codex

Start an interactive Codex session in the current directory

$ codex

$ codex "[your prompt]"

$ codex [[-a|--approval-mode]] full-auto "[your prompt]"

$ codex --provider [provider_name] [[-m|--model]] [model_name] "[your prompt]"

$ codex --full-context "[your prompt]"

$ /cost

$ codex --help

codex [OPTIONS] [QUERY_OR_PROMPT]

-q, --query "TEXT"
    Ask a question to the intelligent codex. The answer is provided based on the knowledge base.

-g, --generate "PROMPT"
    Generate code snippets or text based on a given natural language prompt.

-s, --search "KEYWORDS"
    Search the codex's knowledge base for relevant entries matching the keywords.

-i, --info "TOPIC"
    Retrieve detailed conceptual information about a specific topic or programming construct.

-d, --document "SCOPE"
    Generate documentation for a specified scope, e.g., a function, class, or general topic.

-m, --model NAME
    Specify the AI model or knowledge source to be used for the query (e.g., 'local-llm', 'openai-gpt').

-p, --path PATH
    Define the local path to a custom codex database or configuration file.

-h, --help
    Display a comprehensive help message and usage instructions for codex.

-v, --version
    Show the current version information of the codex utility.

The codex command provides a powerful command-line interface for an intelligent knowledge assistant, primarily focused on code and technical documentation. It allows users to interactively query vast repositories of information, generate code snippets based on natural language prompts, and retrieve detailed documentation on various programming concepts, APIs, and best practices.

Utilizing advanced AI models (either locally hosted or cloud-based), codex aims to streamline the development workflow by offering instant access to relevant information, reducing the need to sift through extensive documentation or search online repeatedly. It can be configured to use specific knowledge bases or external AI services, making it adaptable to different project requirements and security policies.

Developers can use codex to quickly understand unfamiliar code, get explanations for complex algorithms, generate boilerplate code, or even troubleshoot common programming issues. Its intuitive command-line syntax makes it an invaluable tool for enhancing productivity and learning within the terminal environment.

The effectiveness of codex heavily relies on the quality and scope of the underlying AI model and knowledge base. For large queries or generations, response times may vary based on computational resources or API latency.
Users should be mindful of potential biases or inaccuracies present in the training data of the AI models.
Sensitive information should not be used in queries if cloud-based models are employed, unless specifically confirmed for security.

The behavior of codex can be customized via a configuration file (e.g., ~/.config/codex/config.json) which allows specifying default AI models, API keys, preferred knowledge bases, and output formats.
This flexibility ensures that codex can adapt to various development environments and access requirements.

codex is designed with an extensible architecture, allowing for the integration of new AI models, custom knowledge sources, and output plugins. Developers can contribute or create their own 'codex modules' to expand its functionality to highly specialized domains.

The concept of codex emerged from the growing need for context-aware and intelligent assistance in command-line environments, particularly for software development. Early prototypes, around 2020-2022, focused on simple text retrieval from indexed documentation.

With the rapid advancements in large language models (LLMs) from 2022 onwards, codex evolved to integrate powerful AI capabilities, allowing for natural language queries, code generation, and sophisticated semantic searches. Its development has been driven by the open-source community's desire for a unified, intelligent interface to manage and leverage vast amounts of technical knowledge directly from the terminal, making it a modern companion for developers and system administrators.

man(1), grep(1), tldr(1), code(1) (if available)