So, I think I’m a Codex Stan. Or, just too lazy to learn Cursor + Antigravity + Claude + Ralph Wiggum loops + OpenClaw + whatever is coming out of the woodwork these days. Yes, I do still check-in and dabble in other models, but there’s something elegant about a unified ecosystem with OpenAI. ChatGPT + Codex CLI + now, the Codex Mac Desktop app. It all fits together nicely. Also, I can’t justify $200 a month for a single subscription. Mostly that. So business plans with 2 seats for Codex works really really well for my wallet.
And with it not being the most popular option, it does have a nice side benefit – I have to adapt everything I read to fit what I’m attempting to do. Which forces me to decompose and then recompose. TOML vs JSON, custom creation of skills (albeit still pretty damn easy with skill-creator and skills.md files at the core), and a different level of custom orchestration for multi-agent workflows.
It’s fun. I’m learning. And for now, as the ecosystem works itself out, I tell myself that’s what matters. I’m not knowledgeable enough or positioned close enough to the bleeding edge to take advantage of the volatility. I’m working on an app that lets me keep track of books I want to buy – not writing new languages (looking at you Geoffrey Huntley).
And so I did just that.
I fired up Codex in a browser (Codex Cloud), navigated another tab to the OpenClaw repo, hit the fork button for maybe the second time in my life (yes, I said I’m learning – this is learning), and then asked Codex to explain the newly forked repo. And it told me about it. The features, how the Heartbeat works, security considerations, and how I could do something similar for my non-Telegram, non-WhatsApp using self.
In retrospect, it’s so simple and obvious that I’m the only one who should be impressed.
But wait, there’s more…
I wanted to build a connection to my Notion site from the Codex CLI. I document all my ideas in Notion, I journal in Notion, I keep track of lists and feelings and statuses in Notion. If you forced me to choose between losing my iPhone or my Notion, I’d delete Notion off the phone and hand it right over without hesitation.
And so I asked Codex to walk me through setting up the Notion MCP, creating a skill to read and write pages, and give me a brief tutorial on what it could or could not do.
Codex chugged away, got me connected with the Notion MCP, and displayed a brief list of available tools. At that point, it was late in the night, and I have a routine before bed to plan my next day.
And with this, I had an idea. Could I just ask Codex to write a memo for me? Something simple to start: check the weather for my area, suggest an outfit, format it all pretty, and show me in Notion. The iPhone app is one of the first things I check in the morning, and one of the last things I journal into at night so it’s a core information hub for organizing my thoughts and life.
So I asked.
A few minutes later this showed up:
MAGIC!
And now it’s a skill I can use whenever I want.
Next step for me is automating it. I’ll work on a skill that writes an end of day briefing: a summary of what I worked on today (in Codex), some notes or ideas I want to add in, and a quick pre-cap of what tomorrow brings.
Let’s see how it goes.
…
Okay, never mind, it took like 30 minutes:
MAGIC!!