics, but the reducer should not stamp
review timing from its own wall clock.
This PR plumbs review timing through the real protocol and app-server
seams so downstream analytics can consume the emitter's timestamps
directly. Guardian reviews keep their enriched `started_at` /
`completed_at` analytics fields by deriving those legacy second-based
values from the same protocol-native millisecond lifecycle timestamps,
rather than sampling a separate analytics clock.
## What changed
- add `started_at_ms` to user approval request payloads
- add `started_at_ms` / `completed_at_ms` to guardian review
notifications
- preserve Guardian review `started_at` / `completed_at` enrichment from
the protocol-native timing source
- stamp typed `ServerResponse` analytics facts with app-server-observed
`completed_at_ms`
- thread the new timing fields through core, protocol, app-server, TUI,
and analytics fixtures
## Verification
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server outgoing_message --manifest-path
codex-rs/Cargo.toml`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server-protocol guardian --manifest-path
codex-rs/Cargo.toml`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui guardian --manifest-path codex-rs/Cargo.toml`
- `cargo test -p codex-analytics analytics_client_tests --manifest-path
codex-rs/Cargo.toml`
---
[//]: # (BEGIN SAPLING FOOTER)
Stack created with [Sapling](https://sapling-scm.com). Best reviewed
with [ReviewStack](https://reviewstack.dev/openai/codex/pull/21434).
* #18748
* __->__ #21434
* #18747
* #17090
* #17089
* #20514
## Why
`Turn.items` currently overloads an empty array to mean either that no
items exist or that the server intentionally did not load them for this
response. That ambiguity blocks future lazy-loading work where clients
need to distinguish unloaded, summary, and fully hydrated turn payloads.
## What changed
- add a new `TurnItemsView` enum with `notLoaded`, `summary`, and `full`
variants
- add required `itemsView` metadata to app-server `Turn` payloads
- mark reconstructed persisted history as `full` and live shell-style
turn payloads as `notLoaded`
- keep current `thread/turns/list` behavior unchanged and document that
it still returns `full` turns today
- regenerate the JSON and TypeScript protocol fixtures
## Verification
- `just write-app-server-schema`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server thread_read_can_include_turns`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server
thread_turns_list_can_page_backward_and_forward`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server
thread_resume_rejects_history_when_thread_is_running`
- `just fix -p codex-app-server-protocol`
- `just fix -p codex-app-server`
- `just fmt`
## Why
With the local model layer and app-server routing in place from PR1,
this PR moves the active TUI runtime onto app-server notifications. The
affected pieces share the same event flow, so the command surface,
session state, bottom-pane prompts, chat rendering, history/status
views, and tests move together to keep the stacked branch buildable.
This PR also removes the obsolete compatibility surface that is no
longer used after the migration. The proposed protocol-boundary verifier
layer was dropped from the stack; enforcing that final boundary will be
simpler once `codex-tui` no longer needs any `codex_protocol`
references.
This PR is part 2 of a 2-PR stack:
1. Add TUI-owned replacement models and extract app-server event
routing.
2. Move the active TUI flow to app-server notifications and delete
obsolete adapter code.
## What changed
- Rewired app command and session handling to use app-server request and
notification shapes.
- Moved approval overlays, request-user-input flows, MCP elicitation,
realtime events, and review commands onto the app-server-facing model
surface.
- Updated chat rendering, history cells, status views, multi-agent UI,
replay state, and TUI tests to use app-server notifications plus the
local models introduced in PR1.
- Deleted `codex-rs/tui/src/app/app_server_adapter.rs` and the
superseded `chatwidget/tests/background_events.rs` fixture path.
## Verification
- `cargo check -p codex-tui --tests`
- Top of stack: `cargo test -p codex-tui`
## Summary
Side conversations can hide important state changes from the parent
conversation while the user is focused on the side thread. In
particular, the parent may finish, fail, need user input, or require an
approval while the side conversation remains visible. Users need a
lightweight signal for those states, but parent approval overlays should
not interrupt the side conversation itself.
This change adds parent-conversation status to the side conversation
context label and defers parent interactive overlays while side mode is
active. When the user exits side mode, pending parent approvals and
input requests are restored in the main thread. The pending approval
footer avoids duplicating the same parent approval status, and replayed
notice cells are filtered when restoring a pending interactive request
so tips or warnings do not crowd out the approval prompt.
The change is contained to the TUI side-conversation and thread replay
paths.
Example 1: Approval pending
<img width="752" height="35" alt="Screenshot 2026-04-19 at 12 56 07 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1cc0f1a3-9cab-4d60-aed2-96523ccafc20"
/>
Example 2: Turn complete
<img width="754" height="35" alt="Screenshot 2026-04-19 at 12 56 27 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/653521a5-e298-4366-ae1c-72b56eb88eeb"
/>
This is a follow-up to https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/15922. That
previous PR deleted the old `tui` directory and left the new
`tui_app_server` directory in place. This PR renames `tui_app_server` to
`tui` and fixes up all references.
This is the part 1 of 2 PRs that will delete the `tui` /
`tui_app_server` split. This part simply deletes the existing `tui`
directory and marks the `tui_app_server` feature flag as removed. I left
the `tui_app_server` feature flag in place for now so its presence
doesn't result in an error. It is simply ignored.
Part 2 will rename the `tui_app_server` directory `tui`. I did this as
two parts to reduce visible code churn.
## Why
This is effectively a follow-up to
[#15812](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/15812). That change
removed the special skill-script exec path, but `skill_metadata` was
still being threaded through command-approval payloads even though the
approval flow no longer uses it to render prompts or resolve decisions.
Keeping it around added extra protocol, schema, and client surface area
without changing behavior.
Removing it keeps the command-approval contract smaller and avoids
carrying a dead field through app-server, TUI, and MCP boundaries.
## What changed
- removed `ExecApprovalRequestSkillMetadata` and the corresponding
`skillMetadata` field from core approval events and the v2 app-server
protocol
- removed the generated JSON and TypeScript schema output for that field
- updated app-server, MCP server, TUI, and TUI app-server approval
plumbing to stop forwarding the field
- cleaned up tests that previously constructed or asserted
`skillMetadata`
## Testing
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server-test-client`
- `cargo test -p codex-mcp-server`
- `just argument-comment-lint`
This adds a first-class server request for MCP server elicitations:
`mcpServer/elicitation/request`.
Until now, MCP elicitation requests only showed up as a raw
`codex/event/elicitation_request` event from core. That made it hard for
v2 clients to handle elicitations using the same request/response flow
as other server-driven interactions (like shell and `apply_patch`
tools).
This also updates the underlying MCP elicitation request handling in
core to pass through the full MCP request (including URL and form data)
so we can expose it properly in app-server.
### Why not `item/mcpToolCall/elicitationRequest`?
This is because MCP elicitations are related to MCP servers first, and
only optionally to a specific MCP tool call.
In the MCP protocol, elicitation is a server-to-client capability: the
server sends `elicitation/create`, and the client replies with an
elicitation result. RMCP models it that way as well.
In practice an elicitation is often triggered by an MCP tool call, but
not always.
### What changed
- add `mcpServer/elicitation/request` to the v2 app-server API
- translate core `codex/event/elicitation_request` events into the new
v2 server request
- map client responses back into `Op::ResolveElicitation` so the MCP
server can continue
- update app-server docs and generated protocol schema
- add an end-to-end app-server test that covers the full round trip
through a real RMCP elicitation flow
- The new test exercises a realistic case where an MCP tool call
triggers an elicitation, the app-server emits
mcpServer/elicitation/request, the client accepts it, and the tool call
resumes and completes successfully.
### app-server API flow
- Client starts a thread with `thread/start`.
- Client starts a turn with `turn/start`.
- App-server sends `item/started` for the `mcpToolCall`.
- While that tool call is in progress, app-server sends
`mcpServer/elicitation/request`.
- Client responds to that request with `{ action: "accept" | "decline" |
"cancel" }`.
- App-server sends `serverRequest/resolved`.
- App-server sends `item/completed` for the mcpToolCall.
- App-server sends `turn/completed`.
- If the turn is interrupted while the elicitation is pending,
app-server still sends `serverRequest/resolved` before the turn
finishes.
Command-approval clients currently infer which choices to show from
side-channel fields like `networkApprovalContext`,
`proposedExecpolicyAmendment`, and `additionalPermissions`. That makes
the request shape harder to evolve, and it forces each client to
replicate the server's heuristics instead of receiving the exact
decision list for the prompt.
This PR introduces a mapping between `CommandExecutionApprovalDecision`
and `codex_protocol::protocol::ReviewDecision`:
```rust
impl From<CoreReviewDecision> for CommandExecutionApprovalDecision {
fn from(value: CoreReviewDecision) -> Self {
match value {
CoreReviewDecision::Approved => Self::Accept,
CoreReviewDecision::ApprovedExecpolicyAmendment {
proposed_execpolicy_amendment,
} => Self::AcceptWithExecpolicyAmendment {
execpolicy_amendment: proposed_execpolicy_amendment.into(),
},
CoreReviewDecision::ApprovedForSession => Self::AcceptForSession,
CoreReviewDecision::NetworkPolicyAmendment {
network_policy_amendment,
} => Self::ApplyNetworkPolicyAmendment {
network_policy_amendment: network_policy_amendment.into(),
},
CoreReviewDecision::Abort => Self::Cancel,
CoreReviewDecision::Denied => Self::Decline,
}
}
}
```
And updates `CommandExecutionRequestApprovalParams` to have a new field:
```rust
available_decisions: Option<Vec<CommandExecutionApprovalDecision>>
```
when, if specified, should make it easier for clients to display an
appropriate list of options in the UI.
This makes it possible for `CoreShellActionProvider::prompt()` in
`unix_escalation.rs` to specify the `Vec<ReviewDecision>` directly,
adding support for `ApprovedForSession` when approving a skill script,
which was previously missing in the TUI.
Note this results in a significant change to `exec_options()` in
`approval_overlay.rs`, as the displayed options are now derived from
`available_decisions: &[ReviewDecision]`.
## What Changed
- Add `available_decisions` to
[`ExecApprovalRequestEvent`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/de00e932dd9801de0a4faac0519162099753f331/codex-rs/protocol/src/approvals.rs#L111-L175),
including helpers to derive the legacy default choices when older
senders omit the field.
- Map `codex_protocol::protocol::ReviewDecision` to app-server
`CommandExecutionApprovalDecision` and expose the ordered list as
experimental `availableDecisions` in
[`CommandExecutionRequestApprovalParams`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/de00e932dd9801de0a4faac0519162099753f331/codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol/v2.rs#L3798-L3807).
- Thread optional `available_decisions` through the core approval path
so Unix shell escalation can explicitly request `ApprovedForSession` for
session-scoped approvals instead of relying on client heuristics.
[`unix_escalation.rs`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/de00e932dd9801de0a4faac0519162099753f331/codex-rs/core/src/tools/runtimes/shell/unix_escalation.rs#L194-L214)
- Update the TUI approval overlay to build its buttons from the ordered
decision list, while preserving the legacy fallback when
`available_decisions` is missing.
- Update the app-server README, test client output, and generated schema
artifacts to document and surface the new field.
## Testing
- Add `approval_overlay.rs` coverage for explicit decision lists,
including the generic `ApprovedForSession` path and network approval
options.
- Update `chatwidget/tests.rs` and app-server protocol tests to populate
the new optional field and keep older event shapes working.
## Developers Docs
- If we document `item/commandExecution/requestApproval` on
[developers.openai.com/codex](https://developers.openai.com/codex), add
experimental `availableDecisions` as the preferred source of approval
choices and note that older servers may omit it.
Summary
- propagate approval policy from parent to spawned agents and drop the
Never override so sub-agents respect the caller’s request
- refresh the pending-approval list whenever events arrive or the active
thread changes and surface the list above the composer for inactive
threads
- add widgets, helpers, and tests covering the new pending-thread
approval UI state
![Uploading Screenshot 2026-02-25 at 11.02.18.png…]()
## Why
`ExecApprovalRequestEvent` can carry a distinct `approval_id` for
subcommand approvals, including the `execve`-intercepted zsh-fork path.
The session registers the pending approval callback under `approval_id`
when one is present, but `ChatWidget` was stashing `call_id` in the
approval modal state. When the user approved the command in the TUI, the
response was sent back with the wrong identifier, so the pending
approval could not be matched and the approval callback would not
resolve.
Note `approval_id` was introduced in
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/12051.
## What changed
- In `tui/src/chatwidget.rs`, `ChatWidget` now uses
`ExecApprovalRequestEvent::effective_approval_id()` when constructing
`ApprovalRequest::Exec`.
- That preserves the existing behavior for normal shell and
`unified_exec` approvals, where `approval_id` is absent and the
effective id still falls back to `call_id`.
- For subcommand approvals that provide a distinct `approval_id`, the
TUI now sends back the same key that
`Session::request_command_approval()` registered.
## Verification
- Traced the approval flow end to end to confirm the same effective
approval id is now used on both sides of the round trip:
- `Session::request_command_approval()` registers the pending callback
under `approval_id.unwrap_or(call_id)`.
- `ChatWidget` now emits `Op::ExecApproval` with that same effective id.
## Why
This PR switches the `shell_command` zsh-fork path over to
`codex-shell-escalation` so the new shell tool can use the shared
exec-wrapper/escalation protocol instead of the `zsh_exec_bridge`
implementation that was introduced in
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/12052. `zsh_exec_bridge` relied on
UNIX domain sockets, which is not as tamper-proof as the FD-based
approach in `codex-shell-escalation`.
## What Changed
- Added a Unix zsh-fork runtime adapter in `core`
(`core/src/tools/runtimes/shell/unix_escalation.rs`) that:
- runs zsh-fork commands through
`codex_shell_escalation::run_escalate_server`
- bridges exec-policy / approval decisions into `ShellActionProvider`
- executes escalated commands via a `ShellCommandExecutor` that calls
`process_exec_tool_call`
- Updated `ShellRuntime` / `ShellCommandHandler` / tool spec wiring to
select a `shell_command` backend (`classic` vs `zsh-fork`) while leaving
the generic `shell` tool path unchanged.
- Removed the `zsh_exec_bridge`-based session service and deleted
`core/src/zsh_exec_bridge/mod.rs`.
- Moved exec-wrapper entrypoint dispatch to `arg0` by handling the
`codex-execve-wrapper` arg0 alias there, and removed the old
`codex_core::maybe_run_zsh_exec_wrapper_mode()` hooks from `cli` and
`app-server` mains.
- Added the needed `codex-shell-escalation` dependencies for `core` and
`arg0`.
## Tests
- `cargo test -p codex-core
shell_zsh_fork_prefers_shell_command_over_unified_exec`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server turn_start_shell_zsh_fork --
--nocapture`
- verifies zsh-fork command execution and approval flows through the new
backend
- includes subcommand approve/decline coverage using the shared zsh
DotSlash fixture in `app-server/tests/suite/zsh`
- To test manually, I added the following to `~/.codex/config.toml`:
```toml
zsh_path = "/Users/mbolin/code/codex3/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/zsh"
[features]
shell_zsh_fork = true
```
Then I ran `just c` to run the dev build of Codex with these changes and
sent it the message:
```
run `echo $0`
```
And it replied with:
```
echo $0 printed:
/Users/mbolin/code/codex3/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/zsh
In this tool context, $0 reflects the script path used to invoke the shell, not just zsh.
```
so the tool appears to be wired up correctly.
## Notes
- The zsh subcommand-decline integration test now uses `rm` under a
`WorkspaceWrite` sandbox. The previous `/usr/bin/true` scenario is
auto-allowed by the new `shell-escalation` policy path, which no longer
produces subcommand approval prompts.