Introduction
I’ve spent years navigating enormous codebases, debugging tricky edge cases, and trying to wrap my head around legacy projects written by ten different people over ten different years. I love solving problems, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned—it’s that context switching and codebase exploration can be a nightmare.
That changed when I stumbled upon Codex CLI and its new counterpart, Codex Mini.
What is Codex CLI?
Codex CLI is a command-line tool developed by OpenAI that allows you to ask questions about your codebase using natural language—and get direct, actionable answers. Think of it as an AI-powered teammate who understands your code better than you do (and reads it faster too).
When I first saw it in action, I was skeptical. But after watching a demo on OpenAI’s official YouTube channel, I saw the power behind it. One researcher explained:
“The model will start exploring this codebase much faster than I can read.”
— Fouad/ Anup/ Hungwan from OpenAI
It’s not just about search—Codex CLI intelligently traverses your code, understands context, and even lets you resume past sessions. That’s right. You can come back the next day and pick up where your AI session left off. I don’t even have that luxury with my own brain half the time.
Codex CLI in Action: A Researcher’s Perspective
What stood out to me most in the demos was how the researchers actually use Codex every day. They weren’t just showing off a tool—they were showing a new workflow.
“As these coding agents are doing more of the coding, our job is going to be more about task planning and delegation... verifying the change the agent makes and getting it to a final state of actually merging it in.”
— Fouad/ Anup/ Hungwan from OpenAI
This hit home. As developers, we’re moving into a space where thinking and structuring the problem is more important than typing out every line of code. Codex CLI becomes the bridge between natural language and complex logic.
Codex Mini: A Smaller Model With Big Capabilities
One of the most exciting updates was the release of Codex Mini, a fine-tuned GPT-4 variant optimized for CLI use. What’s the difference? It’s lightweight, fast, and precise—perfect for quick Q&A and editing inside large codebases.
When I saw it in action, it felt magical.
“The new Codex Mini model... is a 04-mini fine-tune that’s optimized for low latency code Q&A and editing. You’ll also notice better instruction-following.”
— Fouad/ Anup/ Hungwan, OpenAI
Low latency means you don’t lose your train of thought while waiting for responses. It also means smoother iteration and less mental friction—something I didn’t realize was slowing me down until it disappeared.
From Developer to Project Curator
The biggest shift Codex brought to my workflow wasn’t in how I write code—but in how I think about tasks.
Instead of saying:
“Let me go write this logic,”
I now ask:
“How can I best express this task to Codex so it can handle the bulk of it?”
Then, I step into a curator role—guiding, verifying, tweaking. In one demo, the team showed how Codex CLI generated several hundred lines of code, opened a PR, and just needed a few tweaks for formatting:
“There’s a few minor tweaks that I would personally make before merging it in. The biggest one being the data is formatted improperly.”
— Fouad/ Anup/ Hungwan, OpenAI
After telling the agent to fix the formatting, the team verified and merged the change. That’s where Codex Mini shines—it’s tuned to handle fast iteration and feedback loops, enabling a tight human-agent collaboration cycle.
Final Thoughts: Why Codex Excites Me
Codex CLI and Codex Mini aren’t just new tools—they’re a shift in how we develop software. They free us from the cognitive load of searching, reading, and understanding every corner of a codebase before we can start working. They allow us to think in terms of tasks and intentions, not syntax and boilerplate.
And most importantly, they make development feel collaborative again—even if your only teammate is an AI.
🔗 Want to See It Yourself?
Here are the resources I explored while writing this post:
If you’ve been struggling with code navigation, context switching, or just want to feel faster in your day-to-day coding tasks—Codex CLI might be worth a try.
Let me know if you’ve already tried it. I’d love to hear how it's changing your workflow too.
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