Run parallel side sessions with agent-like inspectability

What variant of Codex are you using?

APP, IDE, CLI

What feature would you like to see?

It would be useful to have a cleaner way to run noisy side workflows without filling the main thread.

Examples are: commit, review, test triage, CI/log inspection, release notes, etc. These workflows often need the main thread’s context to start, but then they call a bunch of tools and generate intermediate state that I don’t want added back to the main conversation.

Or even something longer-running: run the app, watch logs/browser output, and report only relevant errors or regressions back to the main thread.

Codex already has pieces that almost work:

• /side has the right isolation mechanics, and skills already package reusable workflows. I use them together with custom skills like $commit and $review, but in the CLI /side is a detour I have to back out of, and the result handoff is manual.
• Subagents have the right mechanics: they can run in parallel and I can inspect what an individual agent is doing, then return to the main thread. But invoking them still adds orchestration chatter to the main thread, and I have to restate the task/output format each time.
• App side chats are closer because I can have multiple side chats, but bringing selected results/context back to the main thread still requires copy/paste.

It would be useful to run a reusable workflow off-thread, inspect it while it runs like an agent, then bring back the useful result.

Concrete examples:

• commit flow: inspects status/diff/log, checks for secrets, stages/commits, then I can bring back only the commit hash/message or discard the side session
• review flow: explores the diff and surrounding code, follows call paths, checks tests/config, then I can bring selected findings + file refs back to the main thread
• similarly test triage: runs or inspects test output, chases logs/failures, narrows likely cause, then I can bring back failing tests + next steps
• app/log watcher: runs the app, watches logs/browser output, filters noise, and can stream relevant errors/regressions back to the main thread

The main thread should keep the durable task context; noisy side work should stay off-thread unless I choose to bring something back.

Additional information

Related to #22943 - that issue is close because it asks for forked skill execution. This request is broader on the interaction model: parallel side work that can use main-thread context, stay inspectable while running, and hand selected results back without filling the main conversation.