zero2codex
OpenAI Codex workflow course

Course goal: ship your personal brand site

Build a personal brand site with Codex

Keep improving one project from an empty folder to a responsive one-page site with an introduction, projects, and contact details. Every lesson adds a visible result or a check toward that finish line.

Curriculum

Personal brand site build path

01

Start With Codex

Set up Codex and build the hero section of your personal brand site.

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00｜Install And Open CodexInstall the desktop app, sign in, open the site project folder, and send a safe first message.What Codex Is ForBuild the first version of your site with a name, introduction, projects, contact details, and one working button.Choose A Codex SurfaceEdit the site's Projects button locally, then verify its text and behavior in a browser.Your First Useful PromptTurn “add an About section” into a concrete request with content, constraints, and browser checks.
02

Prompt Like A Builder

Map the site, plan its sections, and turn rough ideas into clear changes.

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Find the Files to ChangeAsk Codex to show which files control each part of the site before you edit anything.
9 minReady

Find the Files to Change

Find where each part of the site lives before deciding what to change.

main fileswhat each file controlsthings still to check
10-minute lab

Hands-on lab

Review the personal brand site from the first module and make a simple list of where its main sections and button behavior are defined. Codex will inspect the file without editing it and separate what it found from what it is unsure about.

Before you start

  • Open my-brand-site with the finished index.html from module one.
  • Start a new task named Find the files behind the personal brand site so this result stays separate from earlier edits.

Do it now

Good prompt

Codex, inspect index.html in this local project without editing it. Tell me where the page structure, styles, About section, Projects section, and Projects button behavior are defined. For each answer, point to the exact element, style block, or event handler. Explain how I can check it myself. Separate what you found in the file from anything you are unsure about.

What success looks like

  • The response names index.html as the entry point and describes its HTML, CSS, and JavaScript roles.
  • No file is changed.
  • Observed facts and assumptions appear in separate lists.
Stuck? Try this
  • If Codex starts editing, stop it and reply: “This is a read-only task. Revert any edits and only explain what each part of the file does.”
  • If the answer is vague, ask: “Point to the exact element, style block, and event handler for each claim.”

Plain-language explanation

Before Codex edits anything, ask it to show you the main files and what each one controls. In this one-file site, it can point out the HTML structure, styles, and button behavior inside index.html.

This is useful when the project is new to you. You can see where a feature lives and check Codex's answer before deciding what to change.

Why it matters

Looking through the files first helps you avoid changing the wrong place. Codex can show what it found and clearly label anything it is not sure about.

Common beginner mistake

A common beginner mistake is asking for a change before finding out which file or part of the page controls it.

Step-by-step

  1. Ask Codex to inspect without editing.
  2. Ask which file and page section control each feature.
  3. Ask it to label anything uncertain separately from what it found in the file.
  4. Use the answer to decide what the next small change should be.

Try this

Ask Codex where one feature lives. Then find that part in the file and check the answer yourself.

Completion checklist

  • The response names where the requested behavior probably lives.
  • The response separates observed facts from assumptions.

Sources

Plan Before CodingPlan the site's theme control before editing, including risks and browser checks.Define Done WhenDefine visible completion checks, then implement the site's light and dark themes.
08

Finish And Deliver The Site

Polish independent tasks in parallel, then complete one final acceptance review.

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Complete The Site GoalTurn the finished personal site into one measurable goal with content, layout, interaction, and evidence checks.Polish Copy And Accessibility In ParallelUse isolated worktrees only when copy polish and accessibility review can avoid editing the same lines.Run The Final Three ReviewsRun separate content, link, and accessibility reviews, then compare all evidence against the same launch checklist.

Practice lab

Copyable Codex prompts

Plan before coding

Codex, inspect the relevant files first, then propose a plan. Do not edit until the plan names tests and verification steps.

Verification checklist

  • Relevant files are named before edits begin.
  • The plan includes tests and verification commands.

Verify a UI change

Codex, start the dev server, open the route in the browser, check desktop and mobile layouts, then report the exact evidence.

Verification checklist

  • Desktop and mobile states are checked in the browser.
  • The final note includes exact evidence.

Review focused risk

Codex, review the uncommitted diff. Focus on behavioral regressions, missing tests, and accessibility issues. Do not modify files.

Verification checklist

  • Findings lead with severity and file references.
  • Unchanged files are left untouched.
Every good Codex request says what to change, what to preserve, and how to prove it worked.

Reference

Codex concepts to keep nearby