Codex cli support

[rockarxiv]

Hi,

@rohitg00 , would it be possible to add Codex CLI as an LLM provider?

Using codex exec, hooks can be easily disabled, so there should be no risk of recursive executions. I’d also be happy to implement the integration myself and open a PR if that would help.

[rohitg00]

@rockarxiv — yes, please do it, and thanks for offering. The hooks-disabled codex exec is exactly the right shape; that's the same recursion-loop concern that drives AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD=1 for the existing agent-sdk provider.

Implementation outline so you don't have to reverse-engineer the shape:

1. New file: src/providers/codex-cli.ts — mirror src/providers/agent-sdk.ts (it's 59 lines, same MemoryProvider interface, same recursion-guard pattern). The only difference is the transport: spawn codex exec via node:child_process instead of importing @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk. Skeleton:

   import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
   import type { MemoryProvider } from "../types.js";
   
   export class CodexCliProvider implements MemoryProvider {
     name = "codex-cli";
   
     async compress(systemPrompt: string, userPrompt: string): Promise<string> {
       return this.query(systemPrompt, userPrompt);
     }
   
     async summarize(systemPrompt: string, userPrompt: string): Promise<string> {
       return this.query(systemPrompt, userPrompt);
     }
   
     private async query(systemPrompt: string, userPrompt: string): Promise<string> {
       if (process.env.AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD === "1") return "";
       const prev = process.env.AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD;
       process.env.AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD = "1";
       try {
         return await new Promise<string>((resolve, reject) => {
           const proc = spawn(
             process.env.CODEX_BIN || "codex",
             ["exec", "--skip-git-repo-check", `${systemPrompt}\n\n${userPrompt}`],
             {
               stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
               env: { ...process.env, AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD: "1" },
             },
           );
           let stdout = "";
           let stderr = "";
           proc.stdout.on("data", (d) => { stdout += d; });
           proc.stderr.on("data", (d) => { stderr += d; });
           proc.on("close", (code) => {
             if (code === 0) resolve(stdout.trim());
             else reject(new Error(`codex exec failed (exit ${code}): ${stderr.slice(0, 500)}`));
           });
           proc.on("error", reject);
         });
       } finally {
         if (prev === undefined) delete process.env.AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD;
         else process.env.AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD = prev;
       }
     }
   }

2. Wire into src/providers/index.ts — add case "codex-cli": return new CodexCliProvider(); to createBaseProvider() (line 61-117). No requireEnvVar() needed since codex reads its own auth.

3. Type union in src/types.ts — extend ProviderConfig.provider to include "codex-cli".

4. Tests — model on test/agent-sdk-provider.test.ts (if it exists; otherwise the recursion-guard pattern is covered in test/stop-hook-recursion-guard.test.ts). Mock spawn so tests run without codex installed. Cover at minimum: recursion guard returns "", env restoration in finally, non-zero exit rejects.

5. README — one line in the "LLM provider (pick one…)" block: AGENTMEMORY_PROVIDER=codex-cli requires codex on PATH (or CODEX_BIN=/path/to/codex).

Things I'd want from your PR before merge:

• Recursion guard test (parity with stop-hook-recursion-guard.test.ts) — the AGENTMEMORY_SDK_CHILD flag pattern is load-bearing; the existing agent-sdk provider had a real incident with this.
• Timeout on the spawn so a wedged codex process doesn't hang the consolidation pipeline indefinitely. The agent-sdk provider doesn't have one (it relies on the SDK's own timeout) but a CLI subprocess does need it — suggest 60s default, env-overridable via CODEX_TIMEOUT_MS.
• A note on whether codex exec accepts the prompt via argv (above) or expects stdin. If stdin is required for long prompts (argv has shell-length limits on some platforms), wire through proc.stdin.write(prompt); proc.stdin.end();.

Ping me on the PR with any blockers. Happy to land it as soon as the recursion guard + timeout are in.

[rohitg00]

Hi @rockarxiv, an update: the Codex side shipped as a plugin rather than a provider. v0.9.29 added the Codex plugin (MCP, 6 lifecycle hooks, 17 skills) and v0.9.30 bundles a stdio bridge to the running daemon, hook trust guidance, and connect codex --with-hooks --force for installs that already had MCP wired.

Codex as an LLM provider for compression and summaries is still open; the outline in the earlier comment stands, and a PR for it is welcome. Thanks for the offer.