OpenAI Codex: Revolutionary Workflow or $200 Mistake?

OpenAI's Codex demands a $200 monthly Pro subscription yet attracts developers despite being twice as expensive as alternatives. In this comprehensive breakdown, I analyze whether this cloud-based coding environment delivers genuine value or is simply another overhyped tool, reveal the workflow paradigm shift it introduces through containerized parallel task execution, demonstrate advanced techniques to maximize its capabilities, and expose critical limitations that might affect your decision to upgrade. Based on my extensive testing, I'll help you determine if Codex's unique approach to AI-assisted development justifies its premium price tag for your specific needs. 00:00 Intro 00:26 Codex Workflow Overview 00:52 Starting a task 02:18 Code Review UI 04:19 Pushing the change 06:18 Forcing function for mindset change 07:36 Codex Best Practices 08:39 AGENTS.md 10:38 Plan and Execute 12:00 Review the code 12:48 Test is a must 13:47 Don't sit there and watch 15:12 Different workflow 15:39 Areas of improvement 17:05 No updating PRs 17:50 Setup flow 18:58 No checkpointing 19:36 Verdict