Feature request: user-editable global memory for Codex preferences

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jul 9, 2026 by DrBlury

💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

Feature request

Add a user-editable global memory/preferences surface for Codex that works across repositories and sessions.

Problem

Some recurring workflow preferences are not repo-specific, but they matter every time Codex works with a user. Today those preferences have to be repeated in each thread or written into each repository, which is not practical when working across many repos.

Example: for one organization, stage deployment verification is normally done via the service /version endpoint because Kubernetes access is usually unavailable. That convention applies across many services, but it does not belong in every repository README.

Proposed behavior

Codex should provide a global memory/preferences area that the user can view and edit. Codex could consult it during task execution, similar to ChatGPT memory, but optimized for coding workflows.

Useful properties:

User-visible and user-editable.
Applies across repos and future sessions.
Supports organization/repo/domain scoping where possible.
Lets users store durable workflow preferences, not secrets.
Easy to disable, inspect, correct, or delete.

Example memories

For x services, verify stage deployments via the /version endpoint; Kubernetes access is usually unavailable.
Prefer feature/<ticket>-... branch names for work repos.
When asked to combine dependency updates, use a generic commit message and avoid noisy provenance in the commit text.

Why this matters

Repo-local notes do not scale for users who work across many repositories. A global Codex memory would reduce repeated instructions, make agent behavior more consistent, and keep personal workflow preferences out of source-controlled project documentation.

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2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 1 month ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

#30299

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DrBlury · 1 month ago

Thanks for the duplicate check. #30299 is definitely related, but I do not think this is the same request.

The way I see the distinction:

#30299 is mainly about managing memory entries that already exist: CLI commands to inspect, prune, delete, move, and re-scope accumulated memory.
This issue is about the product surface for durable user preferences in the first place: a user-visible and user-editable global preferences/memory area that Codex can consult across repos and future sessions.

The practical example here is not primarily cleanup of generated memory. It is a user wanting to explicitly save a cross-repo workflow preference such as: "for these services, verify stage deployments via the /version endpoint because Kubernetes access is usually unavailable." That preference should be easy to create, inspect, edit, and remove without putting it into every repository.

So I think this issue is complementary to #30299:

#31763: create/edit durable global preferences as user-owned product state.
#30299: inspect and maintain accumulated memory state safely over time.

#18343 may be the closer parent issue because it discusses global/project/hybrid scoping. This issue is meant to add the user-editable global preference workflow and concrete cross-repo use case.