Enforceable task budgets and clearer usage controls in Codex

What variant of Codex are you using?

Codex Desktop app on Windows

What feature would you like to see?

Feature request: Enforceable task budgets and clearer usage controls in Codex

The problem

As a paying Codex user, I need better control over how much of my allowance a task consumes, especially when using Astra.

I use Codex for substantial, ongoing personal projects. I have invested time in explicit efficiency instructions and reusable workflows intended to prevent repeated reading, redundant checks, oversized outputs, and unnecessary work. However, Codex does not consistently follow those instructions.

When that happens, I pay twice: the unwanted work consumes my allowance, and identifying and correcting it consumes additional usage and my time. Asking the assistant to follow instructions more carefully does not provide a dependable spending control.

I have also seen other users report unexpectedly high Astra usage. Those reports do not establish a shared cause, but they reinforce the need for clearer visibility and controls.

Requested features

1. Enforceable per-task budgets
   Let me limit the allowance a task may consume. Enforce that limit in the application, with a clean checkpoint and a request for approval before further work.

2. An estimate before expensive work
   Show an approximate usage range before starting a substantial task. Clearly identify uncertainty and warn me if the task is exceeding the estimate.

3. Live, understandable usage reporting
   Show how much allowance the current task has consumed, alongside the remaining short-term and weekly allowance. Explain how reported token usage relates to subscription limits.

4. Visibility into avoidable work
   Provide a concise breakdown of usage associated with reasoning, tools, subagents, and retries. Make repeated operations visible so users can understand where their allowance went.

5. Application-enforced efficiency and scope controls
   Offer controls for limiting retries, repeated retrieval, subagent activity, and expansion beyond the requested task. These controls should remain effective throughout long tasks and context compaction.

6. Cost-aware model choices
   Before starting, help users judge whether a less expensive model is suitable. Ask before switching to a model that would consume allowance faster.

Expected result

I should be able to authorize a task with a clear budget, see its usage as it runs, and trust that Codex will stop before exceeding that budget without approval.

I understand that difficult tasks can require substantial computation and that estimates cannot be exact. The request is for predictable controls, transparent accounting, and protection against avoidable consumption.

Efficiency should be a dependable product feature, not something users must repeatedly persuade the assistant to practice.

Additional information

No response

The issue identifies the Codex Desktop app on Windows but names no files, tests, or implementation entry points. Start by determining where task execution and usage accounting are handled, then narrow the six requested controls into an agreed scope. Done would require defined product behavior, approval and reporting flows, and tests for the selected scope.