Chapter C67 · Interactive Course
Meet Codex and choose a workspace
Product against model, surfaces, local and cloud state, access stages, the starting state and a first read.
Core Learning Concept
Choose a Codex starting point for the fictional task by checking where work runs and what project state is available. Confirm access, dependencies, and the starting revision or checkout. Begin with an explanation grounded in the actual files, then define what result and evidence the task should return.
What You’ll Learn in This Chapter
-
Codex is an agent experience
Separate the product from model names and historical branding.
Codex is an agent experience that combines models with workspace context, tools, and execution controls. It can assist with code and other supported tasks. The product is more than a chat response: what it can inspect or change depends on the surface, configured environment, available tools, and permissions.
-
Surfaces change how work is accessed
Recognize terminal, editor and application entry points.
A surface is how you interact with Codex, while execution location is where tools perform work. Desktop apps, terminals, and cloud tasks expose different workspace states. Always check where code actually runs.
-
Local and cloud tasks have different state
Distinguish a local checkout from a configured cloud environment.
Local and cloud tasks do not automatically share identical files, uncommitted edits, dependencies, or credentials. A cloud environment needs an appropriate repository state and setup. Before delegating, identify the starting revision and supplied inputs. Afterward, inspect how the returned changes relate to the local checkout.
-
Set up access before a task
Separate client readiness from account and model availability.
Task setup includes access to the intended repository, required tools and dependencies, and supported account configuration. Grant only what the work needs through appropriate controls. Successful authentication is one prerequisite, not proof that every command or service connection required by the task will work.
-
Verify the project and starting state
Identify the actual files the task will use.
Verify the project path, Git state, and existing changes before requesting an edit. A correct patch in a different checkout may not affect the version you are reviewing. Preserve unrelated work and make the starting point explicit. These checks establish what “the current code” means for this task.
-
Start with a source-backed explanation
Use a small read-only request as an orientation.
A source-backed explanation points directly to actual files and traces code behavior. Ask Codex to follow execution paths into storage, inspect the references, and distinguish static code findings from runtime observations.
-
Choose a Codex starting point
Given a local file, a remote repository and a toy task, choose an appropriate surface and state the exact starting state.