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layout default
title Chapter 5: Prompts, Skills, and Workflow Orchestration
nav_order 5
parent Codex CLI Tutorial

Chapter 5: Prompts, Skills, and Workflow Orchestration

Welcome to Chapter 5: Prompts, Skills, and Workflow Orchestration. In this part of Codex CLI Tutorial: Local Terminal Agent Workflows with OpenAI Codex, you will build an intuitive mental model first, then move into concrete implementation details and practical production tradeoffs.

This chapter focuses on higher-signal agent behavior through structured prompt and skill design.

Learning Goals

  • create reusable prompt conventions
  • leverage skill definitions for repeatable workflows
  • reduce ambiguity in multi-step tasks
  • align prompts with policy and quality checks

Workflow Design Tips

  • keep prompts concrete and outcome-oriented
  • encode team defaults in shared skills
  • include verification criteria in task prompts

Source References

Summary

You now have a framework for consistent Codex workflow orchestration.

Next: Chapter 6: Commands, Connectors, and Daily Operations

Depth Expansion Playbook

Source Code Walkthrough

scripts/check_blob_size.py

The is_binary_change function in scripts/check_blob_size.py handles a key part of this chapter's functionality:

def is_binary_change(base: str, head: str, path: str) -> bool:
    output = run_git(
        "diff",
        "--numstat",
        "--diff-filter=AM",
        "--no-renames",
        base,
        head,
        "--",
        path,
    ).strip()
    if not output:
        return False

    added, deleted, _ = output.split("\t", 2)
    return added == "-" and deleted == "-"


def blob_size(commit: str, path: str) -> int:
    return int(run_git("cat-file", "-s", f"{commit}:{path}").strip())


def collect_changed_blobs(base: str, head: str, allowlist: set[str]) -> list[ChangedBlob]:
    blobs: list[ChangedBlob] = []
    for path in get_changed_paths(base, head):
        blobs.append(
            ChangedBlob(
                path=path,
                size_bytes=blob_size(head, path),
                is_allowlisted=path in allowlist,

This function is important because it defines how Codex CLI Tutorial: Local Terminal Agent Workflows with OpenAI Codex implements the patterns covered in this chapter.

scripts/check_blob_size.py

The blob_size function in scripts/check_blob_size.py handles a key part of this chapter's functionality:

def blob_size(commit: str, path: str) -> int:
    return int(run_git("cat-file", "-s", f"{commit}:{path}").strip())


def collect_changed_blobs(base: str, head: str, allowlist: set[str]) -> list[ChangedBlob]:
    blobs: list[ChangedBlob] = []
    for path in get_changed_paths(base, head):
        blobs.append(
            ChangedBlob(
                path=path,
                size_bytes=blob_size(head, path),
                is_allowlisted=path in allowlist,
                is_binary=is_binary_change(base, head, path),
            )
        )
    return blobs


def format_kib(size_bytes: int) -> str:
    return f"{size_bytes / 1024:.1f} KiB"


def write_step_summary(
    max_bytes: int,
    blobs: list[ChangedBlob],
    violations: list[ChangedBlob],
) -> None:
    summary_path = os.environ.get("GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY")
    if not summary_path:
        return

This function is important because it defines how Codex CLI Tutorial: Local Terminal Agent Workflows with OpenAI Codex implements the patterns covered in this chapter.

scripts/check_blob_size.py

The collect_changed_blobs function in scripts/check_blob_size.py handles a key part of this chapter's functionality:

def collect_changed_blobs(base: str, head: str, allowlist: set[str]) -> list[ChangedBlob]:
    blobs: list[ChangedBlob] = []
    for path in get_changed_paths(base, head):
        blobs.append(
            ChangedBlob(
                path=path,
                size_bytes=blob_size(head, path),
                is_allowlisted=path in allowlist,
                is_binary=is_binary_change(base, head, path),
            )
        )
    return blobs


def format_kib(size_bytes: int) -> str:
    return f"{size_bytes / 1024:.1f} KiB"


def write_step_summary(
    max_bytes: int,
    blobs: list[ChangedBlob],
    violations: list[ChangedBlob],
) -> None:
    summary_path = os.environ.get("GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY")
    if not summary_path:
        return

    lines = [
        "## Blob Size Policy",
        "",

This function is important because it defines how Codex CLI Tutorial: Local Terminal Agent Workflows with OpenAI Codex implements the patterns covered in this chapter.

scripts/check_blob_size.py

The format_kib function in scripts/check_blob_size.py handles a key part of this chapter's functionality:

def format_kib(size_bytes: int) -> str:
    return f"{size_bytes / 1024:.1f} KiB"


def write_step_summary(
    max_bytes: int,
    blobs: list[ChangedBlob],
    violations: list[ChangedBlob],
) -> None:
    summary_path = os.environ.get("GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY")
    if not summary_path:
        return

    lines = [
        "## Blob Size Policy",
        "",
        f"Default max: `{max_bytes}` bytes ({format_kib(max_bytes)})",
        f"Changed files checked: `{len(blobs)}`",
        f"Violations: `{len(violations)}`",
        "",
    ]

    if blobs:
        lines.extend(
            [
                "| Path | Kind | Size | Status |",
                "| --- | --- | ---: | --- |",
            ]
        )
        for blob in blobs:

This function is important because it defines how Codex CLI Tutorial: Local Terminal Agent Workflows with OpenAI Codex implements the patterns covered in this chapter.

How These Components Connect

flowchart TD
    A[is_binary_change]
    B[blob_size]
    C[collect_changed_blobs]
    D[format_kib]
    E[write_step_summary]
    A --> B
    B --> C
    C --> D
    D --> E
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