Insights · Agents & Workflows
Claude plans. Codex builds. Show me that it works.
When I tell an AI agent to build something, I do not want a pile of suggestions. I want it to read the project, understand the problem, make the changes, test them, fix what breaks, and show me the result.
- Published
- Cluster
- Agents & Workflows
Two models are only useful when the handoff is clear
That is why the Claude Code and Codex combination is useful. Give Claude responsibility for the brief, architecture, taste, and final review. Give Codex a bounded implementation job. Then make the work pass through a verification gate before it reaches you.
Build it. Check it. Fix what fails. Show me what works.
The value is separation of responsibility. One model translates the business outcome into an assignment. Another model executes it. The first model reviews the result against the original requirements and sends the worker back when the evidence does not hold up.
- 01
Define
State the outcome the user should be able to see or complete.
- 02
Specify
Write the acceptance criteria and protect the boundaries that must remain intact.
- 03
Build
Give the worker the smallest complete implementation it can finish and verify.
- 04
Review
Run the real feature and compare its behavior with the original brief.
- 05
Correct
Return exact failures to the same worker until the criteria pass.
Manager
Claude Code
Reads the situation, sets scope, makes architecture and design calls, writes the brief, and reviews the result.
Worker
OpenAI Codex
Inspects the repository, implements the assigned change, runs the requested checks, and returns evidence.
Revision gate
The work is judged against behavior
A summary is a pointer. A passing test, rendered page, denied unauthorized request, correct calculation, or verified deployment is evidence.
Install the tools and prove the connection
You need Claude Code, the Codex CLI, and the official Codex plugin for Claude Code. Current plugin requirements include Node.js 18.18 or later and either a ChatGPT subscription or an OpenAI API key.
Requirement
Claude Code
Install and authenticate it on the machine where you work.
Requirement
OpenAI Codex CLI
Install it globally and sign into the intended account.
Requirement
Codex plugin
Install the official plugin from OpenAI's Claude Code marketplace.
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude doctornpm install -g @openai/codex
codex login/plugin marketplace add openai/codex-plugin-cc
/plugin install codex@openai-codex
/reload-plugins
/codex:setupGet the connection working before adding routing rules. The setup command checks whether Codex is ready. Check the current plugin README before installing because tooling and command names can change.
Point Codex at the model you want doing the work
This workflow routes its hardest work to GPT-6 Astra with high reasoning. Put the settings below in ~/.codex/config.toml, or add them to the relevant profile if you already maintain several Codex profiles.
model = "gpt-6-astra"
model_reasoning_effort = "high"Run a small command and confirm the model shown in the Codex header.
codex exec "say hi"Model access varies by account. If GPT-6 Astra is unavailable, choose a model your account can use. The workflow matters more than the name in the configuration.
Tell the manager how work moves through the system
Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md as project guidance. Put broad operating rules in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. Put repository-specific rules in the project's own CLAUDE.md.
Planning and review
Claude or Fable 5.1
Use for planning, architecture, acceptance criteria, product judgment, copy, and final review.
Complex implementation
GPT-6 Astra
Use for difficult implementation, multi-file refactors, computer-use work, and failed escalations.
Routine implementation
GPT-5.6 Sol
Use for routine builds, tests, debugging, repository research, boilerplate, and brief-driven drafts.
This DBAI operating block turns the plan-build-review workflow into rules for real client work: repository instructions, ownership, existing changes, privacy, and evidence.
# DBAI manager and workers
Claude is the manager. It reads the project, defines the outcome,
writes acceptance criteria, makes architecture and design calls,
and reviews the finished work.
Implementation goes to a Codex worker when delegation improves
speed, focus, or review quality. Small conversational replies and
pure judgment calls can stay inline.
## Before work starts
1. Read the repository instructions and the existing implementation.
2. Confirm the working directory, branch, and relevant application paths.
3. Identify user changes already in the worktree and preserve them.
4. Define what the user will be able to do when the task is complete.
5. Name the checks that will prove the result.
## Model routing
| Model | Use for |
|---|---|
| Claude / Fable 5.1 | Planning, architecture, product judgment, copy, final review |
| GPT-6 Astra | Complex implementation, multi-file refactors, computer-use work, failed escalations |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | Routine builds, tests, debugging, repo research, boilerplate, brief-driven drafts |
These are defaults. Judge the work by the result. Escalate when the
current model misses the bar.
## Worker brief
Every worker receives:
- The exact repository path.
- The problem and expected user behavior.
- The files or modules it owns.
- Relevant constraints and existing conventions.
- The checks it must run before reporting.
- The evidence required in its final response.
If several workers are active, separate file ownership or use isolated
worktrees. Tell every worker that other people or agents may be editing
the project. A worker never reverts changes it does not own.
## Revision gate
Every worker deliverable gets reviewed before it is accepted.
Run the real feature. Do not approve the work from a summary or diff alone.
- For interface work, inspect the actual page at the required sizes.
- For access control, test allowed and denied requests.
- For calculations, compare known inputs with expected outputs.
- For deployment work, verify the deployed route separately.
When a check fails, return the exact error, reproduction steps, and
expected behavior to the same worker. Continue until the acceptance
criteria pass or a concrete blocker remains.
Never remove, narrow, or substitute a requirement just to make a check pass.
## Completion report
Return a concise report with:
- What changed.
- Where it changed.
- What was tested and the result.
- What remains blocked or unverified.
Distinguish local implementation, deployment, and live verification.
Only claim the state supported by evidence.
Never print, echo, or write secrets, credentials, private customer data,
or production records into prompts, logs, screenshots, or reports.Give the worker a job it can actually finish
Dispatch Codex with a repository path, a model, a sandbox, and a concrete task. Replace every placeholder and quote repository paths that contain spaces.
codex exec </dev/null -s workspace-write -c approval_policy="never" -c model="gpt-6-astra" \
-c model_reasoning_effort=high -C <repo> "<task: files to touch, what done looks like, the commands to run before reporting>"A real assignment should describe behavior, boundaries, checks, and evidence.
codex exec </dev/null \
-s workspace-write \
-c approval_policy="never" \
-c model="gpt-6-astra" \
-c model_reasoning_effort=high \
-C "/absolute/path/to/project" \
"Read the repository instructions and inspect the existing shipment
dashboard. Implement the missing empty and error states using the
current UI conventions. Keep all existing authorization checks.
Preserve unrelated changes. Run the relevant project checks and
inspect the affected page if browser access is available. Report
changed files, verification results, and anything still unverified."A useful brief answers five questions: What is wrong? What should the user experience instead? Where may the worker change code? What must remain intact? Which checks prove the work?
The workspace-write setting confines writes to the workspace. An approval policy of never means the worker cannot stop and request broader execution permission, so blocked actions can fail. Use a policy that fits your environment.
Keep the correction attached to the same work
When a check fails, send the exact failure back to the same Codex session. That keeps the repository context and the decisions already made.
codex exec </dev/null resume --last -c approval_policy="never" "<exact error text or next chunk>"When several sessions exist, use the exact session ID. It removes ambiguity.
codex exec </dev/null resume SESSION_ID \
-c approval_policy="never" \
"The shipment page crashes when the query returns no records.
Reproduce the failure, add the missing empty state, and rerun the
relevant checks. Report the result with file and route pointers."Stay inside Claude Code when that is where the job started
The official plugin exposes review, adversarial review, rescue, status, and result commands. Use review when you want Codex to challenge current work without changing it. Use rescue when you want Codex to investigate or implement.
# Hand a concrete implementation problem to Codex
/codex:rescue investigate the failing shipment dashboard and fix the cause
# Run a normal read-only review
/codex:review --background
# Challenge architecture, assumptions, and risk
/codex:adversarial-review --background look for authorization gaps and race conditions
# Check the job and retrieve its report
/codex:status
/codex:resultMake done mean something
A successful build is one signal. It does not prove that the feature works, that the right records appear, that access is restricted, or that the deployed route matches the local checkout.
Interface
Inspect the page
Check the real route at desktop and mobile widths. Exercise loading, empty, error, and successful states.
Authorization
Test both sides
Prove that an allowed user succeeds and a user outside the tenant or account is denied.
Data
Use known inputs
Compare calculations, imports, and transformations with expected results you can verify independently.
Deployment
Verify the live route
Local implementation, successful deployment, and working production behavior are separate claims.
Tell me what changed, point me to where it changed, show me what passed, and say exactly what remains unverified.
Current documentation
Installation and plugin behavior should be checked against the official repositories because tooling changes.
Official repository
OpenAI Codex CLI
Installation, configuration, authentication, and current CLI documentation.
Open resourceOfficial repository
Codex plugin for Claude Code
Current installation sequence and the complete plugin command reference.
Open resourceOfficial documentation
Claude Code setup
Anthropic's current setup, authentication, and installation guidance.
Open resource
Start with one useful job
Choose a contained improvement with an outcome you can see. Run it through planning, implementation, review, and correction. Tighten the handoff where information gets lost. Then expand the workflow.
Build it. Check it. Fix what fails. Show what works.
Keep building
Bring us the workflow that needs to run without constant supervision.
We will show you what the build, review, and operating layer should look like.
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