Codex

Codex can use Agent Tick through the local stdio MCP adapter launched with agent-tick mcp.

Supported launch behavior:

• Codex calls Agent Tick MCP tools for status updates, steering, and sanctions.
• The adapter uses the same saved Agent Tick config/token as the CLI.
• Sanctions return a Response result; Agent Tick does not run commands from MCP.
• When Codex supports MCP elicitation, local Codex prompts and remote Agent Tick requests can race so the first valid answer wins.

Automatic Codex config writing is not implemented for launch. Configure Codex manually.

Prerequisites

Set up the Agent Tick CLI first:

agent-tick install

Or configure a server/token manually:

agent-tick config --server https://tick.example.com --token agent_...

Verify the CLI can reach your Agent Tick server:

agent-tick status-update "Codex MCP preflight"
agent-tick mcp --help

Codex MCP config

Add an MCP server entry to your Codex config. The MCP adapter reads credentials from the normal Agent Tick CLI config; do not commit agent_... tokens into Codex config files.

[mcp_servers.agent_tick]
command = "agent-tick"
args = ["mcp"]
startup_timeout_sec = 10
tool_timeout_sec = 1800
default_tools_approval_mode = "approve"

[mcp_servers.agent_tick.tools.agent_tick_status_update]
approval_mode = "approve"

[mcp_servers.agent_tick.tools.agent_tick_steering]
approval_mode = "approve"

[mcp_servers.agent_tick.tools.agent_tick_sanction]
approval_mode = "approve"

If your Codex config uses granular approval settings, allow MCP elicitations so Codex can show the local prompt:

[tools]
mcp_elicitations = true

Verify status updates

Ask Codex:

Use the Agent Tick MCP status tool to send: "Codex MCP preflight; no secrets included." Then continue.

Expected result: Codex calls agent_tick_status_update; no Response is required.

Verify steering

Ask Codex:

Use Agent Tick steering to ask which safe path to run next.
Options:
- Run docs build
- Run CLI help smoke test
- Stop the demo
Include Stop the demo as the deny/escape option.

Expected result: Codex calls agent_tick_steering, Agent Tick creates a bounded request, and Codex receives one selected option.

Verify sanctions

Ask Codex:

Use Agent Tick sanction to ask whether this dry-run release action is allowed:
command summary: pnpm --filter @self-deprecated/agent-tick publish --dry-run
The action must not be executed by Agent Tick. If denied, stop.

Expected result: Codex calls agent_tick_sanction; Agent Tick asks approve/deny; Codex decides whether to proceed based on the returned result. Agent Tick does not run pnpm publish or any other shell command.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
agent-tick mcp fails with config guidance	CLI config/token is missing.	Run agent-tick install, agent-tick login, or agent-tick config --server ... --token ....
Codex asks for approval before every Agent Tick tool call	Agent Tick MCP tools are not pre-approved in Codex.	Approve only the Agent Tick MCP tools, not broad shell or unrelated tools.
Local Codex prompt does not appear	MCP elicitations are disabled or unsupported.	Enable mcp_elicitations if available, or use the remote Agent Tick app/web request.
Request times out or is denied	The human did not approve the action.	Stop or choose a safe alternative; do not run the protected action.