Codex VL

A side-by-side Codex CLI variant with local loop orchestration and an early Vivling companion layer for terminal workflows.

Codex VL is a fork of OpenAI Codex that installs as codex-vl, so it can live next to the official codex command.

The fork keeps the upstream Codex runtime model and adds a small set of experimental workflow features:

• /loop for session-scoped recurring checks and follow-up tasks
• /vivling for a persistent local companion and orchestration foundation
• /vl for direct Vivling chat when a brain profile is configured
• side-by-side npm packaging under @mmmbuto/codex-vl

Install

npm install -g @mmmbuto/codex-vl
codex-vl --version
codex-vl login

Linux x64 and Termux Android arm64 installs use packaged native binaries. On macOS, npm install builds the local native binaries with Cargo; install Rust if Cargo is not already available.

Codex VL uses the normal Codex configuration and runtime state in ~/.codex/. Installing it does not replace the official codex binary.

For a local npm prefix:

npm config set prefix ~/.local
npm install -g @mmmbuto/codex-vl
~/.local/bin/codex-vl --version

Current Release Focus

The 0.128.2 line focuses on keeping the fork close to upstream while stabilizing the first useful Codex VL layers:

• loop management as a conservative, user-controlled local feature
• Vivling identity, persistence, lifecycle state, and model profile routing
• an early terminal CRT strip that can show compact Vivling state and speech
• maintainable integration points so upstream merges stay practical

Vivling behavior is still experimental. It is intended to become a workflow assistant over time, but the current public surface is deliberately small.

Commands

/loop

Creates and manages recurring local jobs attached to the current TUI session. Loops are useful for periodic status checks, long-running work supervision, and agent-managed follow-up tasks.

/vivling

Manages the active Vivling. Current features include local state, growth, lifecycle status, species data, and optional brain profile configuration.

/vl

Sends a direct message to the active Vivling. If the Vivling brain is ready, the message routes through its configured Codex profile. Otherwise Codex VL uses the local fallback reply path.

Configuration

Vivling brain models use standard Codex profiles and providers. No shell wrapper is required.

Start with:

• Vivling brain model configuration
• Codex configuration reference

Minimal flow:

/vivling model <profile>
/vivling brain on
/vl hello

Build From Source

cd codex-rs
cargo build --release -p codex-cli --bin codex -p codex-exec --bin codex-exec

Status

Codex VL is active development software. Use the official OpenAI Codex release when you want the upstream baseline without Codex VL additions.

License

Apache 2.0. Upstream Codex remains under Apache 2.0, and the Codex VL additions are distributed under the same license.