Keep efficiency work aligned with just-every/code and Codex CLI

[cbusillo]

Objective

Keep Every Code maintainable as a fork while aligning with upstream just-every/code and Codex CLI behavior where that improves compatibility, safety, and mergeability.

Finish Line

Efficiency and local-agent work lands in small, upstream-aware changes that preserve Every Code-specific strengths: auto-review, multi-provider agents, memory mode, browser/control ergonomics, and autonomous workflows.

Current Status

State: Strategy anchor updated for the 2026-06-06 pivot: Codex CLI fork first, Every Code overlays second.

Current pivot:

• Every Code is moving into maintenance mode as a standalone product direction.
• This repository should now behave as a Codex CLI fork by default: app-server/session/protocol/config/TUI semantics should stay Codex-compatible unless a tracked Every Code overlay explicitly extends them.
• Needed Every Code features are additive overlays, not a mandate to preserve broad product-era divergence. Current overlay candidates include the code command UX, Every Code harness/runtime dogfooding, Code Bridge, browser/control tooling, multi-agent workflows, Auto Drive, GitHub automation, auto-review/planning, token/burn diagnostics, and local build/release workflows.
• Retired/deferred product-era behavior should not be reintroduced just because it existed before the Codex-base migration.

Planning links:

• Make Every Code an independent product #85 now records the old independent-product direction as superseded/rescoped historical context.
• Plan Codex-base substrate migration for Every Code #384 owns the Codex CLI fork/substrate policy and migration decomposition.
• Inventory and port Every Code features onto Codex base #386 owns the explicit keep/drop/defer inventory for Every Code overlays.
• Validate Codex-base Every Code in copied Codex Desktop app #387/Decide remote inbox and Discord UI for Codex-base session continuity #388 own Desktop/session validation before high-conflict UI or remote-inbox decisions.

Recent evidence:

• PR feat: replace Rust substrate with Codex base #390 replaced code-rs with the Codex-base Rust workspace while preserving CODE_HOME precedence and the code binary.
• PR feat: align CLI identity with Every Code #391 restored initial CLI identity/config compatibility.
• PR docs: inventory Every Code feature ports #392 landed the initial feature inventory.
• PR fix: accept desktop startup app-server probes #393 added narrow Desktop startup app-server compatibility shims without changing the broad protocol direction.
• PR fix: accept legacy Every Code config shapes #394 accepted legacy Every Code config shapes needed for real user-home Desktop startup.

Next action:

• Update docs/policy metadata that still imply Every Code independence or product-first direction, especially AGENTS/repo guidance, .github/github.json, docs/upstream-import-policy.md, and docs/codex-base-feature-inventory.md.
• Continue future implementation slices only after classifying them as Codex compatibility, required Every Code overlay, or retired/deferred product-era behavior.

Scope

• In: Fork-drift analysis, upstream behavior comparison, small mergeable branches, compatibility-preserving design, and explicit Every Code feature preservation.
• Out: Blindly reverting Every Code features to match upstream, carrying inactive upstream release channels, or adding broad fork-only abstractions without clear need.

Acceptance Criteria

• Each subtrack records upstream compatibility considerations before implementation.
• Changes preserve auto-review, multi-provider agents, and memory behavior unless an explicit decision says otherwise.
• Fork-specific changes are small and easy to carry across upstream pulls.
• Design notes distinguish just-every/code alignment from OpenAI Codex CLI alignment.
• Intentional distribution divergences, including npm/Homebrew skips, are recorded with rationale.

Relationships

Parent: #43
Blocks: final design choices across all implementation subissues.
Related: #85, #298, #377.

#377 is the concrete desktop integration track: combine Every Code with the Codex Desktop app by making Every Code compatible with the desktop codex app-server launch/protocol contract.

• related: Plan Codex-base substrate migration for Every Code #384 - Plan Codex-base substrate migration for Every Code #384
• related: Inventory and port Every Code features onto Codex base #386 - Inventory and port Every Code features onto Codex base #386

Validation

Before merging implementation PRs, confirm they do not unnecessarily increase fork drift and still pass repo validation.

Decisions

• Every Code should get closer to upstream where it helps, while preserving the features that make it valuable.
• Distribution is an intentional Every Code product decision. GitHub Releases/direct binaries are active; npm/Homebrew publishing surfaces are not carried unless reopened by a future package-manager distribution plan.

Open Questions

Which upstream behaviors are worth adopting directly, and which Every Code behaviors should remain intentionally different?

[cbusillo]

Transition alignment note from #85:

This issue remains legitimate, but its role should shift from "keep a fork close to upstream" to Every Code upstream import policy. The new posture is:

• Every Code is the product authority for UX, defaults, release policy, Auto Review, Auto Drive, browser/control, memory, worker integrations, and local workflow.
• openai/codex is an upstream source for protocol/model/API behavior, architecture, and security-relevant fixes.
• just-every/code is a sibling/upstream source for useful ergonomics and implementation ideas.
• Imports are proposals, not obligations; we preserve importability as a maintenance constraint, not as a product veto.

When this issue is next worked, refresh its Objective/Current Status to match #85 rather than the older overlay/fork-maintenance framing.

[shiny-code-bot]

Strategy note, 2026-06-01:

We should shift the medium-term center of gravity back toward OpenAI Codex CLI while keeping Every Code's product features. This is not a flag-day rewrite or immediate rename.

Working direction:

• Finish the current load first, especially Auto Review correctness and update/release cleanup.
• Keep Every Code as the product/UX layer for now: the code command, Auto Review, Auto Drive, Code Bridge, browser/control tooling, multi-agent workflows, GitHub automation, local dogfooding, and memory/provider ergonomics remain must-preserve features.
• Treat OpenAI Codex CLI as the preferred architectural substrate for new core primitives where practical.
• Treat just-every/code as an opportunistic import/reference source rather than the long-term architectural center.
• Use reversible pilots instead of a full rebase: review-run identity/currentness is the likely first pilot because it helps Make Auto Review snapshot-aware and preserve superseded results #76 now and moves a core workflow toward Codex-compatible primitives.
• Defer any rename until the substrate alignment is real enough that the name describes reality rather than aspiration.

Near-term implication: #76 and #50 should be implemented in a way that makes Auto Review a clean product layer over explicit review-run/session/currentness primitives, not more ad hoc TUI-only state.