## Summary
This PR includes the session's local date and timezone in the
model-visible environment context and persists that data in
`TurnContextItem`.
## What changed
- captures the current local date and IANA timezone when building a turn
context, with a UTC fallback if the timezone lookup fails
- includes current_date and timezone in the serialized
<environment_context> payload
- stores those fields on TurnContextItem so they survive rollout/history
handling, subagent review threads, and resume flows
- treats date/timezone changes as environment updates, so prompt caching
and context refresh logic do not silently reuse stale time context
- updates tests to validate the new environment fields without depending
on a single hardcoded environment-context string
## test
built a local build and saw it in the rollout file:
```
{"timestamp":"2026-02-26T21:39:50.737Z","type":"response_item","payload":{"type":"message","role":"user","content":[{"type":"input_text","text":"<environment_context>\n <shell>zsh</shell>\n <current_date>2026-02-26</current_date>\n <timezone>America/Los_Angeles</timezone>\n</environment_context>"}]}}
```
## Summary
- bundle contextual prompt injection into at most one developer message
plus one contextual user message in both:
- per-turn settings updates
- initial context insertion
- preserve `<model_switch>` across compaction by rebuilding it through
canonical initial-context injection, instead of relying on
strip/reattach hacks
- centralize contextual user fragment detection in one shared definition
table and reuse it for parsing/compaction logic
- keep `AGENTS.md` in its natural serialized format:
- `# AGENTS.md instructions for {dirname}`
- `<INSTRUCTIONS>...</INSTRUCTIONS>`
- simplify related tests/helpers and accept the expected snapshot/layout
updates from bundled multi-part messages
## Why
The goal is to converge toward a simpler, more intentional prompt shape
where contextual updates are consistently represented as one developer
envelope plus one contextual user envelope, while keeping parsing and
compaction behavior aligned with that representation.
## Notable details
- the temporary `SettingsUpdateEnvelope` wrapper was removed; these
paths now return `Vec<ResponseItem>` directly
- local/remote compaction no longer rely on model-switch strip/restore
helpers
- contextual user detection is now driven by shared fragment definitions
instead of ad hoc matcher assembly
- AGENTS/user instructions are still the same logical context; only the
synthetic `<user_instructions>` wrapper was replaced by the natural
AGENTS text format
## Testing
- `just fmt`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server
codex_message_processor::tests::extract_conversation_summary_prefers_plain_user_messages
-- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core
compact::tests::collect_user_messages_filters_session_prefix_entries
--lib -- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::compact::snapshot_request_shape_pre_turn_compaction_strips_incoming_model_switch'
-- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::compact_remote::snapshot_request_shape_remote_pre_turn_compaction_strips_incoming_model_switch'
-- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::client::includes_apps_guidance_as_developer_message_when_enabled'
-- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::client::includes_developer_instructions_message_in_request' --
--exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::client::includes_user_instructions_message_in_request' --
--exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::client::resume_includes_initial_messages_and_sends_prior_items'
-- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --test all
'suite::review::review_input_isolated_from_parent_history' -- --exact`
- `cargo test -p codex-exec --test all
'suite::resume::exec_resume_last_respects_cwd_filter_and_all_flag' --
--exact`
- `cargo test -p core_test_support
context_snapshot::tests::full_text_mode_preserves_unredacted_text --
--exact`
## Notes
- I also ran several targeted `compact`, `compact_remote`,
`prompt_caching`, `model_visible_layout`, and `event_mapping` tests
while iterating on prompt-shape changes.
- I have not claimed a clean full-workspace `cargo test` from this
environment because local sandbox/resource conditions have previously
produced unrelated failures in large workspace runs.
Currently there is no bound on the length of a user message submitted in
the TUI or through the app server interface. That means users can paste
many megabytes of text, which can lead to bad performance, hangs, and
crashes. In extreme cases, it can lead to a [kernel
panic](https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/12323).
This PR limits the length of a user input to 2**20 (about 1M)
characters. This value was chosen because it fills the entire context
window on the latest models, so accepting longer inputs wouldn't make
sense anyway.
Summary
- add a shared `MAX_USER_INPUT_TEXT_CHARS` constant in codex-protocol
and surface it in TUI and app server code
- block oversized submissions in the TUI submit flow and emit error
history cells when validation fails
- reject heavy app-server requests with JSON-RPC `-32602` and structured
`input_too_large` data, plus document the behavior
Testing
- ran the IDE extension with this change and verified that when I
attempt to paste a user message that's several MB long, it correctly
reports an error instead of crashing or making my computer hot.
## Summary
Introduces the initial implementation of Feature::RequestPermissions.
RequestPermissions allows the model to request that a command be run
inside the sandbox, with additional permissions, like writing to a
specific folder. Eventually this will include other rules as well, and
the ability to persist these permissions, but this PR is already quite
large - let's get the core flow working and go from there!
<img width="1279" height="541" alt="Screenshot 2026-02-15 at 2 26 22 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0ee3ec0f-02ec-4509-91a2-809ac80be368"
/>
## Testing
- [x] Added tests
- [x] Tested locally
- [x] Feature
## Summary
This feature is now reasonably stable, let's remove it so we can
simplify our upcoming iterations here.
## Testing
- [x] Existing tests pass
## Summary
This PR delivers the first small, shippable step toward model-visible
state diffing by making
`TurnContextItem` more complete and standardizing how it is built.
Specifically, it:
- Adds persisted network context to `TurnContextItem`.
- Introduces a single canonical `TurnContext -> TurnContextItem`
conversion path.
- Routes existing rollout write sites through that canonical conversion
helper.
No context injection/diff behavior changes are included in this PR.
## Why this change
The design goal is to make `TurnContextItem` the canonical source of
truth for context-diff
decisions.
Before this PR:
- `TurnContextItem` did not include all TurnContext-derived environment
inputs needed for v1
completeness.
- Construction was duplicated at multiple write sites.
This PR addresses both with a minimal, reviewable change.
## Changes
### 1) Extend `TurnContextItem` with network state
- Added `TurnContextNetworkItem { allowed_domains, denied_domains }`.
- Added `network: Option<TurnContextNetworkItem>` to `TurnContextItem`.
- Kept backward compatibility by making the new field optional and
skipped when absent.
Files:
- `codex-rs/protocol/src/protocol.rs`
### 2) Canonical conversion helper
- Added `TurnContext::to_turn_context_item(collaboration_mode)` in core.
- Added internal helper to derive network fields from
`config_layer_stack.requirements().network`.
Files:
- `codex-rs/core/src/codex.rs`
### 3) Use canonical conversion at rollout write sites
- Replaced ad hoc `TurnContextItem { ... }` construction with
`to_turn_context_item(...)` in:
- sampling request path
- compaction path
Files:
- `codex-rs/core/src/codex.rs`
- `codex-rs/core/src/compact.rs`
### 4) Update fixtures/tests for new optional field
- Updated existing `TurnContextItem` literals in tests to include
`network: None`.
- Added protocol tests for:
- deserializing old payloads with no `network`
- serializing when `network` is present
Files:
- `codex-rs/core/tests/suite/resume_warning.rs`
- No replay/diff logic changes.
- Persisted rollout `TurnContextItem` now carries additional network
context when available.
- Older rollout lines without `network` remain readable.
Problem:
1. turn id is constructed in-memory;
2. on resuming threads, turn_id might not be unique;
3. client cannot no the boundary of a turn from rollout files easily.
This PR does three things:
1. persist `task_started` and `task_complete` events;
1. persist `turn_id` in rollout turn events;
5. generate turn_id as unique uuids instead of incrementing it in
memory.
This helps us resolve the issue of clients wanting to have unique turn
ids for resuming a thread, and knowing the boundry of each turn in
rollout files.
example debug logs
```
2026-02-11T00:32:10.746876Z DEBUG codex_app_server_protocol::protocol::thread_history: built turn from rollout items turn_index=8 turn=Turn { id: "019c4a07-d809-74c3-bc4b-fd9618487b4b", items: [UserMessage { id: "item-24", content: [Text { text: "hi", text_elements: [] }] }, AgentMessage { id: "item-25", text: "Hi. I’m in the workspace with your current changes loaded and ready. Send the next task and I’ll execute it end-to-end." }], status: Completed, error: None }
2026-02-11T00:32:10.746888Z DEBUG codex_app_server_protocol::protocol::thread_history: built turn from rollout items turn_index=9 turn=Turn { id: "019c4a18-1004-76c0-a0fb-a77610f6a9b8", items: [UserMessage { id: "item-26", content: [Text { text: "hello", text_elements: [] }] }, AgentMessage { id: "item-27", text: "Hello. Ready for the next change in `codex-rs`; I can continue from the current in-progress diff or start a new task." }], status: Completed, error: None }
2026-02-11T00:32:10.746899Z DEBUG codex_app_server_protocol::protocol::thread_history: built turn from rollout items turn_index=10 turn=Turn { id: "019c4a19-41f0-7db0-ad78-74f1503baeb8", items: [UserMessage { id: "item-28", content: [Text { text: "hello", text_elements: [] }] }, AgentMessage { id: "item-29", text: "Hello. Send the specific change you want in `codex-rs`, and I’ll implement it and run the required checks." }], status: Completed, error: None }
```
backward compatibility:
if you try to resume an old session without task_started and
task_complete event populated, the following happens:
- If you resume and do nothing: those reconstructed historical IDs can
differ next time you resume.
- If you resume and send a new turn: the new turn gets a fresh UUID from
live submission flow and is persisted, so that new turn’s ID is stable
on later resumes.
I think this behavior is fine, because we only care about deterministic
turn id once a turn is triggered.
## Summary
When resuming with a different model, we should also append a developer
message with the model instructions
## Testing
- [x] Added unit tests
The second part of breaking up PR
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/9116
Summary:
- Add `TextElement` / `ByteRange` to protocol user inputs and user
message events with defaults.
- Thread `text_elements` through app-server v1/v2 request handling and
history rebuild.
- Preserve UI metadata only in user input/events (not `ContentItem`)
while keeping local image attachments in user events for rehydration.
Details:
- Protocol: `UserInput::Text` carries `text_elements`;
`UserMessageEvent` carries `text_elements` + `local_images`.
Serialization includes empty vectors for backward compatibility.
- app-server-protocol: v1 defines `V1TextElement` / `V1ByteRange` in
camelCase with conversions; v2 uses its own camelCase wrapper.
- app-server: v1/v2 input mapping includes `text_elements`; thread
history rebuilds include them.
- Core: user event emission preserves UI metadata while model history
stays clean; history replay round-trips the metadata.
- Add a single builder for developer permissions messaging that accepts
SandboxPolicy and approval policy. This builder now drives the developer
“permissions” message that’s injected at session start and any time
sandbox/approval settings change.
- Trim EnvironmentContext to only include cwd, writable roots, and
shell; removed sandbox/approval/network duplication and adjusted XML
serialization and tests accordingly.
Follow-up: adding a config value to replace the developer permissions
message for custom sandboxes.
Fix flakiness of CI test:
https://github.com/openai/codex/actions/runs/20350530276/job/58473691434?pr=8282
This PR does two things:
1. move the flakiness test to use responses API instead of chat
completion API
2. make mcp_process agnostic to the order of
responses/notifications/requests that come in, by buffering messages not
read
We currently have nested enums when sending raw response items in the
app-server protocol. This makes downstream schemas confusing because we
need to embed `type`-discriminated enums within each other.
This PR adds a small wrapper around the response item so we can keep the
schemas separate
There's a lot of visual noise in app-server's integration tests due to
the number of `.expect("<some_msg>")` lines which are largely redundant
/ not very useful. Clean them up by using `anyhow::Result` + `?`
consistently.
Replaces the existing pattern of:
```
let codex_home = TempDir::new().expect("create temp dir");
create_config_toml(codex_home.path()).expect("write config.toml");
let mut mcp = McpProcess::new(codex_home.path())
.await
.expect("spawn mcp process");
timeout(DEFAULT_READ_TIMEOUT, mcp.initialize())
.await
.expect("initialize timeout")
.expect("initialize request");
```
With:
```
let codex_home = TempDir::new()?;
create_config_toml(codex_home.path())?;
let mut mcp = McpProcess::new(codex_home.path()).await?;
timeout(DEFAULT_READ_TIMEOUT, mcp.initialize()).await??;
```
We continue the separation between `codex app-server` and `codex
mcp-server`.
In particular, we introduce a new crate, `codex-app-server-protocol`,
and migrate `codex-rs/protocol/src/mcp_protocol.rs` into it, renaming it
`codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol.rs`.
Because `ConversationId` was defined in `mcp_protocol.rs`, we move it
into its own file, `codex-rs/protocol/src/conversation_id.rs`, and
because it is referenced in a ton of places, we have to touch a lot of
files as part of this PR.
We also decide to get away from proper JSON-RPC 2.0 semantics, so we
also introduce `codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/jsonrpc_lite.rs`, which
is basically the same `JSONRPCMessage` type defined in `mcp-types`
except with all of the `"jsonrpc": "2.0"` removed.
Getting rid of `"jsonrpc": "2.0"` makes our serialization logic
considerably simpler, as we can lean heavier on serde to serialize
directly into the wire format that we use now.
This is a very large PR with some non-backwards-compatible changes.
Historically, `codex mcp` (or `codex mcp serve`) started a JSON-RPC-ish
server that had two overlapping responsibilities:
- Running an MCP server, providing some basic tool calls.
- Running the app server used to power experiences such as the VS Code
extension.
This PR aims to separate these into distinct concepts:
- `codex mcp-server` for the MCP server
- `codex app-server` for the "application server"
Note `codex mcp` still exists because it already has its own subcommands
for MCP management (`list`, `add`, etc.)
The MCP logic continues to live in `codex-rs/mcp-server` whereas the
refactored app server logic is in the new `codex-rs/app-server` folder.
Note that most of the existing integration tests in
`codex-rs/mcp-server/tests/suite` were actually for the app server, so
all the tests have been moved with the exception of
`codex-rs/mcp-server/tests/suite/mod.rs`.
Because this is already a large diff, I tried not to change more than I
had to, so `codex-rs/app-server/tests/common/mcp_process.rs` still uses
the name `McpProcess` for now, but I will do some mechanical renamings
to things like `AppServer` in subsequent PRs.
While `mcp-server` and `app-server` share some overlapping functionality
(like reading streams of JSONL and dispatching based on message types)
and some differences (completely different message types), I ended up
doing a bit of copypasta between the two crates, as both have somewhat
similar `message_processor.rs` and `outgoing_message.rs` files for now,
though I expect them to diverge more in the near future.
One material change is that of the initialize handshake for `codex
app-server`, as we no longer use the MCP types for that handshake.
Instead, we update `codex-rs/protocol/src/mcp_protocol.rs` to add an
`Initialize` variant to `ClientRequest`, which takes the `ClientInfo`
object we need to update the `USER_AGENT_SUFFIX` in
`codex-rs/app-server/src/message_processor.rs`.
One other material change is in
`codex-rs/app-server/src/codex_message_processor.rs` where I eliminated
a use of the `send_event_as_notification()` method I am generally trying
to deprecate (because it blindly maps an `EventMsg` into a
`JSONNotification`) in favor of `send_server_notification()`, which
takes a `ServerNotification`, as that is intended to be a custom enum of
all notification types supported by the app server. So to make this
update, I had to introduce a new variant of `ServerNotification`,
`SessionConfigured`, which is a non-backwards compatible change with the
old `codex mcp`, and clients will have to be updated after the next
release that contains this PR. Note that
`codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/list_resume.rs` also had to be update
to reflect this change.
I introduced `codex-rs/utils/json-to-toml/src/lib.rs` as a small utility
crate to avoid some of the copying between `mcp-server` and
`app-server`.
Celia Chen ·
Charley Cunningham ·
Eric Traut ·
Dylan Hurd ·
Ahmed Ibrahim ·
jif-oai ·
pakrym-oai ·
Anton Panasenko ·
Rasmus Rygaard ·
Owen Lin ·
Michael Bolin ·