# codexa [Health: Active]

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa  
**GitHub Stars:** 2  
**npm Downloads (last month):** 42  
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**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/codexa

## Description
Codex-native codebase intelligence context compiler and query-only MCP server.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `npx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "codexa": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","cache"]
  }
}
```

## Documentation & README

# Codexa

[![Check](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/actions/workflows/check.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/actions/workflows/check.yml)
[![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/%40mirnoorata%2Fcodexa)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mirnoorata/codexa)

Codexa is a local change-evidence layer for human and agentic software
workflows: committed-change receipts, plan conformance, blast-radius review,
and verification crediting built on a deterministic codebase map.

In a pull request or terminal, Codexa reviews the committed base-to-head range
and produces one receipt for developers, CI, and automation. If Codex or Claude
Code is the editor, the same engine also shows what the agent read, what plan
it saved, what changed, which checks would earn verification credit, and which
gaps still need an honest handoff.

In plain English: it reads a repository, builds a compact index of the files,
symbols, imports, tests, risks, workflows, process traces, and graph clusters it
can prove, then gives Codex, Claude Code, or another MCP client small
evidence-backed packets when direct source inspection is not enough. Exact,
local work stays source-first instead of paying a mandatory context-tool tax.
Codexa is meant to help an agent
answer questions like:

- What should I read first?
- What could this change break?
- Which tests are relevant?
- Did my final dirty tree match the plan I saved before editing?
- Did the verification commands the agent reported actually prove anything?
- What does this committed branch change, and what should a reviewer verify?

It is not an autonomous coding agent. It does not edit your source files through
MCP. It is a context compiler, query server, and verification guide.

## Why Codexa

Seven capabilities are deliberately hard to find elsewhere:

- **One committed-change receipt.** `codexa review` resolves an explicit Git
  base and head without a shell, requires the head to match a clean indexed
  checkout, and returns bounded identity, file changes, diff statistics,
  graph impact, plan conformance, test recommendations, supplied execution
  reported verification claims, verdict, and next actions. The CLI, GitHub Action, and advanced
  MCP `change_review` operation use the same structured result. Observe mode
  is the default and never blocks on heuristics; explicit fail mode blocks
  only on local, range-bound plan drift or reported command failures.

- **A drift loop.** `change_plan` snapshots per-file hashes plus symbol and
  risk baselines before editing; `post_edit_review` diffs the real dirty tree
  against that plan afterwards, rename-aware. When no plan was saved, the
  pre-edit hook saves an implicit baseline automatically, so the review always
  has a pre-edit reference; an explicit `change_plan` upgrades it with planned
  scope, tests, and explicit task invariants. Distinct repeated attempts are
  counted by task and plan revision; a mandatory replan remains latched until
  the agent saves a newer accepted plan. Blocking is opt-in: only reviews
  against an explicit plan can surface a blocking verdict to the host —
  implicit baselines keep the loop informational.
- **Exact checkout identity.** Every query validates that the index belongs to
  the selected canonical worktree and current HEAD. A mismatched checkout,
  copied index, changing Git probe, or dirty overlay that changes while an
  authoritative result is being persisted fails closed. A stable dirty overlay
  remains valid input to change planning and post-edit review; auto-refresh gets
  one repair attempt and must pass the same identity check before any context
  is returned.
- **A verification ledger.** Commands the agent reports are parsed against a
  faithful POSIX-shell subset before earning coverage credit: `npm test ||
  true` earns nothing, `tsc --help` is vetoed as non-compiling, `sh -c`
  wrappers are unwrapped with ambiguity failing closed. Scope stated plainly:
  this detects structural exit-masking in *reported* commands — it cannot
  detect a wholesale fabricated report. Targeted Playwright Test files receive
  reported credit across direct, launcher, and package-script forms; unscoped,
  project-only, list, UI, and zero-test-tolerant invocations stay uncredited.
  The opt-in AutoVerify lane exists for execution-backed evidence. Coverage,
  ledgers, and proof cards label that difference explicitly:
  `executed-by-autoverify` evidence ranks above imported live-run manifests and
  reported commands, while unauthenticated imported artifacts remain explicitly
  `reported` rather than being presented as witnessed execution.
- **Compaction-safe continuity.** Session decisions, rejected hypotheses,
  invariants, run-artifact references, and stopping conditions are carried by
  bounded task/session state. Compaction archives are published before active
  detail is removed, and proof cards verify snapshot memory pointers against
  the active store or the bounded archive.
- **Graph-aware relational packets.** v0.7.0 precomputes bounded process
  packets, functional module clusters, graph-view exports, and opt-in summary
  prompts. `search` now reports raw exact-hit counts beside Codexa-ranked
  anchors, so a "zero grep hits" task can still surface one ranked symbol or
  file target plus related process and cluster context.
- **A fail-closed eval.** The eval harness runs real `rg`/`git` baselines and
  fails a scenario outright if the raw baseline does the job better. The
  archived v0.2.0 release run passed 20/20 scenarios with packets averaging
  0.66x the raw baseline output size — and the harness ships in this repo, so
  you can re-run it yourself. See [Public Proof](#public-proof).

Limits, stated up front: TypeScript/JavaScript and Python are the deep lanes
(Rust/Go/Java are shallow; other languages get light file facts). Impact
expansion caps at graph depth 3. The tested envelope is repos around the
~50K-LOC scale of Codexa itself — expect slower cold indexing and shallower
ranking on large monorepos. Everything runs locally: zero API keys and zero
network calls in the core paths.

## Maintainer Expectations

Codexa is maintained by one person, in spare time, with a deliberately narrow
scope. That shapes how this repo works:

- Response times are days to weeks, not hours.
- Scope is narrow on purpose. Deep native language indexers, new LLM analysis
  layers, broad IDE products, and general-purpose search modes are usually out
  of scope.
- Not every working PR will be merged. Open an issue first for anything beyond
  a typo or small docs fix.
- Security issues go through
  [private advisories](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/security/advisories/new),
  not public issues. See [SECURITY.md](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/SECURITY.md).
- Questions and "is this the right tool?" discussions belong in
  [Discussions](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/discussions), not the
  issue tracker.

## Quick Start

Codexa requires Node.js 22 or newer.

Install from npm:

```bash
npm install -g @mirnoorata/codexa
```

Or work from a checkout:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa.git
cd codexa
npm install
npm run build
npm link
```

Wire Codexa into another repository:

```bash
codexa init /path/to/project --policy-pack            # Codex CLI: .codex/config.toml + hooks + local proof policies
codexa init /path/to/project --claude --policy-pack   # also writes a repo-root .mcp.json for Claude Code
codexa init /path/to/project --ci                     # also writes a read-only pull-request review workflow
codexa session-start /path/to/project
codexa prove /path/to/project --task "make this change safely"
```

For a start-to-finish first setup, see the
[new user tutorial](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/main/docs/guides/new-user-tutorial.md).
For a host-focused install choice, see
[No-Brainer Install Guide](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/main/docs/guides/no-brainer-install.md).

After `codexa init`, the target repository gets a repo-local `.codex/config.toml`
entry that lets Codex discover the Codexa MCP server automatically, and with
`--claude` a repo-root `.mcp.json` so Claude Code discovers the same server
(only the codexa entry is managed; other servers in an existing `.mcp.json`
are preserved, and malformed JSON aborts the write). When init runs from an
evictable npx cache, generated configs pin `npx -y @mirnoorata/codexa@<version>`
instead of the cache path so they keep working after a cache prune.

## Codex Project Worktrees And Local Setup

Linked git worktrees are wired the same way. Untracked `.codex/config.toml`
and hook files stay host-local, so a fresh worktree is invisible to Codexa
until you run init in it. If a team intentionally tracks those files, init
renders worktree-relative launch commands and keeps the shared files unchanged
when the same branch is checked out at a different path:

```bash
git worktree add ../my-feature feature-branch
codexa init ../my-feature        # non-interactive: config + hooks + a fresh index for the worktree
```

The worktree gets its own index (its HEAD and dirty state differ from the
parent checkout's, so the parent's index would serve stale answers). If you
automate worktree creation, add `codexa init` to that automation; tracked
wiring remains Git-clean while the worktree-local ignored index is refreshed.

This repository also tracks a
[Codex local-environment](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/environments/local-environment)
definition at `.codex/environments/environment.toml`. On a local Linux/macOS
host (or Windows through WSL), its Bash setup installs locked dependencies,
builds Codexa, initializes worktree-local `core` wiring, and publishes an
identity-bound receipt through a worktree-local Git ref. Native Windows uses
the tracked PowerShell override: it installs, builds, and proves `core` MCP
config/index readiness with `--no-hooks`, then issues a receipt scoped to the
native-Windows MCP-only lane.
Both wrappers delegate to one Node orchestrator, which holds a cross-platform
lock across clean dependency installation, build, init, receipt issuance, and
strict startup validation.

In the desktop composer, select the saved Codexa project, `Worktree`, the
intended starting branch (normally `main`), and the `Codexa` local environment
before the first prompt. Create and configure that Worktree chat on desktop;
Remote on mobile may continue a supported desktop Codex chat but cannot select
or configure local setup. Once the app has created the linked worktree, adopt
that checkout for the task instead of creating a second worktree. A successful
setup receipt is an immutable Git blob published through the worktree-local
`refs/worktree/codexa/bootstrap-receipt` ref. Git provides the cross-platform
atomic publication boundary and keeps linked-worktree receipts isolated; no
mutable `.codex` pathname is treated as receipt authority. The receipt binds
the complete regular-file `dist/` runtime manifest, not only the CLI entry
point, so a changed imported module invalidates full validation. SessionStart
consumes a lightweight durable subset: worktree and Git identity, package/lock
and startup-procedure inputs, dependency-install seal, managed config/hooks,
and Node runtime. Ordinary source, HEAD, index, or build-output evolution
therefore does not force a complete bootstrap rerun or block a safe index
refresh. The explicit `worktree-receipt validate` completion gate still
recomputes source, complete `dist/`, HEAD, and installed dependency inventory.
Shared adoption uses a trusted canonical Codexa CLI with `--scope adoption`.
That scope validates durable startup inputs, the complete generated runtime,
and a single-pass, bounded manifest of the complete installed dependency tree
while permitting ordinary source/HEAD evolution. Legitimate dependency
hardlinks and in-tree executable links are supported; extraneous packages,
content changes, or links escaping `node_modules` invalidate adoption. The
receipt is local freshness evidence and never authorizes a controller to
execute generated code from the worktree before validation.

If a Remote-SSH host creates the worktree without invoking local-environment
setup, treat it as source-ready only. Repair the active remote worktree and
verify its observable readiness there:

```bash
bash .codex/worktree-bootstrap.sh
node dist/cli.js session-start "$PWD" --json --strict
```

Then reload or reopen that exact repaired checkout so the host can initialize
its MCP server. Do not start a generic new Worktree chat: it may create a
replacement checkout, abandon the repair, and repeat the skipped-setup path.
Neither the bootstrap receipt nor SessionStart can prove an already-running
thread's MCP handshake.
That bootstrap receipt records local dependency/build/init setup only, scoped
to either POSIX hooks or native-Windows MCP-only setup. It is locally validated
freshness evidence, not a signature or hostile-repository attestation.
SessionStart validates the durable startup subset together with managed config
and index state and still cannot attest the host's current-thread MCP handshake.

Codexa binds an index to the canonical worktree root, Git top-level root,
HEAD commit, and workspace-state digest. Context and review queries fail closed
when that identity does not match the active checkout. Auto-refresh may make
one bounded repair attempt, but Codexa validates the rebuilt index again before
serving an answer; `--no-auto-refresh` never serves a mismatched index.

Useful flags: the default tool profile for fresh installs is `core` — only
`search`, `change_plan`, and `capabilities` are advertised directly, which
reduces the decoded `tools/list` JSON surface. The compact `capabilities`
dispatcher keeps every non-core operation reachable through the same
operation-specific validation.
`--tools full` also exposes every operation directly, and re-running plain
`codexa init` preserves whichever profile the repo already uses. Fresh and
core-profile Codex and Claude Code launches both pass `serve --tools core`, so
the server enforces the compact surface even when a client ignores Codex's
additional `enabled_tools` hint. `--agents-md` (opt-in) writes a managed
Codexa workflow block into the repo's `AGENTS.md` for Codex, and `--claude-md`
(opt-in) writes the same managed block into `CLAUDE.md` for Claude Code. The
region between the `<!-- >>> codexa managed -->` / `<!-- <<< codexa managed -->`
markers is reserved: Codexa replaces it in place on every re-run (so the block
stays current) and never edits anything outside it. Unbalanced or malformed
markers abort the write instead of silently truncating the file.

## Committed change receipts

Use the receipt directly from a clean checkout. `head` must be the checked-out
commit so Codexa cannot combine a different Git object with the current index:

```bash
codexa review . --base origin/main --head HEAD
codexa review . --base origin/main --head HEAD --format json
codexa review . --base origin/main --head HEAD --task-id my-saved-plan
```

The default `--mode observe` reports findings and exits successfully. `warn`
uses warning annotations in GitHub output but remains non-blocking. `fail`
returns exit code 2 only for range-bound local plan drift or a supplied
structured command report with a nonzero exit; missing heuristic
recommendations never become a blocking gate. Command and test claims are
classified by the existing verification ledger and remain explicitly
`reported`, not witnessed execution.

`codexa init . --ci` creates `.github/workflows/codexa-review.yml`. The managed
workflow has only `contents: read`, disables persisted checkout credentials,
checks out the exact pull-request head, and writes the receipt to the workflow
summary and annotations. It does not comment on pull requests. Codexa refuses
to overwrite a workflow it does not own. Re-running `init --ci` updates only
the Codexa-managed workflow.

For portable plan comparison in CI, commit a redacted Codexa change-plan
snapshot inside the repository and pass `--plan-snapshot <path>` (or the
Action's `plan-snapshot` input). The loader accepts only a bounded, valid,
non-symlink snapshot that resolves inside the repository. Local agent flows
normally use `--task-id` or MCP `change_review.taskId` instead. A repository
file is PR-controlled input, so portable plan conformance is advisory and never
becomes a blocking verdict; local cache plans must also bind to the reviewed
merge base before they can block explicit fail mode.

The installed command is `codexa`, and the server can also run ad hoc:

```bash
npx -y @mirnoorata/codexa serve /path/to/project --auto-refresh
```

Codexa is also listed in the official MCP registry as
`io.github.mirnoorata/codexa` for MCP clients that discover servers there.

For shared workspace launches such as `codexa serve /srv`, Codexa can route to
the active project recorded in `.codex/WORKING.md`. Selected session rows win;
conflicting active focus, workspace default, or active-session evidence fails
closed instead of silently choosing the wrong repo. Use
`CODEXA_WORKSPACE_SESSION=<session>` or `--workspace-session <session>` when
serving a shared workspace root with multiple live workers.

## Proof cards and policy packs

`codexa prove` is the compact "should I trust this agent handoff?" view:

```bash
codexa prove /path/to/project --task "change auth timeout behavior" --diff
```

It reports:

- index freshness and current dirty-tree state;
- read-first files selected from the task and graph context;
- saved `change-plan` snapshot status, including planned edit targets, planned
  tests, and exact task invariants when a snapshot exists;
- current task-lifecycle state, including any latched mandatory-replan stop;
- a bounded decision log recovered from active session memory or its compaction
  archive, with pointer-integrity diagnostics;
- verification commands, ledger preview, and reported commands/tests/reports
  classified with the same command-credit rules as `post-edit-review`;
- explicitly selected, immutable live-run artifacts bound to the exact task,
  HEAD, and workspace-state digest;
- explicit trust tiers on coverage and ledger rows, so an agent-reported pass
  cannot look equivalent to a fresh AutoVerify execution;
- local policy-pack status and remaining proof gaps.

`codexa policy-init /path/to/project` writes a small local policy pack under
`.codex/policies/` (`verification.json`, `complexity.json`, `security.json`).
`codexa init /path/to/project --policy-pack` creates the same pack during
initial setup. The files are plain JSON, are not executable, and are consumed
by `codexa prove` as bounded local evidence. Neither init nor `policy-init`
overwrite existing policy files unless `policy-init --force` is passed.

## Works with any MCP host

Codexa is deterministic and model-agnostic — its core indexing, ranking, and
query paths call no model and need no API keys, so it serves the same
evidence-backed context to any agent host that speaks MCP: the OpenAI Codex CLI
(repo-local `.codex/config.toml`), Claude Code (`codexa init --claude` writes a
repo-root `.mcp.json`; the bundled plugin under `integrations/claude-code/`
ships its own MCP server entry, hooks that auto-save the pre-edit baseline and
surface blocking drift verdicts to the model, and slash commands; `--claude-md`
adds workflow steering — pick the plugin **or** `init --claude` for MCP wiring,
not both, or Claude Code will register the codexa server twice), and any client
that discovers it through the MCP registry. There is no per-model integration to do — the model lives in the
host, and Codexa is the host's context server. (The one exception is the
opt-in, off-by-default semantic lane, which can call a configured embedding
provider such as OpenAI — see [Optional Lanes](#optional-lanes).)

| Host | Best install | What Codexa adds | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Codex CLI | `codexa init <repo>` | Repo-local MCP config, SessionStart, pre/post edit hooks, proof cards | Best default path. |
| Claude Code | Claude plugin under `integrations/claude-code/` or `codexa init <repo> --claude` | Same MCP engine; the plugin additionally supplies SessionStart, PreToolUse, Stop, and slash commands | `init --claude` is MCP-only for Claude. Use plugin or `.mcp.json`, not both. |
| Other local MCP hosts | MCP registry entry or `codexa serve <repo>` | Query-only codebase context, impact, drift review, test plans | Host must run where the repo is accessible. |
| Managed cloud agents | Self-hosted sandbox with Codexa on loopback | Local proof layer without exposing a public Codexa server | Public remote HTTP is intentionally not shipped. |

The Codex plugin bundle under `plugins/codexa/` ships an MCP wrapper and skill,
not a post-edit hook. `codexa init` adds edit-scoped Codex hooks, but those run
before later shell verification and do not claim final completion ownership.
The Claude plugin's Stop hook remains a useful advisory drift gate, but it does
not claim evidence-bearing completion ownership: the agent retains one final
`post_edit_review` route for actual command reports and invariant reviews.

Result-size discipline is built in: every tool description states its typical
output size, and structured results are budget-compacted with truncation
records naming dropped fields. `CODEXA_MCP_STRUCTURED_BUDGET_BYTES` caps the
serialized UTF-8 JSON bytes of the `structuredContent.data` subobject;
mandatory envelope identity, lifecycle, and resource metadata is additional,
so telemetry's `totalBytes` measures the complete reserialized result object.
Analysis tools whose evidence can expand accept `responseFormat: "auto"`,
`"concise"`, or `"detailed"`; the already-bounded `freshness` result has no
format switch. Automatic and explicit concise delivery always return a bounded
concise receipt. When available, an immutable resource URI preserves the
bounded detailed packet. If omitted detail is required for a safe decision and
that resource cannot be persisted or retrieved, the concise receipt becomes
blocked and directs the caller to request explicit detailed output. Explicit
`detailed` output is inline but still subject to a hard total-result bound. The
`tools/list` surface is budgeted too: the per-tool output schema defaults to a
compact top-level contract
(`CODEXA_MCP_OUTPUT_SCHEMA=full` restores the deep schema). Managed and bare
`codexa serve` launches default to core, so manual MCP entries receive the same
bounded surface without a migration step. Use `--tools full` only when an older
client requires direct names for every operation. Core advertises three direct
tools while retaining the same logical operations through `capabilities`.

The deterministic transport benchmark reserializes decoded JSON and counts
UTF-8 bytes. That is a provider-agnostic proxy, not a measurement of model input
tokens, price, or provider-specific wire serialization. Its clean fixture
supports a reduction in tool advertisement plus capability-discovery bytes and
the hard worst-case result budget. Ordinary first and repeated task-result
bytes were unchanged, so Codexa does not claim that core mode makes ordinary
result packets smaller.

### Managed cloud agents

Codexa's stdio transport is for a host running on the same machine as the
repository (Codex CLI, Claude Code). Its HTTP transport is **loopback-only by
design** — non-loopback bind addresses and non-loopback `Origin` headers are
rejected — so a hosted agent whose container runs in someone else's cloud (for
example a Claude Managed Agents session) cannot reach a local Codexa server over
the public network.

The supported way to give a managed cloud agent Codexa context is a
**self-hosted sandbox**: run the agent's tool-execution container in your own
infrastructure, alongside a Codexa server, and point the agent's MCP config at
Codexa on `127.0.0.1`. The agent loop stays on the provider's orchestration
layer; tool execution — and the Codexa connection — stay inside your trust
boundary, where loopback HTTP is safe. An authenticated remote HTTP mode that
would let a provider-hosted container dial into Codexa directly is intentionally
**not** shipped: exposing a codebase context server to the network needs an
auth/origin policy Codexa does not yet have, so it is deferred rather than
shipped insecure.

## The Everyday Workflow

Use Codexa selectively as a guardrail around code changes. A normal bounded
agent task should usually use no more than two Codexa calls. Exact local work
may use zero. The narrow three-call safety exception is an ambiguous,
materially risky edit in a host with no completion/Stop gate:
`search -> change_plan -> post_edit_review`.

1. Start with source tools when the target is exact and local.
   Read the named files or symbols and use repository-native verification with
   zero Codexa calls. A raw-sufficient `search` result is terminal for
   discovery: work from the exact hits instead of requesting another context
   packet. A materially risky edit may still warrant one `change_plan` after
   the source has established the target.

2. Spend one discovery call only when the target is ambiguous.
   Use `search`, then stop if its raw results are sufficient. Use
   `session_context` instead for genuinely broad or resumed work; do not stack
   `session_context`, `search`, and `task_brief` for the same discovery need.

3. Save a plan only for a non-trivial or materially risky edit.
   `change_plan` with `saveSnapshot=true`, or CLI
   `change-plan --save-snapshot`, records intended scope, targeted tests,
   verification commands, and task invariants. For an ambiguous materially
   risky edit, `search -> change_plan` normally uses the usual two calls.

4. Edit and run the planned verification.
   Use the targeted tests and commands already returned by `change_plan`.
   Call `test_plan` only when that guidance remains unresolved or a dedicated
   verification plan is explicitly requested.

5. Let a true completion/Stop gate review after verification when one is
   installed and able to carry the actual verification evidence. Codex's
   `codexa init` hooks are edit-scoped and run before later shell verification;
   the Claude plugin's Stop hook also lacks a trusted command/invariant ledger.
   Both retain one final evidence-bearing review route. Without a qualifying
   completion/Stop gate, an exact materially risky task may use
   `change_plan -> post_edit_review`. If the target was also ambiguous, the
   safety-preserving sequence is the narrow three-call exception
   `search -> change_plan -> post_edit_review`. `post_edit_review` /
   `post-edit-review` compares the actual dirty tree
   with the saved snapshot, reports drift, checks declared task invariants, and
   tells you whether to continue, run tests, inspect, or replan. Repeated
   distinct attempts are accounted against a task-scoped loop budget; once the
   budget trips, the stop remains latched until a new saved plan revision is
   accepted.

6. Produce formal proof only when the handoff needs it.
   `proof_card` / `prove` binds policy changes, formal audits, releases, or
   artifact handoffs to freshness, a saved plan snapshot, task invariants,
   lifecycle status, local policies, and reported verification evidence.

When a managed pre-edit hook exists and you skip the explicit plan, it saves an
implicit baseline of the dirty tree on the first edit. The review still gets
changed-since-baseline and head-drift accuracy, but only an explicit plan
enables unplanned-scope drift detection.

In core mode, use `capabilities` to discover or invoke a non-core operation;
full mode also exposes each operation directly. Both paths use the same
operation-specific schema and handler.

Automatic and explicit concise results stay within the concise result budget.
When persistence succeeds, they also return a content-addressed URI for the
bounded detailed packet under the active repository. The URI does not encode
the checkout path, remains
resolvable only for that server session, and is pinned by a durable
live-session lease until that server shuts down. Concurrent MCP server
processes share a hard per-repository ceiling of 256 result records and 256
session leases; a live owner's pins are never evicted merely because they are
old. If a new unique pin, session lease, opaque route, or persistence write
would exceed its bound, Codexa keeps the response concise. It remains
self-contained when the retained receipt is sufficient; when omitted detail is
required for a safe decision and no URI is available, it returns a blocked
receipt that requests explicit detailed output.
Graceful shutdown releases that server's leases; an abandoned lease is
reclaimed only after its stale window and owner-process identity check.
Unpinned records remain LRU-prunable within the 256-record disk bound.
Explicit `responseFormat: "detailed"` returns a bounded detailed packet inline.
Optional `CODEXA_MCP_TELEMETRY_PATH`
records bounded mechanical byte/time events; byte accounting is synchronous,
while file writes use a bounded queue off the response path. Graceful shutdown
adds a content-free `session-complete` record; analysis excludes that footer
from event totals and treats a missing footer as partial evidence. A relative
telemetry path is resolved once against the configured MCP launch root, so a
later workspace-focus change cannot split one server sequence across files.
Each server session must use a unique destination that is absent at startup;
the runner is responsible for enforcing that freshness precondition. The
writer creates the path exclusively and leaves an existing path untouched,
but an analyzer cannot infer from valid file contents alone which run wrote it.
Telemetry never changes tool authority or completion scoring.

Selective MCP call budget:

```text
exact/local/source-sufficient -> source tools, zero Codexa calls
ambiguous/raw-sufficient -> search, then stop
exact materially risky + completion/Stop gate -> change_plan(saveSnapshot)
ambiguous materially risky + completion/Stop gate -> search -> change_plan(saveSnapshot)
exact materially risky + no completion gate -> change_plan(saveSnapshot) -> post_edit_review
ambiguous materially risky + no completion gate -> search -> change_plan(saveSnapshot) -> post_edit_review
```

These are ceilings, not an automatic chain. Every additional call must be
justified by unresolved ambiguity, material edit risk, or a missing completion
review gate; a returned tool name alone is not a reason to keep calling Codexa.

## What Codexa Builds

Running `codexa index /path/to/project` writes generated files under the target
repo's `.codex/codebase/` directory:

```text
.codex/codebase/README.md
.codex/codebase/codex-contract.md
.codex/codebase/repo-map.md
.codex/codebase/relational-packets.md
.codex/codebase/relational-packets.json
.codex/codebase/relational-graph.json
.codex/codebase/packet-summary-prompts.ndjson
.codex/codebase/risk-map.md
.codex/codebase/placeholder-map.md
.codex/codebase/test-map.md
.codex/codebase/conventions.md
.codex/codebase/workflows.md
.codex/codebase/freshness.json
.codex/codebase/index.json
.codex/codebase/facts.ndjson
.codex/codebase/modules/
.codex/codebase/playbooks/
```

For lay readers, these are the maps and checklists Codex reads. For engineers,
the durable machine-readable index is `index.json` plus `facts.ndjson`; the
Markdown files are compact human/agent-facing projections of the same facts.
`relational-packets.md` is the read-first graph packet view for process traces
and module clusters; the JSON companions are bounded machine-readable exports
for tools and graph visualizers. `packet-summary-prompts.ndjson` contains
explicit opt-in prompt records only — indexing does not call a model.

Generated cache and working state live under `.codex/cache/`. Codexa-owned cache
writes are allowed; source-file mutation is not exposed through MCP tools.

## Main Commands

| Command | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| `codexa init <repo>` | Write repo-local Codex MCP config/hooks and index the repo (`--claude` for Claude Code, `--ci` for a read-only PR workflow, `--tools full` for every tool, `--agents-md` for an AGENTS.md workflow block). |
| `codexa session-start <repo>` | Print a cheap versioned receipt with separate config, index, required local setup, and current-thread MCP activation states (`--json` for structured output; `--strict` for observable readiness gating). |
| `codexa worktree-receipt issue\|validate <repo>` | Issue bootstrap-bound setup evidence or validate it. Validation defaults to the full source/dist/dependency scope; `--scope startup` checks durable startup readiness and `--scope adoption` adds generated-runtime and installed-dependency integrity without binding source/HEAD. Issuance requires the orchestrator's pre-install startup fingerprint and pre-build source fingerprint. |
| `codexa index <repo>` | Build `.codex/codebase/` artifacts once. |
| `codexa watch <repo>` | Keep artifacts fresh during active edit sessions. |
| `codexa status <repo>` | Check freshness and parser errors without refreshing. |
| `codexa doctor <repo>` | Diagnose wiring, freshness, hooks, artifacts, and MCP readiness. |
| `codexa repo-map <repo>` | Show ranked modules/files. |
| `codexa search <repo> --query "..."` | Discover a target from natural language, identifiers, or broad prompts. |
| `codexa find-context <repo> --query "..."` | Find matching files, symbols, and usage sites. |
| `codexa explain <repo> --file path` | Explain a file. |
| `codexa explain <repo> --symbol name` | Explain a symbol neighborhood. |
| `codexa impact <repo> --file path` | Estimate blast radius for a file or symbol. |
| `codexa diff-impact <repo>` | Summarize current dirty worktree impact. |
| `codexa review <repo> --base <ref> --head HEAD` | Produce the shared committed-change receipt for terminal, JSON, or GitHub output. |
| `codexa test-plan <repo> --diff` | Recommend targeted tests for current changes. Use `--file path` when there is no dirty diff but you already know the target. |
| `codexa brief <repo> --task "..."` | Get the default read-first packet before editing. |
| `codexa context-pack <repo> --task "..."` | Get a larger task-shaped context packet. |
| `codexa focus-brief <repo> --task "..."` | Orient around a broad project question. |
| `codexa callers <repo> --symbol name` | Find who calls or references a symbol/file. |
| `codexa callees <repo> --file path` | Find what a symbol/file calls or references. |
| `codexa dependency-path <repo> ...` | Find a bounded graph path between two files/symbols. |
| `codexa workflow-path <repo> --query "..."` | Trace route, job, manifest, or workflow paths. |
| `codexa change-plan <repo> --task "..." --save-snapshot --invariant "..."` | Save a pre-edit plan, dirty baseline, and bounded task invariants. Repeat `--invariant` as needed. |
| `codexa post-edit-review <repo> --task-id ... --invariant-review '<json>' --artifact-id ...` | Review the final dirty tree against the saved plan, exact invariants, lifecycle budget, and selected ingested run artifacts. |
| `codexa verification-artifact <repo> --file run-summary.json` | Safely ingest one bounded external live-run manifest and return its immutable artifact ID. |
| `codexa prove <repo> --task-id ... --artifact-id ...` | Build a proof card using only explicitly selected, state-bound artifacts. |
| `codexa semantic-index <repo> --provider ...` | Build optional semantic retrieval cache. |
| `codexa static-analysis <repo> ...` | Import or optionally run external scanner reports. |
| `codexa eval <repo>` | Run structured retrieval/verification benchmark scenarios. |
| `codexa github-sync-check <repo>` | Diagnose GitHub source sync readiness. |
| `codexa github-release <repo>` | Create release notes, tags, and GitHub Release entries. |
| `codexa serve <repo>` | Start the core MCP context server over stdio; non-core operations remain reachable through `capabilities` (`--tools full` restores every direct tool name). |
| `codexa serve <repo> --transport http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8729` | Start loopback-only HTTP MCP. |

Most context commands auto-refresh stale or missing Codexa artifacts before
answering. Use `--no-auto-refresh` when you intentionally want to inspect only
the stored index.

## What It Understands

Codexa indexes git-visible files and skips common generated or dependency
directories. The source reader is intentionally small and deterministic.

Native parser lanes:

- TypeScript, TSX, JavaScript, and JSX through Tree-sitter plus TypeScript
  compiler assist.
- Python through Tree-sitter plus lightweight semantic assist.

Shallow deterministic lanes:

- Rust declarations, imports, methods, calls, and tests.
- Go packages, imports, functions, methods, types, constants, variables, and
  tests with module-aware import resolution.
- Java packages, imports, classes, interfaces, enums, records, methods, and
  direct call-like usage.

Lightweight file lanes:

- JSON manifests.
- Markdown, MDX, RST, and text docs.
- Shell scripts.
- Systemd service files.

Facts carry explicit confidence:

- `authoritative`: syntax or git facts Codexa directly read.
- `derived`: deterministic links, static assists, report-backed relationships,
  and likely test relationships.
- `heuristic`: framework hints, string references, dynamic behavior guesses, or
  risk hints.
- `fallback`: low-confidence context used only when nothing better is available.

Codexa should never make heuristic-heavy output look stronger than it is.

## Architecture For Engineers

Codexa is a TypeScript package with five main layers.

### 1. Indexing

Entry point: `src/indexer.ts`.

Pipeline:

1. Discover git-visible files and dirty state.
2. Parse source files and reuse the content-hash parse cache where possible.
3. Import external static-analysis and symbol-report facts.
4. Apply TypeScript/Python semantic assists.
5. Resolve imports, usage sites, aliases, test edges, and graph links.
6. Rank files/modules with centrality, usage, churn, tests, dirty risk, and
   bounded outcome signals.
7. Build typed graph edges, workflow traces, functional clusters, and
   relational packet exports.
8. Record freshness, parser errors, and dirty hashes.
9. Publish artifacts atomically.

The indexer uses a cross-process cache lock so parallel Codexa commands do not
stampede artifact writes.

### 2. Fact Model

Core types live in `src/types.ts`.

Important fact types:

- `RepoSnapshot`
- `File`
- `Symbol`
- `UsageSite`
- `ImportEdge`
- `TestEdge`
- `GraphEdge`
- `WorkflowTrace`
- `ModuleCluster`
- `RiskSignal`
- `ParserError`
- `SessionMemoryEntry`

Important graph edge kinds:

- `DEFINES`
- `IMPORTS`
- `CALLS`
- `REFERENCES`
- `TESTS`
- `ROUTE`
- `JOB`
- `RISK`
- `ROUTE_HANDLES`
- `ROUTE_CALLS_STORE`
- `STORE_DISPATCHES_ADAPTER`
- `ADAPTER_REFERENCED_BY_MANIFEST`
- `UI_CALLS_ENDPOINT`
- `TEST_COVERS_WORKFLOW`
- `IMPLEMENTS`
- `EXTENDS`
- `EXPORTS`
- `TYPE_EXPORTS`

Relationship claims can include `EdgeEvidenceV1`, which carries edge kind,
source, confidence, reason, path/symbol endpoints, optional range, and
stale/degraded flags.

### 3. Query Layer

Public query exports live in `src/queries.ts`, intentionally kept as a thin
barrel. Implementations live under `src/query/`.

Key query modules:

- `search.ts`: repo maps, raw/BM25/exact/symbol/semantic search, target
  discovery, raw-exact-vs-ranked anchor reporting, and relational process /
  cluster packet selection.
- `context.ts`: `context_pack`, `task_brief`, `focus_brief`, and
  `session_context`.
- `impact.ts`: file/symbol blast-radius expansion and verification recipes.
- `graph-traversal.ts`: callers, callees, and dependency paths.
- `workflow.ts`: route/job/manifest workflow traces.
- `change-plan.ts`: pre-edit plans and saved snapshots.
- `post-edit.ts`: dirty-tree review against saved snapshots.
- `test-plan.ts` and `tests.ts`: test recommendations and provenance.
- `verification.ts`: command coverage, command envelopes, and verification
  ledger entries.
- `session-memory.ts`: cache-only working memory queries.

Query sessions (`src/query/session.ts`) carry the repo root, loaded index,
freshness, git state, command budget, warnings, provenance, changed files, and
changed symbols. Worktree inspection is allowed to degrade; an empty changed-file
set with degradation warnings means "unknown", not "clean".

### 4. MCP Server

Entry point: `src/mcp.ts`.

Codexa registers a query-only MCP server. Stdio is the default transport for
local Codex use. Streamable HTTP is available only on loopback addresses unless
future auth/origin policy is added.

The default core profile advertises three direct tools:

```text
search
change_plan
capabilities
```

`capabilities` dispatches every non-core operation through its own schema and
handler. Full mode advertises the complete direct-tool surface:

```text
freshness
repo_map
find_context
search
placeholder_report
symbol_context
impact
diff_impact
change_review
test_plan
task_brief
context_pack
focus_brief
session_context
callers
callees
dependency_path
workflow_path
change_plan
post_edit_review
proof_card
capabilities
session_memory
```

MCP resources expose generated `.codex/codebase/` artifacts. MCP prompts expose
small workflow prompts for impact-before-edit, dirty-diff review, snapshot edit
loops, and targeted test planning.

MCP tools may update Codexa-generated artifacts or cache state when
auto-refresh, snapshots, or session memory are enabled. They do not expose a
source-editing tool.

### 5. Adapters, Packaging, And Release Tools

Adapters:

- `src/cli.ts`: Commander-based CLI.
- `src/init.ts`: repo-local MCP config and hook setup.
- `integrations/claude-code/`: Claude Code plugin, hooks, and slash commands.
- `plugins/codexa/`: hookless Codex plugin bundle with manifest, skill, and MCP
  wrapper; repositories initialized with `codexa init` supply the managed Codex
  hooks separately.

Operational tools:

- `src/doctor.ts`: local readiness checks.
- `src/github-sync.ts`: git/GitHub sync diagnostics.
- `src/github-release.ts`: release notes, tags, and GitHub Release flow.
- `scripts/*.mjs` and `scripts/*.sh`: source hygiene, privacy, package smoke,
  public snapshot, benchmark, and publish gates.

## Optional Lanes

### Semantic Retrieval

Semantic retrieval is opt-in and cache-based.

Build the cache:

```bash
codexa semantic-index /path/to/project --provider openai
codexa semantic-index /path/to/project --provider local-command --command ./embed-jsonl
```

After the cache exists, query commands can use it automatically when the snapshot
and provider settings match. `--semantic` forces diagnostics, and
`--no-semantic` disables the lane for one call.

OpenAI uses `OPENAI_API_KEY` and defaults to `text-embedding-3-small`.
`local-command` receives JSONL on stdin and returns embedding records. Codexa
does not ship a vector database and does not call embedding providers unless the
semantic cache/provider path is configured or explicitly forced.

### LSP Assist

LSP assist is read-only and bounded. Enable it with `--lsp` or
`CODEXA_LSP=1` on supported query commands.

Codexa can query:

- `typescript-language-server --stdio`
- `basedpyright-langserver --stdio`
- `pyright-langserver --stdio`

LSP failures are warnings in the packet, not hard failures. LSP never edits
source files.

### Static Analysis Reports

Codexa does not vendor Semgrep, CodeQL, ShellCheck, or other scanner engines.
The default safe shape is report ingestion:

```bash
codexa static-analysis /path/to/project \
  --semgrep-report /tmp/semgrep.json \
  --codeql-report /tmp/codeql.sarif \
  --symbol-report /tmp/codexa-symbols.json \
  --scip-report /tmp/index.scip.json
```

Codexa also accepts a bounded `CodexaSymbolReportV1` JSON document so external
language tools can feed symbols and relationships into Codexa with `derived`
confidence. SCIP reports are accepted as JSON exported by `scip print --json`;
Codexa converts them into the same bounded symbol-report lane and does not run
or vendor SCIP indexers.

Scanner execution flags such as `--run-semgrep`, `--run-codeql`, and
`--run-shellcheck` are explicit opt-ins. They run installed local tools under
scrubbed environments and write reports under `.codex/static-analysis/`.

### AutoVerify Hooks

`codexa init` writes advisory hooks when Codex hooks are available:

- `hook-pre-edit` silently saves an implicit pre-edit baseline when no
  change-plan snapshot exists. If an invalid/blocked snapshot, degraded
  worktree, or active writer prevents a reliable baseline, it emits one bounded
  warning to run explicit `change_plan` with `saveSnapshot=true` before a
  non-trivial edit.
- `hook-pre-edit` also blocks when a task's repeated-loop budget has latched a
  mandatory replan. Lifecycle read or validation failures fail closed with an
  actionable diagnostic instead of silently disabling the guard.
- `hook-post-edit` runs a bounded review after edit tools. Because it runs
  before later shell verification, it does not replace one final
  `post_edit_review` with the actual verification evidence.

With read-only autonomy, the post-edit hook performs one review, persists that
outcome once, and skips AutoVerify candidate derivation entirely. With
full-access AutoVerify, it performs a non-persisted preview to select safe
commands and one final persisted review enriched with
the trusted runner reports. This keeps the two-pass path only where command
execution can add evidence.

AutoVerify command execution is disabled unless user-owned autonomy is
`full-access` or the environment sets `CODEXA_AUTOVERIFY=1` /
`CODEXA_AUTOVERIFY=true`. Even then, AutoVerify is hook-only. MCP
`post_edit_review` never spawns commands.

The general autonomy switch is `CODEXA_AUTONOMY`: `read-only` (aliases
`readonly`, `off`) or `full-access` (aliases `full`, `bypass` — this grants
the same command-execution rights as user-owned full-access autonomy, so
treat it like a credential). `CODEXA_AUTOVERIFY` takes precedence when both
are set, and an unrecognized `CODEXA_AUTONOMY` value fails with an error
instead of being silently ignored.

AutoVerify is not a sandbox. Test code still runs locally with the user's file
permissions. Codexa records whether verification mutated source/test/provenance
state and treats such reports as non-covering evidence.

## Source Map

| Path | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `src/cli.ts` | CLI command registration and option parsing. |
| `src/indexer.ts` | Main index pipeline orchestration. |
| `src/indexer/` | Discovery, parsing, graph stage, ranking, freshness, and artifact writing helpers. |
| `src/parser/` | Tree-sitter and shallow language extraction. |
| `src/resolver.ts` | Import, alias, usage, and symbol relationship resolution. |
| `src/graph.ts` | Typed graph and workflow trace construction. |
| `src/query/` | Query packets, edit planning, post-edit review, test planning, and verification logic. |
| `src/mcp.ts` | MCP server creation and transport setup. |
| `src/mcp/` | MCP tool/resource/prompt registration, runtime refresh, result compaction, and session-memory adapter code. |
| `src/session-memory/` | Cache-only structured working memory store. |
| `src/semantic-retrieval.ts` | Optional embedding cache build/query lane. |
| `src/static-analysis.ts` | Static-analysis report import and optional scanner execution. |
| `src/autoverify.ts` | Hook-only targeted verification runner. |
| `src/github-sync.ts` | GitHub source-sync diagnostics. |
| `src/github-release.ts` | GitHub Release and restore-note generation. |
| `scripts/` | Hygiene, privacy, package, benchmark, and publish checks. |
| `tests/` | Vitest coverage for indexing, MCP, CLI hooks, session memory, static analysis, packaging, and release helpers. |
| `docs/architecture/` | Design notes for the context server and session memory. |
| `integrations/claude-code/` | Claude Code plugin adapter and smoke tests. |
| `plugins/codexa/` | Codex plugin package. |

## Safety Boundaries

Codexa is deliberately constrained:

- Local-first by default.
- Query-only MCP surface.
- No source-mutating MCP tools.
- No graph database.
- No vector database.
- No web UI.
- No mandatory embeddings.
- No always-on LSP daemon.
- No hidden scanner execution.
- No broad host-specific planning layer.
- No project-specific private rules in the public setup path.

Context commands can refresh generated `.codex/codebase/` artifacts. Snapshot
and session-memory tools can write under `.codex/cache/`. Those are Codexa-owned
state paths, not source edits.

## Testing And Verification

Common development commands:

```bash
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm run privacy
npm test
npm run check
```

`npm run check` runs typecheck, source hygiene, release-path hygiene, privacy,
Claude Code smoke tests, and the Vitest suite.

Release-oriented checks:

```bash
npm run smoke:package
npm run benchmark:ci
npm run public:snapshot-check
npm run package:hygiene
npm run security:check
```

`security:check` runs the development gate, dependency audit, clean-tree public
snapshot verification, package hygiene, and installed-package smoke test. The
public snapshot check intentionally refuses a dirty tree so the verified archive
matches `HEAD`.

`benchmark:ci` is self-preparing: it runs the same serialized clean-install,
build, core-wiring, receipt, and strict-startup bootstrap used by a fresh
worktree before measuring hot paths, then opts the SessionStart metric into
strict readiness with `--strict-session-start` and measures adoption-scope
receipt validation with `--verify-startup-contract`. The adoption metric binds
the complete installed dependency tree and built runtime, and fails above five
seconds. Direct uses of the benchmark remain advisory unless those flags are
supplied, so an intentionally unwired fixture can still measure transport cost.
This avoids benchmarking an accidentally stale local build without silently
changing the benchmark target.

GitHub Actions passes `--threshold-scale 1.5` to give variable shared runners
bounded headroom without changing the checked-in product targets. Benchmark
JSON and the job summary report the base target and the effective gate
separately, and identify target misses even when they remain inside that
headroom. The scale is explicit, applies uniformly, and is capped at `2`.

## Public Proof

Codexa has a structured eval harness:

```bash
node dist/cli.js index /path/to/project
node dist/cli.js eval /path/to/project --suite all --seed codexa-v1-benchmark
```

The eval scores structured query data, not prose. It compares Codexa packets
against raw `rg`/`git status` baselines, tracks recall/precision/test
recommendations/context size, and can run ranking experiments without changing
production ranking. The claim is deliberately falsifiable: a scenario fails
outright if the raw-grep baseline does the job better, and the harness runs in
CI on every push (`npm run eval:ci` in the check workflow, seeded per commit
so the synthetic holdouts cannot be overfitted) — "beats grep on its
scenarios" is a gate, not a one-off benchmark.

Measured results for v0.3.0 (seed `codexa-v030-eval`, full suite, archived
in [`reports/benchmarks/v0.3.0-eval.json`](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/reports/benchmarks/v0.3.0-eval.json)):

| Metric | Result |
| --- | --- |
| Scenarios passed | 20/20 (2 project, 12 synthetic anti-cheat, 6 historical fixture) |
| File recall (mean) | 1.00 |
| Precision@k (mean) | 1.00 |
| Test recall (mean) | 1.00 |
| Scenarios where raw `rg`/`git` beat Codexa | 0 |
| Packet size vs. raw baseline output (mean) | 0.66x |
| Over-budget packets | 0 |

Known imperfections in that run, recorded by the harness itself: 2
false-positive impact files and 1 broad-retrieval failure
(`synthetic-session-context-seedless`) — see the `calibrationSummary` block in
the archived report. The previous run is kept at
[`reports/benchmarks/v0.2.0-eval.json`](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/reports/benchmarks/v0.2.0-eval.json).

Do not update public benchmark claims without rerunning the eval on the current
checkout and current target.

### Agent-level A/B evaluation

The retrieval gate above does not establish that an agent completes coding
tasks better with Codexa. The opt-in
[agent A/B harness](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/docs/guides/agent-ab.md) uses version-pinned Harbor
execution and digest-pinned base images to run the same coding agent and model
in control and Codexa-treatment arms. A separate no-network verifier produces
the binary completion outcome; Codexa does not grade itself.

The checked-in task is a plumbing pilot, not a product benchmark. Credible
effect claims require preregistered held-out tasks, paired repetitions, and
task-clustered analysis.

The archived GPT-5.6 Sol plumbing run is intentionally reported even though it
does not demonstrate a Codexa completion benefit. Both arms completed both
repetitions (two both-pass pairs; descriptive absolute risk difference 0),
while this easy task showed a large treatment efficiency penalty:

| Mean per run | Control | Treatment | Treatment / control |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Verified completion | 2/2 | 2/2 | no difference |
| Input tokens | 104,448 | 620,053 | 5.94x |
| Cached input tokens | 86,272 | 552,064 | 6.40x |
| Output tokens | 3,212 | 6,680.5 | 2.08x |
| Reported cost | $0.230376 | $0.816392 | 3.54x |
| Agent time | 87.849s | 164.996s | 1.88x |
| Controller time | 128.603s | 205.863s | 1.60x |
| Verifier-counted changed files | 2 | 2 | 1.00x |
| Verifier-counted changed lines | 62 | 67 | 1.08x |

This is descriptive evidence from one simple task and two pairs, with no
task-clustered interval; it cannot establish a product effect or a causal
mechanism. The treatment was a complete Codexa-enabled agent bundle, so the
5.94x input ratio is not evidence of MCP-only causality. Agent-reported
treatment setup succeeded in both runs and structured trajectories recorded 13
Codexa calls, while controls recorded none. Both
treatment runs also received a blocking `post_edit_review` inspection warning
for changed symbols even though the edited files exactly matched the saved file
plan. One run made a second review call after supplying initially omitted
invariant evidence. That is observed process friction, not demonstrated safety
value.
The immutable hashes, arm metrics, fidelity telemetry, and per-run outcomes are
archived in
[`reports/benchmarks/v0.10.0-agent-ab-pilot-v7.json`](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/reports/benchmarks/v0.10.0-agent-ab-pilot-v7.json).

That v0.10 treatment used the 13-call workflow recorded above. The current
selective policy intentionally avoids that mandatory call chain. A full
registered, held-out experiment has not yet been rerun against the new policy,
so the archived result remains evidence about the v0.10 treatment rather than
a general efficiency or efficacy claim for the current release.

One authenticated paired smoke on the same checked-in task provides a narrower
regression check for the original 5.94x failure. It used Codex CLI 0.144.6,
GPT-5.6 Sol at high reasoning effort, an ephemeral clean Codex home, identical
prompts and fresh fixture checkouts, and the locally built core-profile server
from candidate commit `97b84c9` as the treatment's only configured difference:

| One-pair smoke | Control | Current Codexa treatment | Treatment / control |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Input tokens | 108,683 | 127,190 | 1.17x |
| Cached input tokens | 76,032 | 109,568 | 1.44x |
| Output tokens | 3,065 | 3,551 | 1.16x |
| Codexa tool calls | 0 | 0 | no difference |
| Public tests | pass | pass | no difference |
| Committed hidden-behavior smoke | fail | pass | descriptive only |

The exact-path treatment correctly took the zero-call route, so the historical
5.94x input-token regression did not reproduce; observed input overhead was
1.17x. The treatment also passed all committed behavior cases plus 40 generated
cases, while this single control run stripped leading/trailing C1 controls
before validation. This is a non-confirmatory one-pair smoke, not a product
effect estimate: it is not task-clustered, the runner differs by one patch
version from the archived experiment, and the ChatGPT-authenticated run emitted
no comparable provider-cost metric.

The task now specifies Unicode General Category `Cc` explicitly. The separate
verifier covers embedded plus leading/trailing C0, DEL, and C1 cases, including
generated edge cases, and validation rejects transient task artifacts before
hashing. Run a real authenticated provider preflight and validate an
artifact-clean task tree before spending tokens on a registered experiment.

## GitHub Release Timeline

Use GitHub Releases as the visible source timeline for the current project.

Source sync diagnostic:

```bash
codexa github-sync-check /path/to/codexa-checkout
codexa github-sync-check /path/to/codexa-checkout --no-network
```

GitHub Release dry run and real release:

```bash
npm run release:github:dry-run -- --tag v0.2.0
npm run release:github -- --tag v0.2.0
```

The release command generates a changelog-style summary, changed-area summary,
restore commands, branch/worktree continuation commands, and forward-only PR rollback commands.
Official releases should come from a clean `main` after the normal GitHub flow
has landed.

## Release Automation

Release Please runs after pushes to `main`. It reads conventional commits,
opens or updates a release PR with the package version and changelog changes,
and creates the GitHub Release after that release PR is merged.

This does not publish npm on every main merge. Normal feature and fix PRs land
on `main` first, Release Please batches releasable changes into its release PR,
and npm publishing stays downstream of the GitHub Release event.

Configure a `RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN` GitHub repository secret with a personal
access token that can create pull requests, tags, and releases. Do not use the
default `GITHUB_TOKEN` for Release Please if npm publishing should happen
automatically, because releases created by `GITHUB_TOKEN` do not trigger the
separate `release: published` npm workflow.

## npm Package Publishing

The npm package is published by GitHub Actions after the GitHub Release lane
publishes a release. The trigger is `release: published`; pushed tags alone do
not publish to npm. The workflow checks the released tag, package identity,
repository URL, version availability, and `npm run security:check`, then runs:

```bash
npm publish --registry https://registry.npmjs.org --access public --tag latest --provenance --ignore-scripts
```

For the first public npm release, configure an `NPM_TOKEN` GitHub repository
secret with publish access. After the package exists and npm trusted publishing
is configured, the workflow can remove token-based publishing while keeping the
same release gate and `--ignore-scripts` protection.

## Contributing

Read [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/CONTRIBUTING.md) before opening a PR.

What usually fits:

- Bug fixes with clear reproduction and regression tests.
- Performance improvements with before/after measurements.
- Documentation fixes.
- Targeted improvements to existing commands or MCP tools.

What usually does not fit:

- New deep language indexers.
- New LLM-based analysis layers.
- Whole-file rewrites for style preference.
- Heavy dependencies where a small deterministic helper is enough.
- New source-mutating agent behavior.

Run this before proposing code changes:

```bash
npm run check
```

## License

MIT. See [LICENSE](https://github.com/mirnoorata/codexa/blob/HEAD/LICENSE).