cgstack

Use Codex as a full engineering staff: CEO, Designer, Eng Manager, QA, Release Manager, and Doc Engineer.

cgstack is a Codex-only AI engineering workflow pack. It installs OpenAI Codex skills, a fast Chromium browser tool, and role-based workflows for planning, reviewing, testing, documenting, and shipping software.

About This Fork

cgstack is a fork and Codex port of Garry Tan's original gstack project.

The original gstack was built around Claude Code. cgstack keeps the opinionated engineering workflow idea, but ports the repository to OpenAI Codex and removes legacy Claude Code and multi-agent host support. In this fork, Codex is the only supported runtime.

The port includes Codex skill generation, ~/.codex/skills/ installation, AGENTS.md project guidance, Codex CLI invocation paths, and a Codex-focused browser/terminal integration.

What Changed From gstack?

cgstack is not a compatibility layer. It is a Codex-only fork.

• Claude Code support was removed: skills, setup paths, docs, and runtime assumptions now target Codex only.
• Codex skill installation is first-class: generated skills install under ~/.codex/skills/, with dollar-prefixed skill mentions like $review and $qa.
• Project guidance moved to AGENTS.md: cgstack uses Codex's project instruction file instead of CLAUDE.md.
• Invocation paths were rewritten for Codex: model handoffs, review flows, probes, and benchmark adapters call Codex CLI behavior rather than Claude Code behavior.
• The browser sidebar is terminal-first: the old chat/agent sidebar surface was removed; the visible browser integration now pairs with a Codex terminal.
• Legacy host abstraction was dropped: there is no multi-host matrix to keep in sync. Codex is the supported runtime.
• Docs and tests were regenerated around cgstack: README, architecture docs, generated skills, and validation tests now describe the Codex port.

Why cgstack?

Codex is strong at implementation, but real software work needs more than raw code generation. cgstack gives Codex a repeatable operating system for product thinking, planning, review, QA, release, documentation, and post-ship learning.

• Role-based workflows: specialized skills act like a CEO, designer, eng manager, QA lead, release manager, security reviewer, and docs engineer.
• Codex-native runtime: no Claude Code compatibility layer, no multi-host adapter surface, and no legacy invocation paths.
• Real browser tooling: browser QA, screenshots, cookie setup, scraping, and live app inspection run through the bundled Chromium tooling.
• Project memory and handoff: context, learnings, plans, retros, and release notes can be saved and restored across sessions.
• Opinionated defaults: the skills push for better plans, clearer tradeoffs, stronger tests, and production-focused review before code lands.

Demo Workflow

After installing cgstack, open Codex in a project repo and use the skills as a software delivery loop:

$office-hours I want to build a small billing dashboard for usage-based pricing.

Use the result to sharpen the product direction, then ask for planning review:

$plan-ceo-review docs/designs/billing-dashboard.md
$plan-eng-review docs/designs/billing-dashboard.md
$plan-design-review docs/designs/billing-dashboard.md

Implement the plan with Codex, then run review and browser QA:

$review
$qa

When the branch is ready:

$document-release
$ship

For live browser work, launch the visible browser integration:

$open-cgstack-browser

Install

Requirements: OpenAI Codex CLI, Git, and Bun v1.0+.

git clone --single-branch --depth 1 https://github.com/chloropine/cgstack.git ~/.cgstack/repos/cgstack
cd ~/.cgstack/repos/cgstack
./setup

The installer builds the browser binary, generates Codex-format skills under .agents/skills/, and installs runtime links under ~/.codex/skills/.

Compatibility

cgstack supports macOS, Linux, and Windows.

• macOS and Linux: full local setup and test workflow are supported with Codex CLI, Git, and Bun.
• Windows: supported through the Windows-safe path. Install Node.js as well as Bun; the browser server uses a Node-compatible bundle on Windows.
• Codex only: cgstack does not support Claude Code or other AI coding runtimes.

Team Mode

From the root of a project that should require cgstack:

(cd ~/.cgstack/repos/cgstack && ./setup --team)
~/.cgstack/repos/cgstack/bin/cgstack-team-init required
git add AGENTS.md
git commit -m "require cgstack for AI-assisted work"

Use optional instead of required if the project should recommend cgstack without requiring it.

Core Skills

Skill	Purpose
$office-hours	Reframe a product idea before implementation.
$plan-ceo-review	Founder-level scope and strategy review.
$plan-eng-review	Architecture, data flow, edge cases, and tests.
$plan-design-review	Design review before code.
$autoplan	Runs the plan review pipeline.
$review	Pre-landing code review focused on production bugs.
$investigate	Root-cause debugging with a no-fix-before-investigation rule.
$qa	Browser-based QA with fixes and verification.
$qa-only	Browser-based QA report without edits.
$ship	Test, review, push, and prepare a PR.
$land-and-deploy	Merge, wait for CI/deploy, and verify production health.
$browse	Headless Chromium browser control.
$open-cgstack-browser	Visible browser with sidebar and cookie tooling.
$document-release	Update docs for shipped changes.
$document-generate	Generate missing docs from code.
$cso	OWASP Top 10 + STRIDE security audit.
$benchmark	Performance regression checks.
$learn	Manage project learnings.
$context-save	Save working context.
$context-restore	Restore saved context.

Development

bun install
bun run gen:skill-docs
bun run build
bun test

Generated SKILL.md files come from SKILL.md.tmpl templates. Edit templates, then run bun run gen:skill-docs to regenerate Codex output.

For local development:

bin/dev-setup
# edit templates or source
bin/dev-teardown

Uninstall

~/.cgstack/repos/cgstack/bin/cgstack-uninstall

Manual cleanup, if needed:

rm -rf ~/.codex/skills/cgstack*
rm -rf ~/.cgstack/repos/cgstack