Codex Security

Codex Security helps you find, investigate, and fix vulnerabilities in your code. Use its security workflows in Codex, or automate them with the @openai/codex-security CLI and TypeScript SDK.

• In Codex: choose a security workflow.
• In a terminal: install the CLI and scan your repository.
• In automation: use the TypeScript SDK or GitHub Action.

Features

• Scan repositories, selected paths, or Git changes. Deep scans run parallel discovery workers on repositories and selected paths.
• Validate candidate findings, generate patches, and verify existing fixes.
• Draft SECURITY.md policies and save threat models for later review.
• Browse saved scans and findings, identify duplicates, assess severity against your own rubric, and suggest owners from source and Git history.
• Import GitHub code scanning alerts, export SARIF, JSON, or CSV, and publish findings to Linear or a findings service.
• Automate scans across repositories or project components, including in CI and containers.

Use in Codex

Open your repository in a Codex session with the Codex Security plugin enabled, then ask:

Run a Codex Security scan on this repository, focusing on authentication and authorization. Return the saved report, source evidence, and coverage limits.

A completed scan saves a report, findings, coverage, and a threat model when available. Use those results to investigate findings, request a patch, or verify an existing fix. See the agent workflow guide for plugin setup, task selection, and recovery when required tools are unavailable.

Quick start

Requires Node.js 22.13.0+ within 22.x, or Node.js 24.x or 26.x, and Python 3.10+. Python 3.10 also requires tomli.

Install the CLI globally and sign in:

npm install --global @openai/codex-security
cs login

cs is a short alias for codex-security; both commands run the same CLI. The installation creates both commands in npm's global executable directory, which must be on your PATH. If cs already resolves to another tool, use codex-security instead. If npm stops with an EEXIST error for cs, use npx @openai/codex-security without a global installation.

Run your scan from the repository directory:

cs scan .

If you have Daybreak Blue access, add --cyber-access-program daybreak_blue to the scan command. Otherwise, omit the flag or use --cyber-access-program standard.

To use Codex's Daybreak toggle, pass --codex daybreak=true. It defaults off and requires compatible access. See Daybreak configuration for SDK and plugin usage, including Deep Scan workers.

Scans use your existing SECURITY.md guidance. To define or update it, optionally draft a policy:

cs policy .

The draft is saved outside your repository. Review the diff and notes, edit the draft, then copy only SECURITY.md to the Policy target shown. You can scan without generating a policy.

To run without a global installation, replace cs in these examples with npx @openai/codex-security, for example:

npx @openai/codex-security scan .

For CI, set OPENAI_API_KEY or CODEX_API_KEY in the scan process's environment. On remote or headless machines, use login --device-auth if your workspace allows it, or sign in over SSH.

Some cybersecurity requests and protected findings require Trusted Access for Cyber approval.

Scan options

Choose a scope and scan mode:

# Scan selected paths.
cs scan . --path src --path tests

# Scan committed changes from a base revision to HEAD.
cs scan . --diff origin/main

# Run a deep scan of the repository.
cs scan . --mode deep

Use cs scan . --max-time 15 for an advisory 15-minute Standard investigation allowance. See investigation time for timing semantics and Deep Scan limits.

Use cs --help to browse commands, or cs scan --help for scan options, cost limits, and patching after a scan.

For an application spread across repositories, see review one system across repositories. Use bulk scans for independent repository reviews in one resumable campaign.

After a scan, inspect its scope and follow-up work to understand recorded exclusions and decide whether to review the findings, run a focused scan, or recover an interrupted run.

TypeScript SDK

Install the package locally in your TypeScript project:

npm install @openai/codex-security

Then import it:

import { CodexSecurity } from "@openai/codex-security";

const security = new CodexSecurity();

try {
  const result = await security.run("/path/to/repository");
  console.log(result.reportPath);
} finally {
  await security.close();
}

The SDK guide includes deep-scan configuration, validation, severity classification, owner suggestions, and result handling.

Read existing Cloud findings

When Codex Security Cloud is available to your account, the Security plugin's $cloud-findings skill can read findings, reports, recorded assignment and verification, and scan status in Codex desktop or the Codex CLI. Cloud is an optional connection; local scans work without it.

See Cloud connection setup and CLI reads for authentication requirements and a read-only example.

Generate SECURITY.md

Use policy to draft a new SECURITY.md or update an existing one. Use --path to select a component:

cs policy .
cs policy . --path services/api --knowledge-base architecture.md

The command saves its draft outside the repository and leaves existing files unchanged. Review the diff and notes, edit the draft, then copy only SECURITY.md to the displayed Policy target. Keep the saved architecture and threat-model documents outside the repository.

Scans already use root and component SECURITY.md files. Keep your current policy if it needs no changes. When updating it, preserve its vulnerability-reporting instructions. If the command says the policy is already up to date, no copy is needed.

Files at .github/SECURITY.md or docs/SECURITY.md often contain reporting instructions. Preserve them when drafting a policy; those locations do not automatically provide repository-wide scan guidance. See the policy guide for policy locations, unanswered questions, saved artifacts, and SDK usage.

Save and export threat models

Scans and policy generation save threat models with their results. Export a saved model without starting another analysis:

cs export --scan SCAN_ID --artifact threat-model --output threatmodel.md

Omit --scan to use the current repository's latest completed scan. The export guide also covers findings, SARIF output for CI, and the offline TypeScript API.

GitHub Actions

Run scheduled, manual, or pull request scans with the GitHub Action. For a weekly repository scan, add an OpenAI API key as the repository secret CODEX_SECURITY_API_KEY, then save this workflow in .github/workflows/codex-security.yml. Replace REPLACE_WITH_REVIEWED_COMMIT with the full SHA of an Action commit.

This workflow requests Daybreak Blue. Use an API key from a project with Blue enabled; without Daybreak access, omit cyber-access-program or set it to standard.

name: Codex Security
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: "23 7 * * 1" # Mondays at 07:23 UTC

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  security:
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
    steps:
      # Configure Bubblewrap and AppArmor so Codex Security can run safely in its sandbox.
      - name: Set up the Ubuntu sandbox
        run: |
          sudo apt-get update
          sudo apt-get install --yes bubblewrap apparmor-profiles
          sudo apparmor_parser -r /usr/share/apparmor/extra-profiles/bwrap-userns-restrict
      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
        with:
          persist-credentials: false
      - uses: openai/codex-security@REPLACE_WITH_REVIEWED_COMMIT
        with:
          model: gpt-5.6-sol
          effort: high
          cyber-access-program: daybreak_blue
        env:
          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.CODEX_SECURITY_API_KEY }}

Findings are report-only by default. Set a severity threshold to fail on reported findings at or above it. Scanner and required reporting errors fail the job; intentional file exclusions and investigation notes do not. See the Action setup and input reference for PR scans, severity thresholds, and report uploads.

Containerized bulk scans

Scan a list of repositories with the included Docker Compose configuration, which keeps results and authentication between runs. See the container quick start. The workflow runner runs individual CLI stages in containers and can connect to a separately deployed findings service.

Findings storage and deduplication

The findings guide covers local storage, deduplication, and compatibility with independently operated endpoints through publish scan --to custom and explicit --findings-url. The local serve command and browser dashboard have been removed; existing databases and scan artifacts remain available.

Other providers

Scans support OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, and Cheaper Inference. Bedrock uses AWS credentials and does not require a separate OpenAI login. See Bedrock setup for AWS profiles, regions, and model access.

For OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, and Cheaper Inference, set the provider's API key and choose a supported model. See provider configuration for examples.

Documentation

• Online documentation
• Agent workflows and recovery
• CLI reference
• Project configuration
• Examples

To report a vulnerability privately, follow the security policy.