Plugin Architecture & Technical Decisions

This document explains the technical design decisions, architecture, and implementation details of the OpenAI Codex OAuth plugin for OpenCode.

Architecture Overview
Stateless vs Stateful Mode
Message ID Handling
Reasoning Content Flow
Request Pipeline
Comparison with Codex CLI
Design Rationale
TUI Parity Checklist

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────┐
│  OpenCode   │  TUI/Desktop client
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       │ streamText() with AI SDK
       │
       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│  OpenCode Provider System    │
│  - Loads plugin               │
│  - Calls plugin.auth.loader() │
│  - Passes provider config     │
└──────┬───────────────────────┘
       │
       │ Custom fetch()
       │
       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│  This Plugin                 │
│  - OAuth authentication      │
│  - Request transformation    │
│  - store:false handling      │
│  - Codex bridge prompts      │
└──────┬───────────────────────┘
       │
       │ HTTP POST with OAuth
       │
       ▼
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│  OpenAI Codex API            │
│  (ChatGPT Backend)           │
│  - Requires OAuth            │
│  - Supports store:false      │
│  - Returns SSE stream        │
└──────────────────────────────┘

Stateless vs Stateful Mode

Why store:false?

The plugin uses store: false (stateless mode) because:

ChatGPT Backend Requirement (confirmed via testing):

// Attempt with store:true → 400 Bad Request
{"detail":"Store must be set to false"}

Codex CLI Behavior (tmp/codex/codex-rs/core/src/client.rs:215-232):

// Codex CLI uses store:false for ChatGPT OAuth
let azure_workaround = self.provider.is_azure_responses_endpoint();
store: azure_workaround,  // false for ChatGPT, true for Azure

Key Points:

✅ ChatGPT backend REQUIRES store:false (not optional)
✅ Codex CLI uses store:false for ChatGPT
✅ Azure requires store:true (different endpoint, not supported by this plugin)
✅ Stateless mode = no server-side conversation storage

How Context Works with store:false

Question: If there's no server storage, how does the LLM remember previous turns?

Answer: Full message history is sent in every request:

// Turn 3 request contains ALL previous messages:
input: [
  { role: "developer", content: "..." },      // System prompts
  { role: "user", content: "write test.txt" },     // Turn 1 user
  { type: "function_call", name: "write", ... },   // Turn 1 tool call
  { type: "function_call_output", ... },           // Turn 1 tool result
  { role: "assistant", content: "Done!" },         // Turn 1 response
  { role: "user", content: "read it" },            // Turn 2 user
  { type: "function_call", name: "read", ... },    // Turn 2 tool call
  { type: "function_call_output", ... },           // Turn 2 tool result
  { role: "assistant", content: "Contents..." },   // Turn 2 response
  { role: "user", content: "what did you write?" } // Turn 3 user (current)
]
// Legacy mode strips IDs and item_reference; native mode preserves host payload shape

Context is maintained through:

✅ Full message history (LLM sees all previous messages)
✅ Full tool call history (LLM sees what it did)
✅ reasoning.encrypted_content (preserves reasoning between turns)

Source: Verified via ENABLE_PLUGIN_REQUEST_LOGGING=1 CODEX_PLUGIN_LOG_BODIES=1 logs

Store Comparison

Aspect	store:false (This Plugin)	store:true (Azure Only)
ChatGPT Support	✅ Required	❌ Rejected by API
Message History	✅ Sent in each request (no IDs)	Stored on server
Message IDs	❌ Must strip all	✅ Required
AI SDK Compat	✅ Native mode preserves host payload; legacy mode filters unsupported `item_reference` + IDs	✅ Works natively
Context	Full history + encrypted reasoning	Server-stored conversation
Codex CLI Parity	✅ Perfect match	❌ Different mode

Decision: Use store:false (only option for ChatGPT backend).

Message ID Handling & AI SDK Compatibility (Legacy Mode)

This section documents requestTransformMode: "legacy" behavior. Native mode bypasses this rewrite path.

The Problem

OpenCode/AI SDK sends two incompatible constructs:

// Multi-turn request from OpenCode
const body = {
  input: [
    { type: "message", role: "developer", content: [...] },
    { type: "message", role: "user", content: [...], id: "msg_abc" },
    { type: "item_reference", id: "rs_xyz" },  // ← AI SDK construct
    { type: "function_call", id: "fc_123" }
  ]
};

Two issues:

item_reference - AI SDK construct for server state lookup (not in Codex API spec)
Message IDs - Cause "item not found" with store: false

ChatGPT Backend Requirement (confirmed via testing):

{"detail":"Store must be set to false"}

Errors that occurred:

❌ "Item with id 'msg_abc' not found. Items are not persisted when `store` is set to false."
❌ "Missing required parameter: 'input[3].id'" (when item_reference has no ID)

The Solution

Filter AI SDK Constructs + Strip IDs (lib/request/request-transformer.ts:114-135):

export function filterInput(input: InputItem[]): InputItem[] {
  return input
    .filter((item) => {
      // Remove AI SDK constructs not supported by Codex API
      if (item.type === "item_reference") {
        return false;  // AI SDK only - references server state
      }
      return true;  // Keep all other items
    })
    .map((item) => {
      // Strip IDs from all items (stateless mode)
      if (item.id) {
        const { id, ...itemWithoutId } = item;
        return itemWithoutId as InputItem;
      }
      return item;
    });
}

Why this approach?

✅ Filter item_reference - Not in Codex API, AI SDK-only construct
✅ Keep all messages - LLM needs full conversation history for context
✅ Strip ALL IDs - Matches Codex CLI stateless behavior
✅ Future-proof - No ID pattern matching, handles any ID format

Debug Logging

The plugin logs ID filtering for debugging:

// Before filtering
console.log(`[openai-codex-plugin] Filtering ${originalIds.length} message IDs from input:`, originalIds);

// After filtering
console.log(`[openai-codex-plugin] Successfully removed all ${originalIds.length} message IDs`);

// Or warning if IDs remain
console.warn(`[openai-codex-plugin] WARNING: ${remainingIds.length} IDs still present after filtering:`, remainingIds);

Source: lib/request/request-transformer.ts:287-301

Reasoning Content Flow

Context Preservation Without Storage

Challenge: How to maintain context across turns when store:false means no server-side storage?

Solution: Use reasoning.encrypted_content

body.include = modelConfig.include || ["reasoning.encrypted_content"];

How it works:

Turn 1: Model generates reasoning, encrypted content returned
Client: Stores encrypted content locally
Turn 2: Client sends encrypted content back in request
Server: Decrypts content to restore reasoning context
Model: Has full context without server-side storage

Flow Diagram:

Turn 1:
Client → [Request without IDs] → Server
         Server → [Response + encrypted reasoning] → Client
         Client stores encrypted content locally

Turn 2:
Client → [Request with encrypted content, no IDs] → Server
         Server decrypts reasoning context
         Server → [Response + new encrypted reasoning] → Client

Codex CLI equivalent (tmp/codex/codex-rs/core/src/client.rs:190-194):

let include: Vec<String> = if reasoning.is_some() {
    vec!["reasoning.encrypted_content".to_string()]
} else {
    vec![]
};

Source: lib/request/request-transformer.ts:303

Request Pipeline

Transformation Steps

1. Parse OpenCode request body
   - Preserve the original payload shape before any optional rewrites

2. Request transform mode gate
   - native (default): keep host payload unchanged
   - legacy: fetch Codex instructions and apply compatibility transforms

3. Legacy-mode transforms (when enabled)
   - Normalize model aliases to canonical Codex IDs
   - Filter unsupported AI SDK constructs (item_reference)
   - Strip IDs for stateless compatibility (store: false)
   - Apply bridge or tool-remap prompt logic (codexMode)
   - Normalize orphaned tool outputs and inject missing outputs

4. Common post-processing
   - Resolve reasoning + verbosity settings
   - Ensure include contains reasoning.encrypted_content
   - Force store: false and stream: true for ChatGPT backend

5. Header shaping
   - Add OAuth/account headers
   - Preserve host-provided prompt_cache_key session headers when present

Source: lib/request/fetch-helpers.ts:379-454, lib/request/request-transformer.ts:843-1015

Comparison with Codex CLI

What We Match

Feature	Codex CLI	This Plugin	Match?
OAuth Flow	✅ PKCE + ChatGPT login	✅ Same	✅
store Parameter	`false` (ChatGPT)	`false`	✅
Message IDs	Stripped in stateless	Stripped	✅
reasoning.encrypted_content	✅ Included	✅ Included	✅
Model Normalization	"gpt-5" / "gpt-5-codex" / "codex-mini-latest"	Same	✅
Reasoning Effort	medium (default)	opinionated defaults by model family (for example GPT-5.3/5.2 Codex prefer `xhigh`)	⚠️ (intentional)
Text Verbosity	model-dependent defaults	config-driven (default: medium)	✅

What We Add

Feature	Codex CLI	This Plugin	Why?
Codex-OpenCode Bridge	N/A (native)	✅ Legacy-mode prompt injection	OpenCode -> Codex behavioral translation when legacy mode is enabled
OpenCode Prompt Filtering	N/A	✅ Legacy-mode prompt filtering	Removes OpenCode prompts and keeps env/AGENTS context in legacy mode
Orphan Tool Output Handling	✅ Drop orphans	✅ Convert to messages	Preserve context + avoid 400s
Usage-limit messaging	CLI prints status	✅ Friendly error summary	Surface 5h/weekly windows in OpenCode
Per-Model Options	CLI flags	✅ Config file	Better UX in OpenCode
Custom Model Names	No	✅ Display names	UI convenience

Design Rationale

Why Not store:true?

Pros of store:true:

✅ No ID filtering needed
✅ Server manages conversation
✅ Potentially more robust

Cons of store:true:

❌ Diverges from Codex CLI behavior
❌ Requires conversation ID management
❌ More complex error handling
❌ Unknown server-side storage limits

Decision: Use store:false for Codex parity and simplicity.

Why Complete ID Removal (Legacy Mode)?

Alternative: Filter specific ID patterns (rs_*, msg_*, etc.)

Problem:

ID patterns may change
New ID types could be added
Partial filtering is brittle

Solution: Remove ALL IDs

Rationale:

Matches Codex CLI behavior exactly
Future-proof against ID format changes
Simpler implementation (no pattern matching)
Clearer semantics (stateless = no IDs)

Why Codex-OpenCode Bridge?

Problem: OpenCode's system prompts are optimized for OpenCode's tool set and behavior patterns.

Solution: Replace OpenCode prompts with Codex-specific instructions.

Benefits:

✅ Explains tool name differences (apply_patch intent → patch/edit)
✅ Documents available tools
✅ Maintains OpenCode working style
✅ Preserves Codex best practices
✅ 90% reduction in prompt tokens

Source: lib/prompts/codex-opencode-bridge.ts

Why Per-Model Config Options?

Alternative: Single global config

Problem:

gpt-5-codex optimal settings differ from gpt-5.4 or gpt-5.4-mini
Users want quick switching between quality levels
No way to save "presets"

Solution: Per-model options in config

Benefits:

✅ Save multiple configurations
✅ Quick switching (no CLI args)
✅ Descriptive names ("Fast", "Balanced", "Max Quality")
✅ Persistent across sessions

Source: config/opencode-legacy.json (legacy) or config/opencode-modern.json (variants)

Error Handling

Common Errors

1. "Item with id 'X' not found"

Cause: Message ID leaked through filtering Fix: Improved filterInput() removes ALL IDs Prevention: Debug logging catches remaining IDs

2. Token Expiration

Cause: OAuth access token expired Fix: shouldRefreshToken() checks expiration Prevention: Auto-refresh before requests

3. "store: false" Validation Error (Azure)

Cause: Azure doesn't support stateless mode Workaround: Codex CLI uses store: true for Azure only This Plugin: Only supports ChatGPT OAuth (no Azure)

Multi-Account Rotation (v4.4.0+)

Health-Based Account Selection

The plugin tracks account health and uses intelligent rotation:

Account Selection Flow:
1. Score = (health × 2) + (tokens × 5) + (freshness × 0.1)
2. Select account with highest score
3. Consume token from bucket
4. On success: health +1
5. On rate limit: health -10, mark rate-limited
6. On failure: health -20
7. Passive recovery: +2 health/hour

Token Bucket Rate Limiting

Client-side rate limiting prevents hitting API limits:

Parameter	Value
Max tokens	50
Regeneration	6 tokens/min
Consume per request	1 token

Reason-Aware Backoff

Different rate limit reasons use different backoff multipliers:

Reason	Multiplier	Description
`quota`	3.0×	Daily quota exhausted
`tokens`	1.5×	Token limit hit
`concurrent`	0.5×	Concurrent request limit
`unknown`	1.0×	Default

RefreshQueue (v4.5.0+)

Prevents race conditions when multiple concurrent requests try to refresh the same token:

// Without RefreshQueue: N concurrent requests = N refresh attempts
// With RefreshQueue: N concurrent requests = 1 refresh, N-1 await

const queue = getRefreshQueue();
const tokens = await queue.queuedRefresh(refreshToken, async () => {
  return await actualRefresh(refreshToken);
});

Source: lib/refresh-queue.ts, lib/rotation.ts

Beginner Operations & Safety Layer

The plugin now includes a beginner-focused operational layer in index.ts and lib/ui/beginner.ts:

Startup preflight summary
- Runs once per plugin loader lifecycle.
- Computes account readiness (healthy, blocked, rate-limited) and surfaces a single next action.
- Emits both toast + log summary.
Checklist and wizard flow
- codex-setup renders a checklist (add account, set active, verify health, label accounts, learn commands).
- codex-setup --wizard launches an interactive menu when terminal supports TTY interaction.
- Wizard gracefully falls back to checklist output when menus are unavailable.
Doctor + next-action diagnostics
- codex-doctor maps runtime/account states into severity findings (ok, warning, error) with specific action text.
- codex-doctor --fix performs safe remediation:
  - refreshes tokens using queued refresh,
  - persists refreshed credentials,
  - switches active account to healthiest eligible account when beneficial.
- codex-next returns exactly one recommended next action.
Interactive index selection
- codex-switch, codex-label, and codex-remove accept optional index.
- In interactive terminals, missing index opens a picker menu.
- In non-interactive contexts, commands return explicit usage guidance.

Account Metadata + Backup Safety

Storage schema now supports account metadata fields used by operational tooling:

accountLabel (existing)
accountTags (new): normalized lowercase tag array for grouping/filtering
accountNote (new): short reminder text

Operational implications:

codex-list supports tag filtering (tag) and shows tags in account labels.
codex-tag and codex-note update metadata with persistence + manager cache reload.
Export/import flow hardening:
- codex-export can auto-generate timestamped paths (createTimestampedBackupPath()),
- codex-import supports dryRun via previewImportAccounts(),
- non-dry-run imports create timestamped pre-import backups before applying changes when existing accounts are present.

Performance Considerations

Token Usage

Codex Bridge Prompt: ~550 tokens (~90% reduction vs full OpenCode prompt) Benefit: Faster inference, lower costs

Request Optimization

Prompt Caching: Uses promptCacheKey for session-based caching Result: Reduced token usage on subsequent turns

Source: tmp/opencode/packages/opencode/src/provider/transform.ts:90-92

Future Improvements

Potential Enhancements

Azure Support: Add store: true mode with ID management
Version Detection: Adapt to OpenCode/AI SDK version changes
Config Validation: Warn about unsupported options
Test Coverage: Unit tests for all transformation functions
Performance Metrics: Log token usage and latency

Terminal UI Runtime (Codex TUI v2)

The plugin now supports a Codex-style terminal presentation layer for both interactive menus and text tool outputs.

Default: enabled (codexTuiV2: true)
Opt-out: codexTuiV2: false or CODEX_TUI_V2=0
Color profile selection:
- codexTuiColorProfile: "truecolor" | "ansi256" | "ansi16"
- CODEX_TUI_COLOR_PROFILE
Glyph mode selection:
- codexTuiGlyphMode: "ascii" | "unicode" | "auto"
- CODEX_TUI_GLYPHS

Legacy output remains unchanged when V2 is disabled.

Breaking Changes to Watch

AI SDK Updates: Changes to .responses() method
OpenCode Changes: New message ID formats
Codex API Changes: New request parameters

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