OpenAI Codex for Beginners: Master the AI Coding Agent

About this course

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence. OpenAI Codex is OpenAI's AI coding agent. You give it a task, like "fix this bug" or "add a page". It reads your project, runs commands and edits the code. Then it shows you exactly what it changed, so you can review it before you keep it.

This beginner course teaches you to use Codex step by step on a Mac. Every lesson is a real walkthrough of the real tools: the ChatGPT desktop app in Codex mode, the Codex CLI, and the Codex extension for VS Code. You don't need to be an expert programmer. If you can open a folder and read a little Python, you can follow along.

What you'll doUnderstand Codex first. What Codex is and where it runs. Which ChatGPT plan you need, and how usage limits and credits work. How to choose a model, its reasoning effort and its speed.

Set it up on your Mac. Install the ChatGPT desktop app and open Codex. Sign in and check your plan. Learn your way around the settings. Install the Codex extension in VS Code and, optionally, the Codex CLI. Then give Codex its first task three ways: in the app, in the terminal and in VS Code.

Work in the desktop app. Start Spendly, a small expense tracker in Python, FastAPI and SQLite, and grow it with Codex. Keep your work organised in projects and chats. Use the composer: point Codex at files with @, pick skills with $, open commands with /, and run shell commands with !. Write a five-part prompt (goal, context, result, boundaries, check) that gets a working first version. Have Codex plan a feature before it builds, and steer or queue follow-ups while it works. Read every change in the review pane and comment on single lines. Use the built-in terminal, create a branch and commit, with Codex writing the commit message. Finish with the shortcuts worth remembering.

Run Codex on a free local model.

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