codex-review

Codex Review

Independent gpt-5.6 review of local changes through the Codex CLI. Read-only - never lets Codex modify the repo. Works identically from the main loop, subagents, and workflow stages (no plugin runtime required).

Reviews run on gpt-5.6-luna at "max" (MODELS.md: Luna max is the Codex default for almost everything, review included). Escalate to gpt-5.6-terra at "max" when the review is the load-bearing check - a one-way door, a security or money path, or an adversarial pass whose verdict you will act on directly. Drop to gpt-5.6-luna at "high" only for a fast look at a small diff where latency matters more than depth.

Pin BOTH the model and the effort on every command below rather than inheriting CLI defaults. For codex review, -m is a GLOBAL flag and must come before the subcommand. Paths written as <skill-dir> mean this skill's base directory (provided when the skill is invoked).

Mode selection

Normal review (default): overall code-quality pass on a diff, same quality as running /review inside Codex.
Adversarial review: when the user (or you) wants a specific decision, risk area, or design pressure-tested. Steerable with focus text; returns structured JSON.

Normal review

codex -m gpt-5.6-luna -c model_reasoning_effort="max" review --uncommitted   # staged + unstaged + untracked
codex -m gpt-5.6-luna -c model_reasoning_effort="max" review --base main     # branch vs base
codex -m gpt-5.6-luna -c model_reasoning_effort="max" review --commit <sha>  # a single commit

Multi-file/large diffs take minutes: run via Bash run_in_background: true; the harness notifies on completion (no polling needed).
Run as ONE bare command - no pipes, no cd && chains (keeps the RTK hook inert).

Adversarial review

Build the prompt from references/adversarial-prompt.md: fill {{TARGET_LABEL}} (e.g. "diff vs main"), {{USER_FOCUS}} (focus text or "general adversarial pass"), {{REVIEW_COLLECTION_GUIDANCE}} (usually: "Collect the diff yourself with git; read changed files fully."), and {{REVIEW_INPUT}} (either the diff inline, or an instruction to run git diff <base>...HEAD). Write it to the scratchpad.
Run as a single bare command, feeding the prompt file via stdin (- reads the prompt from stdin; a plain < file redirect keeps the command pipe-free):

codex exec -m gpt-5.6-luna -c model_reasoning_effort="max" -s read-only --cd <repo> --output-schema <skill-dir>/references/review-output.schema.json --output-last-message <scratchpad>/codex-adversarial-<ts>.json - < <scratchpad>/prompt.md

Read the output JSON: verdict (approve | needs-attention), findings[] (severity, title, body, file, line_start/line_end, confidence 0–1, recommendation), next_steps[].

Presenting results

Present findings ranked by severity, verbatim in substance - do not soften.
Never auto-apply fixes from a review. Present first; fix only when the user asks or when you already have an approved implementation task that covers it.
Note the session can be reopened in Codex with codex resume if deeper follow-up is wanted.
If Codex disagrees with a deliberate design choice, report the disagreement and your own position - don't silently adopt either side.

Effort

Always pin effort explicitly - never inherit a vendor default. Per MODELS.md, gpt-5.6-luna at "max" is the review tier; "high" only for a fast look at a small diff where latency matters more than depth. The Sol worker tiers are retired. If a Luna max review still leaves material doubt, escalate per MODELS.md: one independent gpt-5.6-terra "max" adversarial pass, then Root resolves the hard part inline.

References adapted from openai/codex-plugin-cc (Apache-2.0; see references/NOTICE and the full license text in references/LICENSE).