Codex CLI reference-only setup.

This is a reference-only guide. Local/mock text, streaming, and simulated shell-tool protocol tests pass on Codex 0.153.4; tools are on; treat harness use as reference-only until sustained exact-GPU evidence is published. Do not use paid credits with this pending integration.

Before you start

• Use Codex CLI 0.153.4; Node.js and npm must already be installed.
• The profile uses the stateless Responses API and model qwen3.8-27b-abliterated.
• The current deployment exposes a 131,072-token total context; completion must fit in the remaining envelope.
• API tools are on; treat Codex harness use as reference-only until sustained evidence is published.

1. Install the tested version

node --version
npm --version
npm install --global @openai/codex@0.153.4
codex --version

2. Download the layered profile

The consumer profile contains no secret. It sets zero HTTP and stream retries so account, capacity, and service errors return once.

PowerShell

$homeDir = if ($env:CODEX_HOME) { $env:CODEX_HOME } else { Join-Path $HOME ".codex" }
$profile = Join-Path $homeDir "ablitai.config.toml"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $homeDir | Out-Null
if (Test-Path $profile) { throw "$profile exists; review and merge it manually." }
Invoke-WebRequest "https://ablitai.com/configs/codex-ablitai.config.toml" -OutFile $profile

macOS or Linux

home_dir="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}"
profile="$home_dir/ablitai.config.toml"
mkdir -p "$home_dir"
test ! -e "$profile" || { echo "$profile exists; review and merge it manually." >&2; exit 1; }
curl --fail --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 https://ablitai.com/configs/codex-ablitai.config.toml -o "$profile"
chmod 600 "$profile"

3. Set the key for this terminal

PowerShell

$secret = Read-Host "AblitAI API key" -AsSecureString
$env:ABLITAI_API_KEY = [System.Net.NetworkCredential]::new("", $secret).Password
Remove-Variable secret

macOS or Linux

printf 'AblitAI API key: ' >&2
ablit_stty="$(stty -g)"
trap 'stty "$ablit_stty"' EXIT HUP INT TERM
stty -echo
IFS= read -r ABLITAI_API_KEY
stty "$ablit_stty"
trap - EXIT HUP INT TERM
unset ablit_stty
printf '\n' >&2
export ABLITAI_API_KEY

4. Confirm account access

Create or import your no-email account and save its offline backup. A valid key is required. This closed-tool diagnostic does not require funded credits and should return the documented 400 before inference or charging. Text inference separately requires a positive available balance.

5. Run the closed-gate probe

This probe is expected to return 400 Tool calling is disabled for this deployment. Codex includes tools in its Responses request even when the prompt says not to use them. Reaching that exact error proves the reference profile reached AblitAI, but it is not a launch step and does not establish support.

codex exec --profile ablitai --model qwen3.8-27b-abliterated --ephemeral `
  --skip-git-repo-check --sandbox read-only `
  "Reply with exactly ABLITAI_OK. Do not use tools."

codex exec --profile ablitai --model qwen3.8-27b-abliterated --ephemeral \
  --skip-git-repo-check --sandbox read-only \
  'Reply with exactly ABLITAI_OK. Do not use tools.'

In every new terminal used for this diagnostic, prompt for ABLITAI_API_KEY again. Do not start an interactive paid session unless this page is later promoted from reference-only to supported.

Known client behavior

Codex 0.153.4 prints a nonfatal warning because the custom model is absent from its bundled metadata catalog. Local/mock request and simulated tool protocol fixtures pass; standard tool-bearing requests remain unsupported until exact-GPU parser validation. This version preserves actionable audited errors except that it shows 429 while truncating the gateway detail.