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Codex Follow a goal

Official Codex guidance for durable goals with validation loops.

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Reviewed 2026-07-21
Official documentation
Primary source reviewed

Source type: official-docs. License: not stated or not applicable. The linked source supports the visible capability notes but does not prove production suitability.

Open evidence source
Inference or recommendation
Verify before production

Confirm current maintenance, permissions, data handling, license obligations, failure behavior, and a human approval gate in your own environment.

Practical fit

Follow-a-goal workflows fit migrations, refactors, and repair tasks where progress can be tested repeatedly. The value is not continuous activity; it is the ability to keep returning to one measurable condition while preserving the constraints around it.

The approach works poorly when success depends on taste, hidden stakeholder expectations, or a requirement that has not been written down. Those tasks need a human decision before an agent can loop responsibly.

How to evaluate it

Can each iteration produce new evidence rather than repeat the same attempt?
Are validation and stop conditions visible before the first change?
Will the agent remain inside one repository area and one defined outcome?

Example decision

For a library migration, define success as the new API compiling, the affected tests passing, and the deprecated imports reaching zero. Stop after a repeated blocker and report the remaining call sites instead of broadening into unrelated cleanup.

Verify before you adopt it

Check the current official examples and supported Codex surface.
Record the baseline command output before edits begin.
Require a human review of the final diff even when validation passes.

Source review note

We reviewed the primary source on July 21, 2026. Product behavior, pricing, licenses, and maintenance status can change, so check the linked source before adopting it.

Best for

Migrations
Refactors
Deploy retries
Long tasks with clear validation

Not for

Ambiguous objectives
Tasks without a verifiable done condition

Risk notes

Vague goals can cause unnecessary changes.