What Is Codex Plugin for Claude Code? Setup, Commands, Account and Cost, Rescue and the Review Gate
You call Codex from inside Claude Code: with review you get a read-only review of your code, with adversarial-review a challenging review, with rescue you hand the task off to Codex, and with transfer you move the session over (there are also status, result, cancel and setup commands). It's OpenAI's official plugin (openai/codex-plugin-cc, Apache-2.0, version 1.0.6); it doesn't bring a separate Codex environment but uses the sign-in of the Codex CLI on your computer. The README says a ChatGPT subscription (including Free) or an OpenAI API key; the plugin is free, and usage comes out of your Codex limit. Watch out: the rescue subagent runs with write access by default, and the optional "review gate" can quickly use up your usage limit (off by default).
- What it does
- Has Codex review and do tasks from inside Claude Code
- Type
- Claude Code plugin (OpenAI)
- Maker
- OpenAI
- Review
- review commands are read-only
- Rescue
- Write access by default
- Setup
- Requires the Codex CLI and sign-in
- Cost
- The plugin is free; usage comes out of your Codex limit
What Is Codex Plugin Used For?
While you work in Claude Code, it lets a second, independent model (Codex) review your code or take over a task. The plugin talks locally to the app server of the Codex CLI on your computer.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| /codex:review | Read-only code review |
| /codex:adversarial-review | Questioning, adversarial review |
| /codex:rescue | Hands off a task you're stuck on to Codex (codex-rescue subagent) |
| /codex:transfer | Transfers the Claude Code session to Codex |
| /codex:status, result, cancel | Tracks background jobs, gets their results, cancels them |
| /codex:setup | Setup check and turning the review gate on and off |
Who it's for: developers who use Claude Code and want a second model to look over important changes.
How Do You Install Codex Plugin?
What you need: Node.js 18.18+ and a global @openai/codex (Codex CLI). The commands are taken verbatim from the README.
- In Claude Code, add the marketplace and install the plugin.
- Reload plugins.
- Run the setup check; if the Codex CLI is missing, it offers to install it.
- If the Codex CLI isn't signed in, run
!codex logininside Claude Code.
› /plugin marketplace add openai/codex-plugin-cc› /plugin install codex@openai-codex› /reload-plugins› /codex:setup› npm install -g @openai/codexDo your first try in the background: /codex:review --background, then /codex:status and /codex:result. You can tell it's installed when the codex:codex-rescue subagent appears in /agents.
How Do You Use Codex Plugin?
After making changes, call the review. A large review can take a long time, so run it in the background.
!If the review gate is turned on, a Codex review runs on every Claude response, and it can turn into a Claude/Codex loop that quickly uses up your usage limit. The README itself warns about this; the gate is off by default. To turn it off: /codex:setup --disable-review-gate.
Where Does Codex Plugin Work?
| Claude Code (terminal)Yes | The plugin's only target. |
|---|---|
| Claude Code VS Code, desktop, cloudUnclear | Not stated in the documentation. |
| Enterprise Claude accountsPartly | The codex-rescue subagent specifies a fixed Claude model; an error has been reported under organization restrictions (#804). |
What Does Codex Plugin Access, and What Happens to Your Code?
The git status and diff in the project; Codex reads files in the repository in a read-only sandbox. With /codex:transfer it reads the Claude session log under ~/.claude/projects. The Stop hook puts Claude's last response into the Codex prompt.
review and adversarial-review are read-only. rescue: the codex-rescue subagent adds write access by default (workspace-write), meaning Codex can change project files. The plugin keeps job records locally.
The documentation has no command that deletes files; whether a handed-off Codex task can delete files depends on the Codex sandbox and approval settings, which the README doesn't cover separately.
The plugin's own code makes no direct network calls; it talks to the Codex app server over a local socket or pipe. The actual data flow is the Codex CLI's: prompts, files, chat history and tool results are sent to the model as tokens. The official documentation has no direct sentence saying "your code goes to the cloud"; for retention terms, see OpenAI's data retention pages.
!Before running the rescue command, keep the project's git status clean and review the changes the handed-off task produces. If you want read-only, state it explicitly in your request.
GitHub Security Advisories is empty; no advisories on file. The repository has no SECURITY.md. This doesn't mean it's "safe." Over 34K stars, 534 open items (including pull requests).
Is Codex Plugin Free? Which Account Do You Need?
The plugin is free (Apache-2.0). Usage comes out of your Codex account's limit: with ChatGPT sign-in, your plan limit; with an API key, API pricing. The README says a ChatGPT subscription (including Free) or an OpenAI API key. However, on OpenAI's Codex pricing page the Free card only mentions the desktop app, and the CLI row in the feature table has no Free column; the documentation doesn't make clear whether the Codex CLI works on a free account.
The example model names in the README (such as gpt-5.4-mini) aren't in the model family on the current Codex pricing page; don't copy the examples, check the current models on the page. This isn't financial advice.
Common Problems and Fixes
| What's happening | What to do |
|---|---|
| /codex:setup says "Codex is not installed" or "not signed in" | Install it with npm install -g @openai/codex; to sign in, run !codex login in Claude Code. |
| The limit runs out quickly with the review gate | Turn it off with /codex:setup --disable-review-gate. |
| Reported by users Leftover background "broker" processes, SessionEnd timeouts on Windows, a growing environment file, the gate blocking the same finding again | Open bug reports (#815, #803, #783, #790, #789); no official fix. Turn off the gate and check for stuck jobs with /codex:status. |
| Reported by users On an organization account, codex-rescue falls back to another model with a "restricted" error | Open issue (#804); no official fix. |
How Do You Uninstall Codex Plugin?
- Running job: cancel the active background job with /codex:cancel.
- Review gate: /codex:setup --disable-review-gate.
- Codex sign-in: the Codex CLI's
codex logoutcommand (OpenAI documentation). - Plugin: remove it from Claude Code's plugin menu; the README doesn't describe an uninstall step.
Frequently asked questions
What is Codex Plugin for Claude Code?
OpenAI's official plugin for calling Codex from inside Claude Code: it adds commands for code review, handing tasks off to Codex and transferring the session. It uses the sign-in of the Codex CLI on your computer.
Which account do I need, and is it free?
The plugin is free (Apache-2.0). The Codex CLI requires a ChatGPT subscription (the README says including Free) or an OpenAI API key; usage comes out of your Codex limit. The documentation doesn't make clear whether the CLI works on a free account.
Does my code go to OpenAI?
The plugin itself doesn't make network calls, but the Codex CLI sends prompts, files and tool results to the model. So the code you have reviewed goes to the Codex service. For retention terms, see OpenAI's data retention rules.
Does the rescue command change my files?
Yes: the codex-rescue subagent starts a Codex run with write access by default. The review commands, on the other hand, are read-only.
What is the review gate?
When turned on, it's a gate that runs Claude's responses through a Codex review; the README warns it can quickly use up your usage limit. It's off by default.
Related guides
Sources
Not clear in the official sources: Whether the Codex CLI works on a free account · OpenAI data retention and privacy rules · whether the plugin works on surfaces other than Claude Code · the uninstall step · the contents of the 3 skills · Turkish support. Each is covered in the relevant section.