Quick reference for choosing and explicitly invoking Codex skills. Availability can vary by release, plan, workspace, platform, and installed plugins.
This page mixes two kinds of claim, and they carry different verification dates. Do not read one date as covering the other.
| Claim | Basis | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| Invocation grammar and CLI syntax | Installed Codex CLI 0.162.0 --help and the official command reference |
2026-10-10 |
| Built-in system skill roster | Codex CLI source (openai/codex, main): skills embedded in the binary |
2026-10-10 |
Bundled and runtime plugin roster, and the latex example |
One operator's installed environment | 2026-08-05, not re-verified since |
The bundled and runtime plugin table below is an environment snapshot, not an
entitlement list. It was captured from one account on one platform and cannot
be re-verified from source, because that roster is served at run time. Treat it
as an illustration of the naming pattern and confirm the live set with
/plugins or codex plugin list --available --json.
| Kind | What it is | Codex invocation |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in system skill | A user-facing skill shipped with Codex; no plugin install is needed | $skill-name |
| Official bundled or runtime plugin | An OpenAI plugin shipped or made available with the Codex environment | $plugin-name:skill-name |
| Curated directory plugin | An installable OpenAI or partner plugin; it may require authentication | $plugin-name:skill-name after install |
| Personal or team marketplace plugin | An installable bundle from a configured marketplace such as this repository | $plugin-name:skill-name after install |
Natural language is usually enough: Codex can select an enabled skill when the
request matches its description. Add the $ mention when the exact workflow
matters. In Codex CLI, /skills browses skills and /plugins browses plugins.
After installing a plugin, start a new task or CLI session so its skills are
discovered.
The namespace is not cosmetic. Codex qualifies a skill's name at load time with
the name from the nearest plugin manifest above it, so a skill named search
inside a plugin named sample is loaded as sample:search. A $ mention is
matched against that qualified name, so the bare $search form does not
resolve for a plugin-provided skill. Built-in system skills sit outside any
plugin manifest, so they keep the bare $skill-name form.
These skills are embedded in the Codex CLI binary and unpacked into
CODEX_HOME/skills/.system on startup; no plugin install is needed. They are
skills, not plugins.
| Capability | Natural-language request | Explicit Codex request |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Create a wide illustrated banner for this README. |
$imagegen Create a wide illustrated banner for this README. |
| Official OpenAI docs | Check the current official Codex docs and explain how hooks work. |
$openai-docs Check the current official Codex docs and explain how hooks work. |
| Skill creation | Turn this repeated release checklist into a skill. |
$skill-creator Turn this repeated release checklist into a skill. |
| Skill installation | Install the skill from openai/skills. |
$skill-installer Install the skill from openai/skills. |
| Delegated code review | Review my uncommitted changes against the base branch. |
$review-agent Review my uncommitted changes against the base branch. |
$review-agent is written for delegation: it performs a read-only, defect-first
review and returns findings without editing files, committing, or posting review
comments.
$imagegen is the important special case: it is built-in image generation,
not an image-generation marketplace plugin. Attach or identify reference images
and state what must change and what must remain fixed when editing.
Codex CLI 0.159.0 removed the bundled plugin-creator skill
(#48604), so $plugin-creator
no longer resolves from the CLI binary. The
plugin packaging guide
still names @plugin-creator as a built-in in ChatGPT; check that page before
relying on it.
As of the Codex CLI 0.162.1 release notes (read 2026-10-10), these releases changed what a plugin author ships or tests. The release notes hold the detail; recheck them on each new minor release.
| Release | Change |
|---|---|
| 0.145.0 | /import migrates Claude Code and Cursor plugins, MCP servers, and commands |
| 0.146.0, 0.147.0 | Portable Agent Plugins: a root plugin.json is recognized, with .codex-plugin/plugin.json kept as a fallback (packaging guide) |
| 0.153.0 | codex plugin lists, installs, and removes plugins from remote marketplaces |
| 0.154.0 | Running sessions pick up newly installed plugin tools and refresh skills and hooks after a plugin upgrade |
| 0.154.0 | codex mcp-server is removed; the command reference points at the app server instead |
| 0.156.0 | /usage reports plugin and skill activity |
| 0.159.0 | The bundled plugin-creator skill is removed |
The following plugins were installed and enabled in one operator's environment on 2026-08-05, and that roster has not been re-verified since. Use the exact namespaced skill identifier shown below when invoking one explicitly, and treat the rows themselves as an example rather than as your own entitlements.
| Plugin capability | Natural-language request | Explicit Codex request |
|---|---|---|
| In-app browser | Open the local app in the in-app browser and test sign-in. |
$browser:control-in-app-browser Open the local app and test sign-in. |
| Chrome | Use my existing Chrome session to check the signed-in dashboard. |
$chrome:control-chrome Check the signed-in dashboard. |
| Windows computer use | Open the Windows app and update the setting. |
$computer-use:computer-use Open the Windows app and update the setting. |
| Word documents | Create and visually verify a Word report from these notes. |
$documents:documents Create and visually verify a Word report from these notes. |
| PDFs | Inspect this PDF form and summarize its fields. |
$pdf:pdf Inspect this PDF form and summarize its fields. |
| Spreadsheet files | Create and verify an XLSX budget workbook. |
$spreadsheets:Spreadsheets Create and verify an XLSX budget workbook. |
| Live Excel | Update the open Excel workbook and preserve its formulas. |
$spreadsheets:excel-live-control Update the open workbook and preserve its formulas. |
| Presentations | Create a PowerPoint deck from this outline. |
$presentations:Presentations Create a PowerPoint deck from this outline. |
| Artifact templates | Turn this approved deck into a reusable personal template skill. |
$template-creator:template-creator Turn this approved deck into a reusable template skill. |
| Build a Site | Build a hosted project intake dashboard with Sites. |
$sites:sites-building Build a project intake dashboard. |
| Host a Site | Publish the reviewed Sites project and return its URL. |
$sites:sites-hosting Publish the reviewed project and return its URL. |
| Visualizations | Make an interactive chart for these scenarios. |
$visualize:visualize Make an interactive chart for these scenarios. |
Surface support still matters. For example, interactive Visualizations and Sites management require a supported ChatGPT surface even when the skill is visible to Codex. Prefer purpose-built connectors or APIs over browser or computer control when they expose the same operation safely.
The OpenAI-curated directory is intentionally not copied into this file: it is
large, changes independently, and can differ by account. Browse it with
/plugins, or inspect it with:
codex plugin list --available --json
codex plugin marketplace list --json--available widens the listing to uninstalled marketplace plugins and is only
accepted together with --json; codex plugin list --available on its own is
rejected.
On 2026-08-05 the official bundled marketplace also offered the uninstalled
latex plugin, and that has not been re-checked since. Where such a plugin is
offered, install it before using its skills, for example $latex:latex-doctor
or $latex:latex-compile:
codex plugin add latex@openai-bundledopenai-bundled is the configured name of the official bundled marketplace.
codex plugin add accepts either <plugin>@<marketplace> or a bare
<plugin> with --marketplace <marketplace>; the two forms are equivalent.
Partner connectors, Codex Security, and other OpenAI-curated entries are plugins, not built-in system skills. Installation, authentication, policy, and surface availability determine whether their skills and tools can run.
These are personal-marketplace plugins from melodic-software/codex-plugins,
not OpenAI built-ins.
| Plugin | Explicit examples |
|---|---|
plugin-ops |
$plugin-ops:install-marketplace, $plugin-ops:update-plugins, $plugin-ops:verify-plugin, $plugin-ops:migrate-plugin |
codex-operations |
$codex-operations:coordinate-codex-work, $codex-operations:find-skill-candidates, $codex-operations:codex-changelog |
scheduled-tasks |
$scheduled-tasks:manage-scheduled-tasks |
humanize |
$humanize:humanize |
Use live product state instead of treating this page as an entitlement list:
codex plugin list --json
codex plugin list --available --json
codex plugin marketplace list --jsonWhen this snapshot changes, update the affected table and only the verification date that covers it. The two dates at the top of this page move independently: re-reading the CLI source does not re-verify anyone's plugin roster, and re-capturing a roster does not re-verify the CLI grammar. Keep the full dynamic plugin directory out of the repository.