Codex can currently be used with a free OpenAI account. This was mentioned in their announcement yesterday (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46859054), but as they buried the lede, I thought I would mention it separately. They haven't shared how long the free tier will last.

I've been using LLM code agents since the Gemini CLI announcement seven months ago (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44376919). My workflow is centered around Emacs and the terminal, so I skipped Cursor and other GUI-based tools. I'm not sure I would've taken the time to try agents at all if Gemini CLI hadn't been free initially.

While Gemini was a good start, subscribing to Claude Code completely changed how I work.

However, I was surprised to find that the new Codex CLI works incredibly well. It offers a terminal interface that doesn't make my fans spin up or render at single-digit FPS, unlike Claude Code. It also supports other TUIs like OpenCode.

So far, I'm pleasantly surprised, and you may be too.