# apiari-codex-sdk
**Rust SDK for the [OpenAI Codex CLI](https://github.com/openai/codex) — spawn `codex exec` and stream JSONL events.**
[](https://crates.io/crates/apiari-codex-sdk)
[](https://docs.rs/apiari-codex-sdk)
[](LICENSE)
> Not a direct API client. This crate spawns the `codex` CLI as a subprocess —
> the CLI handles authentication, tool execution, file access, and sandboxing.
## Quick Start
```rust
use apiari_codex_sdk::{CodexClient, ExecOptions, Event, Item};
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> apiari_codex_sdk::Result<()> {
let client = CodexClient::new();
let mut execution = client.exec(
"List files in the current directory",
ExecOptions {
model: Some("o4-mini".into()),
full_auto: true,
..Default::default()
},
).await?;
while let Some(event) = execution.next_event().await? {
match &event {
Event::ItemCompleted { item: Item::AgentMessage { text, .. } } => {
if let Some(text) = text {
println!("{text}");
}
}
Event::TurnCompleted { usage } => {
if let Some(u) = usage {
println!("Tokens: {} in, {} out", u.input_tokens, u.output_tokens);
}
}
_ => {}
}
}
Ok(())
}
```
Add to your `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
apiari-codex-sdk = "0.1"
```
Requires the `codex` CLI on `$PATH` (or use `CodexClient::with_cli_path`).
## Execution Model
The SDK uses a **unidirectional, single-shot** protocol. Each execution is one prompt in, one event stream out. Stdin is `/dev/null`.
```
┌─────────┐ CLI args (prompt) ┌───────────┐
│ SDK │ ────── exec() ────────────► │ codex │
│ │ │ CLI │
│ │ ◄──── next_event() ──────── │ (stdout) │
└─────────┘ JSONL stream └───────────┘
stdin = /dev/null
```
**Key properties:**
- **One prompt per execution** — the prompt is a CLI argument, not streamed.
- **Real-time event streaming** — `ItemUpdated` gives incremental text. Render it live.
- **No mid-execution input** — you cannot send messages during an execution.
- **Tool execution is internal** — codex runs commands, edits files, and searches the web on its own. The SDK observes these as `CommandExecution`, `FileChange`, `WebSearch` items.
- **`interrupt()` cancels** the current execution via SIGINT.
- **Resume for multi-turn** — save the `thread_id` from `ThreadStarted` and pass it to `exec_resume()`.
### Multi-Turn Chat
Each user message is a separate execution that resumes the previous session:
```rust
// First message
let mut exec1 = client.exec("Set up a new Rust project", opts).await?;
let mut thread_id = None;
while let Some(event) = exec1.next_event().await? {
if let Event::ThreadStarted { thread_id: tid } = &event {
thread_id = Some(tid.clone());
}
// ... handle events ...
}
// Follow-up — resumes the same session
let mut exec2 = client.exec_resume("Now add serde", ResumeOptions {
session_id: thread_id,
full_auto: true,
..Default::default()
}).await?;
```
### Codex SDK vs Claude SDK
| **Protocol** | Unidirectional (stdout only) | Bidirectional (stdin + stdout) |
| **Session lifetime** | One subprocess per message | One subprocess for entire conversation |
| **Mid-turn input** | No (stdin is `/dev/null`) | Yes (`send_message`, `send_tool_result`) |
| **Tool execution** | CLI handles tools internally | SDK receives tool requests, sends results |
| **Multi-turn chat** | Resume with session ID | Send multiple messages on same session |
## Event Types
| `ThreadStarted` | Thread ID assigned — save for resume |
| `TurnStarted` | A new turn has begun |
| `TurnCompleted` | Turn finished (includes usage stats) |
| `TurnFailed` | Turn failed (includes error details) |
| `ItemStarted` | An item began (message, command, etc.) |
| `ItemUpdated` | Incremental update to an in-flight item |
| `ItemCompleted` | An item finished |
| `TokenCount` | Token usage statistics |
| `Error` | Execution-level error |
## Item Types
| `AgentMessage` | Text response from the model |
| `Reasoning` | Chain-of-thought / thinking text |
| `CommandExecution` | Shell command with output and exit code |
| `FileChange` | File modifications with before/after content |
| `McpToolCall` | MCP tool invocation |
| `WebSearch` | Web search query |
| `TodoList` | Task list |
| `Error` | Item-level error |
| `Unknown` | Forward-compatibility catch-all |
## Architecture
```
src/
lib.rs # Re-exports
client.rs # CodexClient + Execution handle
options.rs # ExecOptions, ResumeOptions, SandboxMode, ApprovalPolicy
transport.rs # ReadOnlyTransport — spawn, recv, interrupt, kill
types.rs # Event, Item, Usage
error.rs # SdkError + Result alias
tests/
integration.rs # Live CLI tests (#[ignore] by default)
```
## Apiari Ecosystem
This crate is part of the [Apiari](https://github.com/ApiariTools) tooling ecosystem:
- **[apiari-codex-sdk](https://github.com/ApiariTools/apiari-codex-sdk)** — Codex CLI SDK (this crate)
- **[apiari-claude-sdk](https://github.com/ApiariTools/apiari-claude-sdk)** — Claude Code SDK
## License
MIT