Codex/CLI/Q/Why doesn't CodexCLI support slash commands?

• Why doesn't Codex/CLI support slash commands?

  • Answer

    • My Answer
      • Codex has deprecated what they called "custom prompts" in favor of Agent/Skills.
      • See Codex/GitHub/Issue/25/10 Look for custom prompts aka slash commands in project
    • AI/Response
      • Short answer: Codex/CLI does support slash commands for built-in session control (/model, /permissions, /skills, /plan, /status, and dozens more per Slash commands in Codex CLI). What it does not support (and OpenAI has removed) is user-defined custom slash commands like Claude Code's repo-local .claude/commands/ or Rulesync-generated native /command-name workflows—the pattern many tools call "slash commands" in the agentic-coding ecosystem.
      • What changed: Older Codex builds let you add custom prompts as Markdown under ~/.codex/prompts/ and invoke them as /prompts:<name>. That path is deprecated; custom prompts were removed starting in codex-cli 0.117.0 (openai/codex#15941). Custom Prompts now directs users to skills instead.
      • OpenAI's stated direction: Maintainers describe skills as a superset of what custom slash commands did—reusable instructions, repo-shareable under .agents/skills/ (and related discovery paths), explicit invocation via /skills or $skill-name in the composer, and optional implicit use when enabled. They have no current plans to restore file-based custom slash commands (openai/codex#22674).
      • Why the ecosystem says "Codex doesn't support slash commands": Tools such as Claude/Code, CursorAI, and rulesync treat commands as first-class generated artifacts (e.g. .rulesync/commands/*.md → real /slash entries). Rulesync's matrix marks Codex CLI commands as simulated only (🌏): for codexcli, use rulesync generate … --simulate-commands and invoke s/your-command in the prompt, or—preferably—generate skills (--features skills) and use Codex's /skills menu and $skill mentions (Rulesync simulated features in this repo).
      • Practical substitutes in Codex:
        • Skills — project or user skills; enabled skills show in the slash popup; invoke with /skills or $skill-name (Codex skills).
        • Persistent instructions — AGENTS.md, config.toml rules, and /init scaffolding.
        • Built-in slash UX — session steering (/model, /permissions, /compact, etc.) remains; it is not the same as shipping OpenSpec-style /opsx:* command packs.
      • OpenSpec / multi-tool configs: When a workflow installer offers "skills + commands," choose skills only for Codex (or both where Claude/Cursor get real commands and Codex gets the skill half). That matches OpenAI's removal of custom prompts and avoids expecting /opsx:… to exist natively in the Codex TUI.
      • Sources:
        • Slash commands in Codex CLI (built-in commands)
        • Custom Prompts – Codex (deprecated; migrate to skills)
        • openai/codex#15941 (removal in 0.117.0)
        • openai/codex#22674 (no plans to restore custom slash commands)