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Codex CLI Slash Commands: A Quick Guide

中文 · GitHub source Chinese version: README_ZH.md

Codex CLI is an interactive coding assistant in your terminal. Slash commands control the current chat: they help you inspect its state, plan work, review changes, and manage saved sessions. They are not shell commands and do not replace normal Git review or repository instructions.

Your installed / menu is the source of truth. Available commands can vary by Codex version, configuration, operating system, and account.

Start here

Run codex from the repository you want to work on, then use a short, bounded prompt. A practical first loop is:

/status
/mention AGENTS.md
/plan Update the documentation only. Preserve unrelated changes and run the
relevant checks before reporting the result.
  • /status shows the active model, approval policy, writable roots, and context use.
  • /mention path/to/file adds an important file to the current chat for later requests to reference.
  • /plan helps decide a multi-step task before editing. It is unavailable while Codex is working.

Commands you will use most

Command What it does
/permissions Choose what Codex may do without asking first. Select the least authority needed, then use /status to confirm it.
/diff Show staged, unstaged, and untracked changes before a checkpoint or commit.
/review Review the working tree for issues and missing tests. Treat it as an extra check, not proof of correctness.
/compact Summarize a long chat to free context while retaining key decisions.
/side Open a temporary focused investigation without leaving the parent chat. Use it for read-only questions.
/fork Create a new chat from the current one to explore a durable alternative approach.
/resume Reopen a saved active chat from the session picker.
/rename Give the current chat a recognizable name.
/archive Archive the current chat and exit Codex. Restore it later with codex unarchive <SESSION>.
/exit Leave the CLI without archiving the current chat.

A safe everyday workflow

  1. Run /status, then attach relevant instructions with /mention.
  2. For a non-trivial change, use /plan and state the scope, checks, and what must not change.
  3. Ask Codex to make the bounded change.
  4. Inspect /diff, run the repository's relevant checks, then use /review.
  5. Save or commit only the intended files through normal Git commands.

For read-only review, select Read Only in /permissions. For any edit, preserve unrelated working-tree changes and check the target paths before approving an action. Do not put /delete, /logout, or other state-changing commands in unattended workflows.

References