When encountering errors with Codex CLI, the first step is to identify whether the issue is related to connectivity, authentication, or local environment configuration. Common connectivity issues can be resolved by checking your internet connection and verifying that your OpenAI API key is correctly set as an environment variable. If you receive authentication errors, ensure that your API key is valid and that your OpenAI account has the necessary permissions for CLI access. For users with organizational accounts, verify that your administrator has enabled CLI access for your account tier. Network-related problems can sometimes be resolved by checking if your firewall or corporate proxy settings are blocking connections to OpenAI’s API endpoints.
Environment and permission-related issues often manifest as file access errors or command execution failures. Ensure that Codex CLI has the necessary permissions to read and write files in your project directory, and verify that any required development tools (compilers, interpreters, package managers) are properly installed and accessible from your command line. If you’re experiencing issues with code execution or testing, check that your project’s dependencies are correctly installed and that your development environment is properly configured. The CLI includes verbose logging options that can help identify where failures occur, so running commands with additional logging flags can provide valuable diagnostic information.
For more complex issues, the Codex CLI community and documentation provide additional troubleshooting resources. You can use the CTRL-C
command to cancel problematic operations and restart with different parameters or prompts. If you’re using Full Auto mode and experiencing sandbox permission issues, verify that the tool has access to all required directories and external resources. The tool includes an upgrade command (codex --upgrade
) that can resolve issues related to outdated versions, and the GitHub repository offers issue tracking where you can report bugs or find solutions to common problems. When reporting issues, include relevant error messages, your operating system details, and the specific commands or prompts that triggered the problem to help maintainers provide effective assistance.