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codex/codex-rs/core
T
Michael Bolin bc10e5b390 runtime: prepend zsh fork bin dir to PATH (#23768)
## Why

#23756 makes packaged Codex builds include and default to the bundled
zsh fork. The important reason to put that fork's directory at the front
of `PATH` is to keep executable-level escalation working after a command
leaves the original shell and later re-enters zsh through `env`.

The expected chain is:

1. The zsh fork runs the top-level shell command.
2. That command launches another program, such as `python3`, while
inheriting the `EXEC_WRAPPER` environment and the escalation socket fd.
3. That program spawns a shell script whose shebang is `#!/usr/bin/env
zsh` rather than `#!/bin/zsh`, and it does not close the escalation fd.
4. `/usr/bin/env` resolves `zsh` through `PATH`, so it must find the
packaged zsh fork before the system zsh.
5. Commands inside that nested script are intercepted by the zsh fork
and can still request escalation from Codex.

If `PATH` resolves `zsh` to the system shell instead, the nested script
loses zsh-fork exec interception. Commands that should request
escalation can then run only in the original sandbox, or fail there,
without Codex ever receiving the approval request.

Shell snapshots make this slightly more subtle: a snapshot can restore
an older `PATH` after the child shell starts. This PR treats the zsh
fork `PATH` prepend as an explicit environment override so snapshot
wrapping preserves it.

## What Changed

- Added shared zsh-fork runtime helpers that prepend the configured zsh
executable parent directory to `PATH` without duplicate entries.
- Applied the zsh fork `PATH` prepend to both zsh-fork `shell_command`
launches and unified-exec zsh-fork launches before sandbox command
construction.
- Kept the shell-command zsh-fork backend API narrow: it derives the
configured zsh path from session services and rebuilds its sandbox
environment from `req.env`, rather than accepting a second, competing
environment map or a separately threaded bin dir.
- Kept Unix-only zsh-fork `PATH` mutation out of Windows clippy-visible
mutability.
- Added coverage for duplicate `PATH` entries, for preserving the zsh
fork prepend through shell snapshot wrapping, and for the nested
`python3` -> `#!/usr/bin/env zsh` escalation flow.

## Testing

- `just fmt`
- `just fix -p codex-core`

I left final test validation to CI after the latest review-comment
cleanup. Before that cleanup, `just test -p codex-core zsh_fork` passed
locally for the zsh-fork-focused tests.
bc10e5b390 ยท 2026-05-28 14:10:40 -07:00
History
..

codex-core

This crate implements the business logic for Codex. It is designed to be used by the various Codex UIs written in Rust.

Dependencies

Note that codex-core makes some assumptions about certain helper utilities being available in the environment. Currently, this support matrix is:

macOS

Expects /usr/bin/sandbox-exec to be present.

When using the workspace-write sandbox policy, the Seatbelt profile allows writes under the configured writable roots while keeping .git (directory or pointer file), the resolved gitdir: target, and .codex read-only.

Network access and filesystem read/write roots are controlled by SandboxPolicy. Seatbelt consumes the resolved policy and enforces it.

Seatbelt also keeps the legacy default preferences read access (user-preference-read) needed for cfprefs-backed macOS behavior.

Linux

Expects the binary containing codex-core to run the equivalent of codex sandbox when arg0 is codex-linux-sandbox. See the codex-arg0 crate for details.

Legacy SandboxPolicy / sandbox_mode configs are still supported on Linux. They can continue to use the legacy Landlock path when the split filesystem policy is sandbox-equivalent to the legacy model after cwd resolution. Split filesystem policies that need direct FileSystemSandboxPolicy enforcement, such as read-only or denied carveouts under a broader writable root, automatically route through bubblewrap. The legacy Landlock path is used only when the split filesystem policy round-trips through the legacy SandboxPolicy model without changing semantics. That includes overlapping cases like /repo = write, /repo/a = none, /repo/a/b = write, where the more specific writable child must reopen under a denied parent.

The Linux sandbox helper prefers the first bwrap found on PATH outside the current working directory whenever it is available. If bwrap is present but too old to support --argv0, the helper keeps using system bubblewrap and switches to a no---argv0 compatibility path for the inner re-exec. If bwrap is missing, it falls back to the bundled codex-resources/bwrap binary shipped with Codex and Codex surfaces a startup warning through its normal notification path instead of printing directly from the sandbox helper. Codex also surfaces a startup warning when bubblewrap cannot create user namespaces. WSL2 uses the normal Linux bubblewrap path. WSL1 is not supported for bubblewrap sandboxing because it cannot create the required user namespaces, so Codex rejects sandboxed shell commands that would enter the bubblewrap path before invoking bwrap.

Windows

Legacy SandboxPolicy / sandbox_mode configs are still supported on Windows. Legacy read-only and workspace-write policies imply full filesystem read access; exact readable roots are represented by split filesystem policies instead.

The elevated Windows sandbox also supports:

  • legacy ReadOnly and WorkspaceWrite behavior
  • split filesystem policies that need exact readable roots, exact writable roots, or extra read-only carveouts under writable roots
  • backend-managed system read roots required for basic execution, such as C:\Windows, C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86), and C:\ProgramData, when a split filesystem policy requests platform defaults

The unelevated restricted-token backend still supports the legacy full-read Windows model for legacy ReadOnly and WorkspaceWrite behavior. It also supports a narrow split-filesystem subset: full-read split policies whose writable roots still match the legacy WorkspaceWrite root set, but add extra read-only carveouts under those writable roots.

New [permissions] / split filesystem policies remain supported on Windows only when they can be enforced directly by the selected Windows backend or round-trip through the legacy SandboxPolicy model without changing semantics. Policies that would require direct explicit unreadable carveouts (none) or reopened writable descendants under read-only carveouts still fail closed instead of running with weaker enforcement.

All Platforms

Expects the binary containing codex-core to simulate the virtual apply_patch CLI when arg1 is --codex-run-as-apply-patch. See the codex-arg0 crate for details.