Tutorials

Off the road: AI tools and tutorials, software, gadgets and everyday notes.

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  Lifestyle

  Get started in your IDE

  IDE integration places Codex beside your code for focused explanation and edits. VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf use the Codex extension; Xcode and JetBrains expose their own integration flows. Do not interchange their installation steps.

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  Git, branches, diffs and recovery

  Git stores file history, branches organize changes and diffs show what changed. Codex can help, but you must verify that the changes belong to the task. Restoring an old conversation does not restore Git files.

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  Finish your first small project

  Use an independent copy of the Small Steps todo website to change its heading and background. Identify the five practice files and compare the diff, core tests and two viewport widths while preserving behavior and data.

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  codex exec and scripts

  codex exec runs one non-interactive task for scripts or CI. Normally progress goes to stderr and the final answer to stdout. --json produces JSON Lines events, not a single JSON object.

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  Desktop: Windows, macOS and Linux

  The desktop workspace combines tasks, files, terminals and change review. Current official downloads use the name ChatGPT desktop app; choose Codex inside it. Follow the separate installation path for your system. Linux is a preview with a specific support list, not a promise of compatibility with every distribution.

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  A complete debugging workflow

  Debugging starts with a reproducible symptom, narrows causes with evidence and verifies the fix. Give the input, exact step, expected behavior and observed failure instead of only saying the site is broken.

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  Workshop: build a CSV cleanup tool

  Build a CSV cleaner that preserves its input and writes a new output. The exercise trims whitespace, lowercases email, keeps the first valid occurrence of an address and skips blank names or malformed addresses. It reports kept, duplicate and invalid counts. Its format check does not prove a mailbox exists.

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  Cross-device handoff: files and environments

  Track the conversation, host, directory and branch so a handoff continues the intended work.

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  Context and task handoff

  Long work needs durable decisions and evidence, not just a long conversation. README explains use, design documents explain choices, handoffs record current progress and AGENTS.md holds ongoing instructions. Do not turn all temporary progress into permanent rules.

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  Configuration precedence and diagnosis

  Trace ineffective or conflicting settings, change one item at a time and keep a reversible record.

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  Configure Codex with config.toml

  config.toml sets client options, while AGENTS.md describes working instructions. User settings live in Codex home; trusted projects can add .codex/config.toml. CLI overrides, project layers and managed requirements mean a single file does not prove the effective configuration.

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  CLI commands and slash commands

  Distinguish shell commands and launch flags, interactive slash commands, keyboard shortcuts and natural-language requests. Check the input location: /plan belongs in the Codex interactive client; codex --help runs in the operating-system terminal.

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  Cloud tasks and GitHub

  Cloud tasks run in a remote environment configured for a repository. They suit longer delegated work, but cannot automatically see uncommitted files on your computer. Creating a pull request is distinct from merging or deploying it.

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  Windows CLI setup and troubleshooting

  Install and sign in from PowerShell, check command discovery, read a project and troubleshoot updates.

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  macOS CLI setup and troubleshooting

  Set up the CLI in macOS Terminal and separate shell, update, directory and permission problems.

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  Linux and WSL CLI environments

  Distinguish host and WSL tools, paths and accounts, then run the exercise and update from the right environment.

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  Install and start Codex CLI

  Choose an installation platform, sign in, inspect a file, make a one-line change, verify it independently and resume the session. Includes a repeatable two-file exercise and a missing-file test.

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  Codex in CI workflows

  Design a CI job with explicit input, permissions and exit states, preserving artifacts and separating proposals from application.

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  Work with browsers, screenshots and images

  Visual work needs a reference, the actual result and explicit change criteria. Browser inspection, screenshots and generated concepts provide different evidence. A generated interface is not proof that a workflow works.

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  What is Codex? How it differs from ChatGPT

  Codex is a coding agent that can inspect a project, edit files and run tools in a chosen environment. A model supplies its reasoning; a task is one assignment; a project groups related work and files. Unlike copying a code answer from chat into an editor, an agent can make the change in the workspace you selected.

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  Scheduled tasks and reminders

  Scheduled work needs a defined execution environment. A desktop task that reads local files requires the computer and app to be available at run time. Cloud work cannot directly read local data you have not supplied.

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  Automation failure, retry and stopping

  Use execution records to detect prior effects, avoid duplicates, repair prerequisites and confirm a schedule has stopped.

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  Project instructions with AGENTS.md

  AGENTS.md supplies project instructions before Codex starts work. Global guidance and files along the project-root-to-working-directory path form an instruction chain. At the same level, AGENTS.override.md takes precedence. Keep rules concrete and verify what was actually loaded.

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  AGENTS.md scopes and overrides

  Trace root and nested instructions, conflicts and overrides, and verify which files were selected.

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