Keep Codex Fast

Keep Codex Fast

Use this skill to inspect and safely maintain local Codex state. The goal is to reduce local drag without surprising the user or losing continuity.

Primary principle: preserve continuity before applying changes. For active repo chats the user may continue, recommend a comprehensive handoff document and reactivation prompt before archiving anything.

Safety Rules

• Inspect before mutating.
• The first run must be report-only. Report mode must not write files, create backups, move folders, or change local Codex state.
• Back up before applying changes. Use --backup-only when the user wants backups without moving or changing local state.
• Archive or move files instead of deleting them. Do not permanently delete user chats, logs, worktrees, memories, skills, plugins, or automations.
• Write manifests and restore scripts when sessions/worktrees are moved.
• If Codex is running, default to report-only. Apply changes only after Codex is closed or when the user explicitly accepts waiting for Codex to exit.
• Never modify or copy credential files unless the user explicitly asks for that. Back up memory/skill/plugin/automation files before touching local state.
• Treat backup folders as private local artifacts because they can contain Codex metadata. Do not ask users to publish or share backups unless they have reviewed them first.
• Do not print raw thread IDs, chat titles, local paths, or process paths unless the user asks for details or runs --details.
• Before applying changes, tell the user to create handoff docs for active repo chats they may continue.
• Before archiving any active repo chat the user may want to continue, recommend creating a comprehensive handoff doc plus a reactivation prompt.
• Do not archive old-but-important active repo chats until the user either confirms a handoff exists or confirms they do not need one.

Mental Model

There are three modes:

• Inspect: report-only, no writes.
• Maintain: normal --apply; backs up, archives old sessions, moves stale worktrees, rotates logs, prunes dead config, and normalizes paths. It does not trim thread title/preview metadata.
• Optional repair: --apply --repair-thread-metadata-bloat; shortens oversized SQLite display title/preview metadata after backup. The rollout transcript stays intact.

Default Workflow

1. Reassure the user: the first run is read-only, privacy-safe, and the skill archives instead of deleting when changes are later applied.
2. Run the bundled script in report mode:

python scripts/keep_codex_fast.py

3. Summarize:
   • active session size
   • archived session size
   • largest active sessions
   • thread metadata bloat: active title/preview character totals, max title/preview lengths, and over-limit counts
   • stale worktree candidates
   • log size
   • bad Windows \\?\ path counts
   • config project prune candidates
   • top Node/dev processes
4. Before applying changes, recommend that the user create handoffs for all active repo chats they may continue. Explain that handoffs let them archive heavy chats and resume from docs in fresh threads.
5. Identify large/old active repo chats that may still matter. For each one the user wants to continue, create or update:
   • a repo-local handoff doc
   • a reactivation prompt that can start a fresh chat without losing the thread
6. If the user wants to apply the recommended maintenance, ask them to close Codex or use --wait-for-codex-exit, then run:

python scripts/keep_codex_fast.py --apply --archive-older-than-days 10 --worktree-older-than-days 7

7. Verify after applying:

python scripts/keep_codex_fast.py

8. Ask whether the user wants a recurring report-only reminder:
   • weekly for heavy Codex use across many repos/terminals
   • biweekly for lighter use
   • no reminder if they prefer manual maintenance

If the user wants automation and the Codex app automation tool is available, create only a recurring report/reminder automation. Do not recommend recurring mutating maintenance, because automation cannot know whether the user created handoffs. The prompt must say not to pass --apply, not to archive/move/prune/rotate/normalize/delete/mutate local state, and to remind the user that manual apply should happen only after handoffs are confirmed and Codex is closed.

What Apply Does

• Backs up important metadata to ~/Documents/Codex/codex-backups/keep-codex-fast-*.
• Archives old non-pinned sessions to ~/.codex/archived_sessions/.
• Normalizes Windows extended paths like \\?\C:\... inside local SQLite text fields.
• Prunes missing/temp project blocks from config.toml and writes UTF-8 without BOM.
• Moves stale worktrees to ~/.codex/archived_worktrees/.
• Rotates logs_2.sqlite* into ~/.codex/archived_logs/ only when above the threshold.
• Reports heavy Node processes without killing them.
• Reports pathological active thread titles and first_user_message previews. It only repairs them when the user explicitly opts in with --repair-thread-metadata-bloat.

Report mode does none of those mutations. It only prints counts and pseudonymous candidates. Use --details when raw IDs, titles, or paths are needed for diagnosis.

Recommended Policy

• Keep only the last 7-10 days of non-pinned chats active.
• Use handoff docs for important old threads.
• Start fresh threads from handoff docs instead of repeatedly resuming giant chats.
• Run weekly maintenance if Codex is used daily across many repos/terminals.
• Offer weekly or biweekly report-only reminders after the first successful apply; do not assume the user wants recurring maintenance.
• When in doubt, leave a chat active or ask the user. Never archive a chat that is pinned, current, or explicitly marked as still needed without a handoff.
• Treat title/preview repair as metadata repair only. The full rollout transcript remains in the session JSONL; bounded SQLite fields are for list/navigation display.