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.
03

Work Safely

Add site interactions while keeping every edit safe and easy to undo.

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Local Thread BoundariesAdd Back to top while keeping the task limited to one file and one visible outcome.Sandbox And ApprovalsServe the personal site locally and review every command before approving it.
11 minReady

Sandbox And Approvals

Use sandbox and approval settings intentionally instead of treating them as noise.

sandbox modesapproval policycommand risk
12-minute lab

Hands-on lab

Serve the finished page locally with the narrowest useful command. Review what each command touches before Codex runs it instead of approving by reflex.

Before you start

  • Save the current index.html and make sure my-brand-site is the active local project.
  • Close any old preview server so the verification starts from a known state.

Do it now

Good prompt

Codex, verify this static page with the narrowest local commands. Before running anything, list each command, what it reads or changes, whether it uses the network, and whether it may need approval. Prefer pwd followed by python3 -m http.server --bind 127.0.0.1 8000 from this project. Do not install packages, access external sites, or touch files outside my-brand-site. After browser verification, stop the server and report the commands used.

What success looks like

  • Codex explains the scope and risk of every command before execution.
  • The page is served from my-brand-site without installing packages or accessing external sites.
  • The local server is stopped after verification and no project file changes.
Stuck? Try this
  • If port 8000 is busy, ask Codex to identify the conflict and propose one alternate local port—do not approve a broad process-kill command.
  • If Codex proposes npm install, ask why the built-in Python server is insufficient for this static page.

Plain-language explanation

Sandboxing controls what Codex can touch. Approvals control when Codex must pause before running a command or doing something riskier.

When a permission prompt appears, you are not just clicking through a dialog. You are deciding whether the requested action is safe for this task.

Why it matters

Intentional approvals keep Codex useful without giving it unnecessary reach across your machine, network, or files.

Common beginner mistake

The common mistake is approving broad commands without checking what directory, network access, or file changes they involve.

Step-by-step

  1. Read the requested command or action.
  2. Ask what files, network, or system state it might affect.
  3. Approve the narrowest option that lets the task continue.
  4. Ask Codex for an alternative if the command is too broad.

Try this

List three commands you commonly run. Mark each as safe, review-needed, or too broad for an automated agent.

Completion checklist

  • You can identify a command that is safe to run locally.
  • You can identify a command that should require explicit approval.

Sources

Network Access RiskAudit fonts, images, scripts, and links to decide whether the site needs network access.
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