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.
8 minReady

What Codex Is For

Know when to ask Codex for codebase help, implementation, debugging, or review.

agentic codingrepository contexthuman review loop
12-minute lab

Hands-on lab

Create a real one-file personal brand site in a brand-new folder. You will watch Codex create a file, explain the change, and give you a way to check it.

Before you start

  • Create an empty folder named my-brand-site anywhere on your computer.
  • In the desktop app, add that folder as a local project and start a new Codex task.

Do it now

Good prompt

Codex, this empty folder is for my personal brand site. Create one responsive index.html with a hero heading that says “Your Name”, the line “I turn ideas into clear web experiences.”, and About, Projects, and Contact sections. Add a “View my work” button that scrolls to Projects. Keep all HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in that one file and do not install packages. When finished, report the changed file and give me exact browser check steps.

What success looks like

  • The folder contains one index.html file and no installed packages.
  • The page shows a name, a short introduction, About, Projects, and Contact sections, plus a working projects button.
  • Codex reports the changed file and tells you how to check the result.
Stuck? Try this
  • If Codex says it cannot see the folder, confirm that my-brand-site is the current local project.
  • If the page does not open, ask: “Give me the simplest exact steps to open this index.html in my browser.”

Plain-language explanation

Codex is most useful when you treat it like a coding teammate. It can read unfamiliar files, explain how a project works, make scoped changes, run checks, and summarize what changed.

It is not a replacement for your judgment. Your job is to give it enough context, ask for evidence, and review the result before you accept the work.

Why it matters

This mindset keeps you in control. Codex can move quickly, but you still decide the task, the safety boundaries, and whether the evidence is good enough.

Common beginner mistake

A common beginner mistake is treating Codex like magic and accepting its output without understanding the changed files or test evidence.

Step-by-step

  1. Open the empty my-brand-site folder in a new Codex task.
  2. Send the personal brand site prompt below.
  3. Open the changed-files view and confirm only index.html was created.
  4. Open index.html in a browser and find the introduction, About, Projects, and Contact sections.
  5. Click View my work and confirm the page moves to Projects.

Try this

Open a small project and ask Codex for a read-only explanation. Before asking for changes, write down what you still need to verify yourself.

Completion checklist

  • The site shows a name, introduction, About, Projects, and Contact sections.
  • You clicked View my work and confirmed it moves to the Projects section.

Sources

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.
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