Expose thread automation tool in Codex App sessions
Summary
Codex App appears to support thread automations / wakeups conceptually, and the app instructions mention using an automation_update tool for recurring automations, reminders, monitors, follow-ups, and thread wakeups. However, in my current Codex App session the tool is not exposed, even after tool discovery.
Tool discovery for automation-related queries currently exposes thread-management tools such as send_message_to_thread, fork_thread, list_threads, set_thread_archived, etc., but no automation_update or equivalent API for creating/updating/listing/deleting automations.
Use case
I am building a local course-note workflow:
- Start a long-running Whisper / faster-whisper transcription job in
tmux. - The job writes a local
status.json, e.g.loading_model->transcribing->done. - When the transcription is complete, Codex should resume in the same App thread and generate detailed Obsidian notes from the transcript and lecture slides.
The ideal behavior is a thread-attached automation that wakes every few minutes, checks the status file, and continues only when the status is done. This avoids token-wasting busy waiting and preserves the original conversation context.
Current workarounds
codex execcan be called from a local shell hook after the job finishes, but it runs as a separate non-interactive CLI session and does not naturally continue the current Codex App conversation.- A separate Codex thread can monitor the job, but that fragments context.
- The app-server protocol may allow lower-level
thread/resume/turn/startflows, but that is experimental and requires a custom client.
Request
Please expose a supported automation tool, such as automation_update or an equivalent, to Codex App sessions so an agent can programmatically create/update/list/delete thread automations when the user asks for monitors, reminders, follow-ups, or wakeups.
Ideally it would support:
- attaching an automation to the current thread
- interval schedules, including minute-based polling
- a durable prompt / instruction for each wakeup
- a stop condition or self-archive-on-completion pattern
- running with the current project context, skills, and plugins
Environment
- Codex App on macOS
- Codex CLI:
0.140.0 - App server:
0.140.0 - Local workflow: long-running
tmuxjob plus status file polling