Codex CLI: Experimental Code Mode, Hooks Engine & Health Endpoints

Experimental Code Mode for Isolated Workflows

Codex CLI 0.114.0 ships an experimental code mode designed for more tightly scoped, isolated coding workflows. While the feature remains experimental and its full behavior is subject to change, it gives developers a dedicated operating mode oriented around pure coding tasks — separating them from the broader agent interaction surface.

Hooks Engine: Session Lifecycle Automation

One of the most community-requested capabilities has arrived: an experimental hooks engine with SessionStart and Stop hook events. Developers can now define custom scripts or external programs to execute at the beginning of a session and when it ends, opening the door to a wide range of automation scenarios.

Practical uses include injecting project-specific context before the first prompt is processed, triggering CI webhooks when a session concludes, sending desktop notifications on session completion, and resetting environment state between runs. This brings Codex CLI significantly closer to parity with Claude Code's hooks system.

The hooks engine is limited to SessionStart and Stop events in this initial release, but the architecture is expected to expand into additional lifecycle events in future versions.

WebSocket App-Server Health Check Endpoints

For teams running Codex CLI in WebSocket app-server mode as part of production or staging infrastructure, 0.114.0 adds GET /readyz and GET /healthz endpoints on the same listener. These standardized health-check endpoints integrate directly with load balancers, Kubernetes readiness probes, and uptime monitors.

Improved Handoff Continuity

When work is transferred between agent turns via the handoff mechanism, Codex now carries realtime transcript context along with the handoff payload. Previously, a sub-agent picking up a handed-off thread lacked the conversational context built up during the originating turn.

Configurable System Skills

A new configuration switch allows users to disable bundled system skills entirely. For developers building tightly controlled plugin-only environments, this provides a clean mechanism to opt out of the default skill set.

Mention Picker Improvements

The $ mention picker now clearly labels entries as Skills, Apps, or Plugins, and surfaces Plugins first in the list.