openai / openai/codex

Bundled openai-docs Skill should inspect authoritative local state before web docs

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bug CLI skills
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Bug description

The bundled openai-docs Skill requires official documentation search and page retrieval before inspecting local files or repository state. That ordering is correct for current product/API documentation, but it is also applied to narrow questions whose authoritative source is the local Codex installation, such as the installed CLI version, effective local configuration, or locally available system skills.

Current source

  • Codex CLI: 0.154.0
  • npm stable: 0.154.0
  • Installed file: ~/.codex/skills/.system/openai-docs/SKILL.md
  • Upstream file: codex-rs/skills/src/assets/samples/openai-docs/SKILL.md

Both currently state that official-page retrieval must complete before "inspecting local or repository files". The only exception is a broad Codex setup/orientation synthesis.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Ask Codex a narrow local-installation question, for example: "Which Codex CLI version is installed on this machine?"
  2. Load the bundled openai-docs Skill as required by its description.
  3. Observe that its first substantive action requires an official documentation search and page fetch before running the local version command or reading local installation state.

Actual behavior

A network-dependent, release-level source is mandatory before the local source of truth may be inspected. This can add unnecessary latency and can produce an answer about the current release that differs from the installed build.

Expected behavior

For claims owned by the local installation, Codex should inspect the local source of truth first. Official documentation should remain first for product/API/current-release claims.

A narrow exception could cover local-only facts such as:

  • installed CLI/app version;
  • effective local configuration;
  • locally installed/enabled skills or plugins;
  • local runtime/process state.

This is distinct from #43164, which covers explicit offline instructions; the issue here occurs even when network access is available because the evidence owner is local rather than online documentation.

Proposed minimal change

Scope the existing docs-first requirement to documentation/current-product claims and add a local-facts exception that permits inspecting authoritative local state before web retrieval.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Read ~/.codex/skills/.system/openai-docs/SKILL.md and codex-rs/skills/src/assets/samples/openai-docs/SKILL.md, comparing their docs-first requirement and exception. Update the bundled guidance so local-only facts can use authoritative local state first while product/API and current-release claims remain web-first; verify both copies express the same distinction from explicit offline instructions.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
markdown
Domain
cli, documentation
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
78/100

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