## Problem The first user turn can pay websocket handshake latency even when a session has already started. We want to reduce that initial delay while preserving turn semantics and avoiding any prompt send during startup. Reviewer feedback also called out duplicated connect/setup paths and unnecessary preconnect state complexity. ## Mental model `ModelClient` owns session-scoped transport state. During session startup, it can opportunistically warm one websocket handshake slot. A turn-scoped `ModelClientSession` adopts that slot once if available, restores captured sticky turn-state, and otherwise opens a websocket through the same shared connect path. If startup preconnect is still in flight, first turn setup awaits that task and treats it as the first connection attempt for the turn. Preconnect is handshake-only. The first `response.create` is still sent only when a turn starts. ## Non-goals This change does not make preconnect required for correctness and does not change prompt/turn payload semantics. It also does not expand fallback behavior beyond clearing preconnect state when fallback activates. ## Tradeoffs The implementation prioritizes simpler ownership and shared connection code over header-match gating for reuse. The single-slot cache keeps lifecycle straightforward but only benefits the immediate next turn. Awaiting in-flight preconnect has the same app-level connect-timeout semantics as existing websocket connect behavior (no new timeout class introduced by this PR). ## Architecture `core/src/client.rs`: - Added session-level preconnect lifecycle state (`Idle` / `InFlight` / `Ready`) carrying one warmed websocket plus optional captured turn-state. - Added `pre_establish_connection()` startup warmup and `preconnect()` handshake-only setup. - Deduped auth/provider resolution into `current_client_setup()` and websocket handshake wiring into `connect_websocket()` / `build_websocket_headers()`. - Updated turn websocket path to adopt preconnect first, await in-flight preconnect when present, then create a new websocket only when needed. - Ensured fallback activation clears warmed preconnect state. - Added documentation for lifecycle, ownership, sticky-routing invariants, and timeout semantics. `core/src/codex.rs`: - Session startup invokes `model_client.pre_establish_connection(...)`. - Turn metadata resolution uses the shared timeout helper. `core/src/turn_metadata.rs`: - Centralized shared timeout helper used by both turn-time metadata resolution and startup preconnect metadata building. `core/tests/common/responses.rs` + websocket test suites: - Added deterministic handshake waiting helper (`wait_for_handshakes`) with bounded polling. - Added startup preconnect and in-flight preconnect reuse coverage. - Fallback expectations now assert exactly two websocket attempts in covered scenarios (startup preconnect + turn attempt before fallback sticks). ## Observability Preconnect remains best-effort and non-fatal. Existing websocket/fallback telemetry remains in place, and debug logs now make preconnect-await behavior and preconnect failures easier to reason about. ## Tests Validated with: 1. `just fmt` 2. `cargo test -p codex-core websocket_preconnect -- --nocapture` 3. `cargo test -p codex-core websocket_fallback -- --nocapture` 4. `cargo test -p codex-core websocket_first_turn_waits_for_inflight_preconnect -- --nocapture`
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.
Linux
Expects the binary containing codex-core to run the equivalent of codex sandbox linux (legacy alias: codex debug landlock) when arg0 is codex-linux-sandbox. See the codex-arg0 crate for details.
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.