Codex Tool Mapping

Skills use Claude Code tool names. When you encounter these in a skill, use your platform equivalent:

Skill references	Codex equivalent
`Task` tool (dispatch subagent)	`spawn_agent` (see Named agent dispatch)
Multiple `Task` calls (parallel)	Multiple `spawn_agent` calls
Task returns result	`wait`
Task completes automatically	`close_agent` to free slot
`TodoWrite` (task tracking)	`update_plan`
`Skill` tool (invoke a skill)	Skills load natively — just follow the instructions
`Read`, `Write`, `Edit` (files)	Use your native file tools
`Bash` (run commands)	Use your native shell tools

Subagent dispatch requires multi-agent support

Add to your Codex config (~/.codex/config.toml):

[features]
multi_agent = true

This enables spawn_agent, wait, and close_agent for skills like dispatching-parallel-agents and subagent-driven-development.

Named agent dispatch

Claude Code skills reference named agent types like superpowers:code-reviewer. Codex does not have a named agent registry — spawn_agent creates generic agents from built-in roles (default, explorer, worker).

When a skill says to dispatch a named agent type:

Find the agent's prompt file (e.g., agents/code-reviewer.md or the skill's local prompt template like code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md)
Read the prompt content
Fill any template placeholders ({BASE_SHA}, {WHAT_WAS_IMPLEMENTED}, etc.)
Spawn a worker agent with the filled content as the message

Skill instruction	Codex equivalent
`Task tool (superpowers:code-reviewer)`	`spawn_agent(agent_type="worker", message=...)` with `code-reviewer.md` content
`Task tool (general-purpose)` with inline prompt	`spawn_agent(message=...)` with the same prompt

Message framing

The message parameter is user-level input, not a system prompt. Structure it for maximum instruction adherence:

Your task is to perform the following. Follow the instructions below exactly.

<agent-instructions>
[filled prompt content from the agent's .md file]
</agent-instructions>

Execute this now. Output ONLY the structured response following the format
specified in the instructions above.

Use task-delegation framing ("Your task is...") rather than persona framing ("You are...")
Wrap instructions in XML tags — the model treats tagged blocks as authoritative
End with an explicit execution directive to prevent summarization of the instructions

When this workaround can be removed

This approach compensates for Codex not yet exposing plugin-packaged custom agents as named spawn_agent targets. OpenAI plugin examples can include plugin-level agents/ directories, but skills still need to read those prompts and spawn a built-in agent role. When Codex exposes plugin agents as callable named agent types, this manual prompt-loading workaround can be removed.

Environment Detection

Skills that create worktrees or finish branches should detect their environment with read-only git commands before proceeding:

GIT_DIR=$(cd "$(git rev-parse --git-dir)" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P)
GIT_COMMON=$(cd "$(git rev-parse --git-common-dir)" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P)
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

GIT_DIR != GIT_COMMON → already in a linked worktree (skip creation)
BRANCH empty → detached HEAD (cannot branch/push/PR from sandbox)

See using-git-worktrees Step 0 and finishing-a-development-branch Step 1 for how each skill uses these signals.

Codex App Finishing

When the sandbox blocks branch/push operations (detached HEAD in an externally managed worktree), the agent commits all work and informs the user to use the App's native controls:

"Create branch" — names the branch, then commit/push/PR via App UI
"Hand off to local" — transfers work to the user's local checkout

The agent can still run tests, stage files, and output suggested branch names, commit messages, and PR descriptions for the user to copy.

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