Fixes#15283.
## Summary
Older system bubblewrap builds reject `--argv0`, which makes our Linux
sandbox fail before the helper can re-exec. This PR keeps using system
`/usr/bin/bwrap` whenever it exists and only falls back to vendored
bwrap when the system binary is missing. That matters on stricter
AppArmor hosts, where the distro bwrap package also provides the policy
setup needed for user namespaces.
For old system bwrap, we avoid `--argv0` instead of switching binaries:
- pass the sandbox helper a full-path `argv0`,
- keep the existing `current_exe() + --argv0` path when the selected
launcher supports it,
- otherwise omit `--argv0` and re-exec through the helper's own
`argv[0]` path, whose basename still dispatches as
`codex-linux-sandbox`.
Also updates the launcher/warning tests and docs so they match the new
behavior: present-but-old system bwrap uses the compatibility path, and
only absent system bwrap falls back to vendored.
### Validation
1. Install Ubuntu 20.04 in a VM
2. Compile codex and run without bubblewrap installed - see a warning
about falling back to the vendored bwrap
3. Install bwrap and verify version is 0.4.0 without `argv0` support
4. run codex and use apply_patch tool without errors
<img width="802" height="631" alt="Screenshot 2026-03-25 at 11 48 36 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/77248a29-aa38-4d7c-9833-496ec6a458b8"
/>
<img width="807" height="634" alt="Screenshot 2026-03-25 at 11 47 32 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5af8b850-a466-489b-95a6-455b76b5050f"
/>
<img width="812" height="635" alt="Screenshot 2026-03-25 at 11 45 45 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/438074f0-8435-4274-a667-332efdd5cb57"
/>
<img width="801" height="623" alt="Screenshot 2026-03-25 at 11 43 56 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0dc8d3f5-e8cf-4218-b4b4-a4f7d9bf02e3"
/>
---------
Co-authored-by: Michael Bolin <mbolin@openai.com>
## 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.
## Why
`codex-rs/arg0` only needed two things from `codex-core`:
- the `find_codex_home()` wrapper
- the special argv flag used for the internal `apply_patch`
self-invocation path
That made `codex-arg0` depend on `codex-core` for a very small surface
area. This change removes that dependency edge and moves the shared
`apply_patch` invocation flag to a more natural boundary
(`codex-apply-patch`) while keeping the contract explicitly documented.
## What Changed
- Moved the internal `apply_patch` argv[1] flag constant out of
`codex-core` and into `codex-apply-patch`.
- Renamed the constant to `CODEX_CORE_APPLY_PATCH_ARG1` and documented
that it is part of the Codex core process-invocation contract (even
though it now lives in `codex-apply-patch`).
- Updated `arg0`, the core apply-patch runtime, and the `codex-exec`
apply-patch test to import the constant from `codex-apply-patch`.
- Updated `codex-rs/arg0` to call
`codex_utils_home_dir::find_codex_home()` directly instead of
`codex_core::config::find_codex_home()`.
- Removed the `codex-core` dependency from `codex-rs/arg0` and added the
needed direct dependency on `codex-utils-home-dir`.
- Added `codex-apply-patch` as a dev-dependency for `codex-rs/exec`
tests (the apply-patch test now imports the moved constant directly).
## Verification
- `cargo test -p codex-apply-patch`
- `cargo test -p codex-arg0`
- `cargo test -p codex-core --lib apply_patch`
- `cargo test -p codex-exec
test_standalone_exec_cli_can_use_apply_patch`
- `cargo shear`
Historically, Codex CLI has treated `apply_patch` (and its sometimes
misspelling, `applypatch`) as a "virtual CLI," intercepting it when it
appears as the first arg to `command` for the `"container.exec",
`"shell"`, or `"local_shell"` tools.
This approach has a known limitation where if, say, the model created a
Python script that runs `apply_patch` and then tried to run the Python
script, we have no insight as to what the model is trying to do and the
Python Script would fail because `apply_patch` was never really on the
`PATH`.
One way to solve this problem is to require users to install an
`apply_patch` executable alongside the `codex` executable (or at least
put it someplace where Codex can discover it). Though to keep Codex CLI
as a standalone executable, we exploit "the arg0 trick" where we create
a temporary directory with an entry named `apply_patch` and prepend that
directory to the `PATH` for the duration of the invocation of Codex.
- On UNIX, `apply_patch` is a symlink to `codex`, which now changes its
behavior to behave like `apply_patch` if arg0 is `apply_patch` (or
`applypatch`)
- On Windows, `apply_patch.bat` is a batch script that runs `codex
--codex-run-as-apply-patch %*`, as Codex also changes its behavior if
the first argument is `--codex-run-as-apply-patch`.
This introduces some special behavior to the CLIs that are using the
`codex-arg0` crate where if `arg1` is `--codex-run-as-apply-patch`, then
it will run as if `apply_patch arg2` were invoked. This is important
because it means we can do things like:
```
SANDBOX_TYPE=landlock # or seatbelt for macOS
codex debug "${SANDBOX_TYPE}" -- codex --codex-run-as-apply-patch PATCH
```
which gives us a way to run `apply_patch` while ensuring it adheres to
the sandbox the user specified.
While it would be nice to use the `arg0` trick like we are currently
doing for `codex-linux-sandbox`, there is no way to specify the `arg0`
for the underlying command when running under `/usr/bin/sandbox-exec`,
so it will not work for us in this case.
Admittedly, we could have also supported this via a custom environment
variable (e.g., `CODEX_ARG0`), but since environment variables are
inherited by child processes, that seemed like a potentially leakier
abstraction.
This change, as well as our existing reliance on checking `arg0`, place
additional requirements on those who include `codex-core`. Its
`README.md` has been updated to reflect this.
While we could have just added an `apply-patch` subcommand to the
`codex` multitool CLI, that would not be sufficient for the standalone
`codex-exec` CLI, which is something that we distribute as part of our
GitHub releases for those who know they will not be using the TUI and
therefore prefer to use a slightly smaller executable:
https://github.com/openai/codex/releases/tag/rust-v0.10.0
To that end, this PR adds an integration test to ensure that the
`--codex-run-as-apply-patch` option works with the standalone
`codex-exec` CLI.
---
[//]: # (BEGIN SAPLING FOOTER)
Stack created with [Sapling](https://sapling-scm.com). Best reviewed
with [ReviewStack](https://reviewstack.dev/openai/codex/pull/1702).
* #1705
* #1703
* __->__ #1702
* #1698
* #1697
viyatb-oai ·
Michael Bolin ·
Josh McKinney ·
jif-oai ·
pakrym-oai ·