Agentic Coding with OpenAI Codex CLI
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Unlock the Potential of AI-Driven Coding
Course Outcomes
- Understand how to use OpenAI Codex CLI for software development
Course Description
Elevate your development skills with OpenAI Codex CLI. This course provides hands-on experience with OpenAI Codex CLI, Open AI’s agentic coding tool that operates directly in your terminal. You'll learn to leverage its advanced natural language understanding for tasks such as refactoring, documenting, and debugging code. The course also explores how OpenAI Codex CLI can streamline your workflow by completing complex tasks in a single pass, potentially saving hours of manual effort. Additionally, you'll gain insights into its language comprehension, multimodal integration, and reasoning capabilities to enhance your coding efficiency.
This course empowers you to seamlessly incorporate the OpenAI Codex CLI into your daily development workflow. Leverage natural language commands to streamline diverse coding activities, enhance code quality and maintainability via AI-driven recommendations, and accelerate development through automated testing and linting. Benefit from integrated Git functionality to optimize version control. This course is perfect for software developers, open-source maintainers, and DevOps professionals seeking to remain cutting-edge in the realm of AI-assisted development.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Install, configure, and customize Codex CLI for their development environment
- Navigate Codex CLI's different automation modes (Suggest, Auto Edit, Full Auto)
- Execute coding tasks through natural language commands
- Extend and customize Codex CLI for specific workflows and projects
- Integrate Codex CLI with existing development processes and workflows
This live event is for you because...
- You’re a software developer or DevOps engineer and you want to become an AI-assisted software developer
Prerequisites
- An understanding of programming languages and software development techniques
Course Set-up
Participants need:
- Node.js version 22+ installed
- An API key from OpenAI in order to participate
Recommended Follow-up
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Introduction to Agentic Coding and Codex CLI (45 mins)
- The evolution of AI coding assistants
- Understanding agentic coding tools and their capabilities
- OpenAI Codex CLI: Origins and the open-source approach
- How Codex CLI differs from other agentic coding tools
- Key features and capabilities
- Installation and initial setup
Getting Started with Codex CLI (45 mins)
- Basic command structure and syntax
- Understanding the three automation modes
- Working with Codex CLI in interactive mode
- Security architecture and sandboxing approach
- Configuration options and customization
- Hands-on exercise: Setting up Codex CLI and executing first commands
Break (10 mins)
Core Capabilities and Workflows (60 mins)
- Reading and understanding codebases
- Generating new code with natural language prompts
- Modifying existing code and debugging issues
- Working with multimodal inputs (screenshots, diagrams)
- Git integration and version control workflows
- Running and managing command execution
- Hands-on exercise: Using Codex CLI to implement a feature from a description
Break (10 mins)
Advanced Usage and Multi-Model Support (50 mins)
- Working with different OpenAI models
- Using alternative providers with Codex CLI
- Model selection for different tasks
- Performance considerations and optimization
- Headless mode for CI/CD and automated workflows
- Context management and project-specific instructions
- Hands-on exercise: Comparing model performance for complex code tasks
Break (10 mins)
Best Practices and Real-World Applications (55 mins)
- Establishing appropriate approval workflows
- Knowing when to use which automation mode
- Effective prompt engineering for coding tasks
- Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Case studies: Real-world applications of Codex CLI
- Hands-on exercise: Implementing a complex, multi-step development task
Course Conclusion and Q&A (25 mins)
- Recap of key learnings
- Resources for continued learning
- Community engagement opportunities
- Open Q&A session
Your Instructor
Ken Kousen
Ken Kousen is the author of the Kotlin Cookbook (O'Reilly), Modern Java Recipes (O'Reilly), Gradle Recipes for Android (O’Reilly), and Making Java Groovy (Manning), as well as O’Reilly video courses in Android, Groovy, Gradle, advanced Java, and Spring. A JavaOne Rock Star, he’s a regular speaker on the No Fluff Just Stuff conference tour and has spoken at conferences all over the world. Through his company, Kousen I.T., Inc., he’s taught software development training courses to thousands of students.