Agent Skills for OpenAI Codex are modular extensions that empower Codex to automate workflows, enforce best practices, and boost productivity across teams. They are specialized, task-focused packages designed to extend Codex’s core capabilities.
Each skill is a self-contained unit, typically featuring a SKILL.md file with clear instructions, and may include scripts, documentation, or assets. By following the open Agent Skills standard, these modules are not only easy to create and share but also ensure compatibility throughout the developer ecosystem.
Skill Invocation: How Codex Integrates Skills
- Progressive Disclosure: Codex loads only the essential information about each skill at startup, diving into full details only when necessary. This keeps performance sharp and context relevant.
- Explicit Invocation: Developers can trigger skills directly using the
/skillscommand or by referencing them with$in the Codex CLI or IDE extensions. This hands-on approach lets you steer Codex’s behavior precisely.- Implicit Invocation: Codex can also autonomously select skills based on the user’s request, making smart decisions to automate tasks without extra commands.
Building and Sharing Your Own Skills
Getting started with new skills is simple. Use the $skill-creator skill within Codex,just describe your workflow, and Codex scaffolds the needed files. For more complex planning, combine this with $plan to outline detailed steps. Manual setup is also supported: arrange a folder with a well-documented SKILL.md and any relevant instructions. Adhering to the Agent Skills spec ensures seamless sharing and use.
Structuring and Scoping Skills
The location of each skill determines its visibility and precedence:
- Project-specific (REPO): Place skills in
.codex/skillsfor targeted workflows within a team or module. - Shared repositories: Store skills in root folders to standardize tools across multiple teams or the entire organization.
- User-level: Add skills to
~/.codex/skillsfor personal use across all your projects. - Admin/system-level: Install skills globally at
/etc/codex/skillsfor organization-wide access, ideal for automation scripts. - Bundled/system skills: Use or override Codex’s built-in skills to suit your specific needs.
Installing and Discovering Skills
Enhancing Codex is straightforward. The $skill-installer command lets you download curated skills from GitHub or other repositories, making it easy to integrate tools for project management, documentation, or any workflow your team requires.
Agent Skills in Action
- Feature Planning: Use the built-in
$planskill to break down complex features into actionable tasks.- Project Management Integration: Connect to platforms like Linear with
$skill-installer linearfor seamless task tracking.- Documentation Access: Import Notion content with
$skill-installer notion-spec-to-implementationto inform code generation and planning directly from your documentation.
Modular Intelligence for Modern Teams
Agent Skills elevate OpenAI Codex from a capable AI assistant to a dynamic, collaborative team member. By packaging expertise and workflows into reusable modules, you can automate repetitive tasks, enforce standards, and respond to evolving challenges while maintaining a streamlined user experience. Whether you’re a solo developer or part of a large engineering team, Agent Skills unlock new levels of efficiency and collaboration.
Harnessing Modular Intelligence: How Agent Skills Expand OpenAI Codex