Scripting & CI: codex exec

🎯Goal. Run Codex non-interactively so it fits into scripts and CI pipelines.

1. 1codex exec "…" runs Codex without the interactive TUI — e.g. codex exec "summarize the repository structure and list the top 5 risky areas". It streams progress to stderr and prints only the final message to stdout, so you can pipe it: codex exec "generate release notes for the last 10 commits" | tee release-notes.md.
2. 2Useful flags: --json (machine-readable stream), --output-schema (structured JSON to a schema), -o (write the result to a file), --sandbox workspace-write (allow edits, safer than full access).
3. 3For GitHub Actions, use the official Codex Action rather than handling API keys yourself.

✓You'll see. Codex running headless in a script — producing release notes or a risk summary you redirect straight to a file.

💳Cost. Each codex exec is its own run and bills like any task; keep the prompt focused for CI.

💡Takeaway. codex exec turns Codex into a scriptable command — perfect for CI jobs, batch tasks, and piping output into other tools.