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.
This reverts commit https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/12633. We no
longer need this PR, because we favor sending normal exec command
approval server request with `additional_permissions` of skill
permissions instead
This reverts commit daf0f03ac8.
# External (non-OpenAI) Pull Request Requirements
Before opening this Pull Request, please read the dedicated
"Contributing" markdown file or your PR may be closed:
https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/docs/contributing.md
If your PR conforms to our contribution guidelines, replace this text
with a detailed and high quality description of your changes.
Include a link to a bug report or enhancement request.
## Why
Zsh fork execution was still able to bypass the `WorkspaceWrite` model
in edge cases because the fork path reconstructed command execution
without preserving sandbox wrappers, and command extraction only
accepted shell invocations in a narrow positional shape. This can allow
commands to run with broader filesystem access than expected, which
breaks the sandbox safety model.
## What changed
- Preserved the sandboxed `ExecRequest` produced by
`attempt.env_for(...)` when entering the zsh fork path in
[`unix_escalation.rs`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/core/src/tools/runtimes/shell/unix_escalation.rs).
- Updated `CoreShellCommandExecutor` to execute the sandboxed command
and working directory captured from `attempt.env_for(...)`, instead of
re-running a freshly reconstructed shell command.
- Made zsh-fork script extraction robust to wrapped invocations by
scanning command arguments for `-c`/`-lc` rather than only matching the
first positional form.
- Added unit tests in `unix_escalation.rs` to lock in wrapper-tolerant
parsing behavior and keep unsupported shell forms rejected.
- Tightened the regression in
[`skill_approval.rs`](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/core/tests/suite/skill_approval.rs):
- `shell_zsh_fork_still_enforces_workspace_write_sandbox` now uses an
explicit `WorkspaceWrite` policy with `exclude_tmpdir_env_var: true` and
`exclude_slash_tmp: true`.
- The test attempts to write to `/tmp/...`, which is only reliably
outside writable roots with those explicit exclusions set.
## Verification
- Added and passed the new unit tests around `extract_shell_script`
parsing behavior with wrapped command shapes.
- `extract_shell_script_supports_wrapped_command_prefixes`
- `extract_shell_script_rejects_unsupported_shell_invocation`
- Verified the regression with the focused integration test:
`shell_zsh_fork_still_enforces_workspace_write_sandbox`.
## Manual Testing
Prior to this change, if I ran Codex via:
```
just codex --config zsh_path=/Users/mbolin/code/codex2/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/zsh --enable shell_zsh_fork
```
and asked:
```
what is the output of /bin/ps
```
it would run it, even though the default sandbox should prevent the
agent from running `/bin/ps` because it is setuid on MacOS.
But with this change, I now see the expected failure because it is
blocked by the sandbox:
```
/bin/ps exited with status 1 and produced no output in this environment.
```
## Summary
- Preserve each skill’s raw permissions block as a permission_profile on
SkillMetadata during skill loading.
- Keep compiling that same metadata into the existing runtime
Permissions object, so current enforcement
behavior stays intact.
- When zsh-fork intercepts execution of a script that belongs to a
skill, include the skill’s
permission_profile in the exec approval request.
- This lets approval UIs show the extra filesystem access the skill
declared when prompting for approval.
Direct skill-script matches force `Decision::Prompt`, so skill-backed
scripts require explicit approval before they run. (Note "allow for
session" is not supported in this PR, but will be done in a follow-up.)
In the process of implementing this, I fixed an important bug:
`ShellZshFork` is supposed to keep ordinary allowed execs on the
client-side `Run` path so later `execve()` calls are still intercepted
and reviewed. After the shell-escalation port, `Decision::Allow` still
mapped to `Escalate`, which moved `zsh` to server-side execution too
early. That broke the intended flow for skill-backed scripts and made
the approval prompt depend on the wrong execution path.
## What changed
- In `codex-rs/core/src/tools/runtimes/shell/unix_escalation.rs`,
`Decision::Allow` now returns `Run` unless escalation is actually
required.
- Removed the zsh-specific `argv[0]` fallback. With the `Allow -> Run`
fix in place, zsh's later `execve()` of the script is intercepted
normally, so the skill match happens on the script path itself.
- Kept the skill-path handling in `determine_action()` focused on the
direct `program` match path.
## Verification
- Updated `shell_zsh_fork_prompts_for_skill_script_execution` in
`codex-rs/core/tests/suite/skill_approval.rs` (gated behind `cfg(unix)`)
to:
- run under `SandboxPolicy::new_workspace_write_policy()` instead of
`DangerFullAccess`
- assert the approval command contains only the script path
- assert the approved run returns both stdout and stderr markers in the
shell output
- Ran `cargo test -p codex-core
shell_zsh_fork_prompts_for_skill_script_execution -- --nocapture`
## Manual Testing
Run the dev build:
```
just codex --config zsh_path=/Users/mbolin/code/codex2/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/zsh --enable shell_zsh_fork
```
I have created `/Users/mbolin/.agents/skills/mbolin-test-skill` with:
```
├── scripts
│ └── hello-mbolin.sh
└── SKILL.md
```
The skill:
```
---
name: mbolin-test-skill
description: Used to exercise various features of skills.
---
When this skill is invoked, run the `hello-mbolin.sh` script and report the output.
```
The script:
```
set -e
# Note this script will fail if run with network disabled.
curl --location openai.com
```
Use `$mbolin-test-skill` to invoke the skill manually and verify that I
get prompted to run `hello-mbolin.sh`.
---
[//]: # (BEGIN SAPLING FOOTER)
Stack created with [Sapling](https://sapling-scm.com). Best reviewed
with [ReviewStack](https://reviewstack.dev/openai/codex/pull/12730).
* #12750
* __->__ #12730
Summary
- detect skill-invoking shell commands based on the original command
string, request approvals when needed, and cache positive decisions per
session
- keep implicit skill invocation emitted after approval and keep skill
approval decline messaging centralized to the shell handler
- expand and adjust skill approval tests to cover shell-based skill
scripts while matching the new detection expectations
Testing
- Not run (not requested)
Michael Bolin ·
Celia Chen ·
pakrym-oai ·