Synara connects to the local Codex CLI. OpenAI owns authentication, account limits, models, and provider behavior; Synara wraps the session in a durable task with terminals, browser tools, diffs, worktrees, approvals, and Git delivery.

Install

OpenAI provides native installers for macOS, Linux, and Windows. Package-manager options include:

npm install -g @openai/codex

brew install --cask codex

Synara looks for the codex executable. Verify it after installation:

codex --version

Authenticate

Run Codex and choose the authentication path for your account:

codex

For ChatGPT-backed access, select Sign in with ChatGPT. Codex can also use an API key or a custom model provider configured in its own config.toml.

You can start the explicit login flow with:

codex login

Check the current state with:

codex login status

When Codex is configured to use a non-OpenAI model provider, authentication may be supplied through that provider’s environment variables instead of codex login.

Verify

From a fresh terminal:

codex --version
codex login status

Then start Codex in a disposable repository and ask it to inspect the project without making changes. Resolve CLI or account errors there before debugging Synara.

Connect to Synara

Enable Codex

Open Synara provider settings and confirm that Codex is detected.

Confirm the binary

Synara uses codex by default. Set a custom binary path only when you intentionally maintain another installation.

Inspect models and reasoning

Refresh the provider and confirm that the model picker reflects the current Codex catalog and reasoning options.

Run a small task

Start with a clean repository and a bounded objective. Review permissions and the working environment before sending the first turn.

Capabilities in Synara

Codex sessions can expose:

Model and reasoning-effort selection
Plan and execution behavior
Command, tool, and file-change events
Approval requests and user input
Session resume and reconnect behavior
Context and usage information where available
Native steering of a running turn
Codex-specific account and version health checks

Native steering lets Synara deliver a follow-up to a supported active Codex turn without cancelling it first. It does not bypass Codex permissions or guarantee immediate action.

Synara discovers Codex behavior from the installed CLI. A newer CLI may expose capabilities that an older build does not.

Configuration

Codex keeps its own configuration, normally under ~/.codex/config.toml or $CODEX_HOME/config.toml.

Changing the Codex model provider, authentication environment, sandbox rules, or approval settings can change what Synara sees. Keep provider configuration in Codex rather than duplicating secrets in Synara.

Updating

Update through the installation method you used:

npm install -g @openai/codex@latest

or:

brew upgrade --cask codex

Restart Synara after updating.

Troubleshooting

Codex is not detected

Run codex --version in a fresh terminal.
Check whether multiple codex binaries exist on PATH.
Remove or correct an obsolete custom binary path in Synara.
Restart Synara after installation or shell-profile changes.

Codex