Files
codex/docs/install.md
jif-oai f55f864b9f tui: make codex-tui.log opt-in (#24081)
## Why

The TUI currently creates a shared plaintext `codex-tui.log` under the
default log directory. That append-only file can keep growing across
runs even though the TUI already records diagnostics in bounded local
stores.

Make the plaintext file log an explicit troubleshooting choice instead
of a default side effect.

This is possible because logs are also stored in the DB with proper
rotation

## What changed

- Only install the TUI file logging layer when `log_dir` is explicitly
set.
- Remove the prior `codex-tui.log` at startup before an opt-in file
layer is created.
- Clarify the `log_dir` config/schema text and `docs/install.md` example
so users opt in with `codex -c log_dir=...` when they need a plaintext
log.
2026-05-22 17:19:51 +00:00

2.6 KiB

Installing & building

System requirements

Requirement Details
Operating systems macOS 12+, Ubuntu 20.04+/Debian 10+, or Windows 11 via WSL2
Git (optional, recommended) 2.23+ for built-in PR helpers
RAM 4-GB minimum (8-GB recommended)

DotSlash

The GitHub Release also contains a DotSlash file for the Codex CLI named codex. Using a DotSlash file makes it possible to make a lightweight commit to source control to ensure all contributors use the same version of an executable, regardless of what platform they use for development.

Build from source

# Clone the repository and navigate to the root of the Cargo workspace.
git clone https://github.com/openai/codex.git
cd codex/codex-rs

# Install the Rust toolchain, if necessary.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"
rustup component add rustfmt
rustup component add clippy
# Install helper tools used by the workspace justfile:
cargo install --locked just
# Install nextest for the `just test` helper.
cargo install --locked cargo-nextest

# Build Codex.
cargo build

# Launch the TUI with a sample prompt.
cargo run --bin codex -- "explain this codebase to me"

# After making changes, use the root justfile helpers (they default to codex-rs):
just fmt
just fix -p <crate-you-touched>

# Run the relevant tests (project-specific is fastest), for example:
just test -p codex-tui
# `just test` runs the test suite via nextest:
just test
# Avoid `--all-features` for routine local runs because it increases build
# time and `target/` disk usage by compiling additional feature combinations.

Tracing / verbose logging

Codex is written in Rust, so it honors the RUST_LOG environment variable to configure its logging behavior.

The TUI records diagnostics in bounded local stores by default. Set log_dir explicitly to enable a plaintext TUI log for a run:

codex -c log_dir=./.codex-log
tail -F ./.codex-log/codex-tui.log

The non-interactive mode (codex exec) defaults to RUST_LOG=error, but messages are printed inline, so there is no need to monitor a separate file.

See the Rust documentation on RUST_LOG for more information on the configuration options.