2.1 CLI Commands & Slash Commands

You already know a few commands from Module 1 — /plan, /status, /diff, /compact. Those cover the basics, but the full toolkit is worth knowing cold, because reaching for the right one at the right moment is most of what makes an experienced Codex user faster than a new one on the exact same task.

/recap summarizes the current conversation when you've lost track of what's happened over a long session. /export writes the full conversation out to markdown — useful for handing context to a teammate or keeping a record of a decision you'll want to reference later. /permissions lets you adjust the approval policy mid-session without restarting. /vim toggles modal editing in the input box if that's how your fingers are wired. /delete permanently removes a session you don't need lingering around. And for scripted or automated use outside the interactive TUI, codex exec "run the test suite" --sandbox workspace-write --ask-for-approval on-request runs Codex non-interactively — the pattern you'll actually use in a script or a CI step rather than typing into the chat window by hand.

Two habits separate people who've used Codex for a week from people who've used it for six months. First, actually reading /diff output before accepting anything, every time, not just trusting the chat summary of what changed — a summary can be accurate and still miss the one line that matters. Second, treating the CLI flags as a real configuration surface rather than defaults you never touch: config.toml settings cascade from CLI flags, down through project config, down through your personal user config, so you can set sensible project-wide defaults once and only override them from the command line when a specific task genuinely needs something different.

None of this is about memorizing a command list for its own sake. It's the same reason a fast typist doesn't consciously think about where the keys are — the commands become reflexes, and once they do, you stop losing time to "wait, how do I check what changed again" in the middle of real work.

Note for whoever pastes this in: the live Skool copy of this lesson currently has a typo at the very start of the body ("requireYou already know…" instead of "You already know…"). The text above is already corrected — use this version, not a raw copy from Skool, until that's fixed live.