How OpenAI Codex let me down — and why I built Codey, an open-source coding assistant

When OpenAI announced Codex and CLI tools, I got excited — finally, an easy way to automate coding workflows using LLMs! I bought credits, installed the CLI, and even set it up on my Mac. But... it didn't go smoothly. First, I realized Codex CLI only supports Mac and Linux. Okay, not ideal but manageable. Then, I found out that cheaper models like gpt-4o-mini don't even support shell commands. (If you try, you get ENOENT errors because tool calls are missing.) I thought: maybe switching to o4-mini would fix it. Nope — new accounts don't have access immediately. I was stuck. Instead of waiting endlessly, I decided to build my own CLI assistant from scratch — and that's how Codey was born!

Apr 28, 2025 - 01:56

How OpenAI Codex let me down — and why I built Codey, an open-source coding assistant

When OpenAI announced Codex and CLI tools, I got excited — finally, an easy way to automate coding workflows using LLMs!
I bought credits, installed the CLI, and even set it up on my Mac.

But... it didn't go smoothly.

First, I realized Codex CLI only supports Mac and Linux. Okay, not ideal but manageable.
Then, I found out that cheaper models like gpt-4o-mini don't even support shell commands.
(If you try, you get ENOENT errors because tool calls are missing.)

I thought: maybe switching to o4-mini would fix it.
Nope — new accounts don't have access immediately. I was stuck.

Instead of waiting endlessly, I decided to build my own CLI assistant from scratch — and that's how Codey was born!