Reporter Notes

Notes — 2026-03-08 — Codex workspace-write includes memories root

Angle / Insight

Codex’s Rust CLI now treats ~/.codex/memories as a first-class writable root when running in workspace-write sandbox mode. That means memory maintenance can proceed without extra approval prompts, and the CLI proactively creates the memories directory while ensuring cleanup is safe (refuses to clear symlinked memory roots).

Why it matters

• **Reduced friction**: memory upkeep no longer stalls on approvals when using workspace-write.
• **Safer hygiene**: the new clear routine avoids deleting a symlinked root and recreates the directory before cleanup.
• **Policy clarity**: README now explicitly documents that workspace-write includes the memories root.

Key details grounded in sources

• README adds: “In workspace-write, Codex also includes ~/.codex/memories in its writable roots so memory maintenance does not require an extra approval.”
• Config logic adds memories_root to writable roots and creates the directory when needed.
• Memory cleanup now clears contents rather than removing the directory, with explicit symlink refusal.

Potential headline phrasing

“Codex Quietly Whitelists Its Memory Vault in Workspace-Write Mode”

Draft structure

1. Lead: small but meaningful sandbox change.

2. What changed in README and config.

3. Safety behavior (symlink refusal, create dir, clear contents).

4. Why it matters for agentic workflows.

Sources — 2026-03-08

Git / PR

• Commit: f72ab43fd193b31208cd3c306293b1b71a52a709 (codex)
• PR: https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/13467

Key files

• codex-rs/README.md — documents workspace-write including ~/.codex/memories as writable root.
• codex-rs/core/src/config/mod.rs — adds memories root to writable roots for workspace-write.
• codex-rs/core/src/memories/control.rs — safe clear routine (refuse symlink, create dir, clear contents).
• codex-rs/core/src/memories/tests.rs — tests for workspace-write including memories root.

Evidence snippets (local)

• README: In \workspace-write\, Codex also includes \~/.codex/memories\ in its writable roots...
• PR body: “Allow the model to always read/write in ~/.codex/memories and create the dir if it does not exist.”

Commands run

• git log -1 --stat (codex repo)
• git show <commit>
• gh pr view 13467 --json title,number,body,files,author,url
• gsio search q "memories" -p openai/codex --output summary