| ## Installing & building |
|
|
| ### System requirements |
|
|
| | Requirement | Details | |
| | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| | Operating systems | macOS 12+, Ubuntu 20.04+/Debian 10+, or Windows 11 **via WSL2** | |
| | Git (optional, recommended) | 2.23+ for built-in PR helpers | |
| | RAM | 4-GB minimum (8-GB recommended) | |
|
|
| ### DotSlash |
|
|
| The GitHub Release also contains a [DotSlash](https://dotslash-cli.com/) file for the Codex CLI named `codex`. Using a DotSlash file makes it possible to make a lightweight commit to source control to ensure all contributors use the same version of an executable, regardless of what platform they use for development. |
|
|
| ### Build from source |
|
|
| ```bash |
| # Clone the repository and navigate to the root of the Cargo workspace. |
| git clone https://github.com/openai/codex.git |
| cd codex/codex-rs |
| |
| # Install the Rust toolchain, if necessary. |
| curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y |
| source "$HOME/.cargo/env" |
| rustup component add rustfmt |
| rustup component add clippy |
| # Install helper tools used by the workspace justfile: |
| cargo install --locked just |
| # DotSlash fetches pinned development tools such as buildifier on first use. |
| cargo install --locked dotslash |
| # Install nextest for the `just test` helper. |
| cargo install --locked cargo-nextest |
| |
| # Build Codex. |
| cargo build |
| |
| # Launch the TUI with a sample prompt. |
| cargo run --bin codex -- "explain this codebase to me" |
| |
| # After making changes, use the root justfile helpers (they default to codex-rs): |
| just fmt |
| just fix -p <crate-you-touched> |
| |
| # Run the relevant tests (project-specific is fastest), for example: |
| just test -p codex-tui |
| # `just test` runs the test suite via nextest: |
| just test |
| # Avoid `--all-features` for routine local runs because it increases build |
| # time and `target/` disk usage by compiling additional feature combinations. |
| ``` |
|
|
| ## Tracing / verbose logging |
|
|
| Codex is written in Rust, so it honors the `RUST_LOG` environment variable to configure its logging behavior. |
|
|
| The TUI records diagnostics in bounded local stores by default. Set `log_dir` explicitly to enable a plaintext TUI log for a run: |
|
|
| ```bash |
| codex -c log_dir=./.codex-log |
| tail -F ./.codex-log/codex-tui.log |
| ``` |
|
|
| The non-interactive mode (`codex exec`) defaults to `RUST_LOG=error`, but messages are printed inline, so there is no need to monitor a separate file. |
|
|
| See the Rust documentation on [`RUST_LOG`](https://docs.rs/env_logger/latest/env_logger/#enabling-logging) for more information on the configuration options. |
|
|
