Codex Subagents and Skills: Complete Setup Guide (2026)

Codex shipped subagents to GA on March 14, 2026. You can now spawn up to 8 parallel agents from a single task, each with its own dedicated context window and cloud sandbox. Combined with SKILL.md skills, this turns Codex from a single-threaded coding assistant into a parallel development team.

Quick Answer: Codex subagents let you run up to 8 parallel workers from one task. Install SKILL.md skills to give each worker domain expertise. Skills go in your project's .codex/skills/ directory.

How Codex subagents work

Codex uses a manager-worker model. You give it a complex task. The manager decomposes it into subtasks and spawns worker agents in parallel cloud sandboxes. Each worker has its own context window, so the auth refactor agent doesn't share context with the test-writing agent.

Workers can run terminal commands, edit files, and run tests in their sandbox. Results are collected by the manager and presented to you for review.

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Browse all Codex CLI skills

Setting up skills for subagents

Skills are installed at the project level:

your-project/.codex/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md

Or globally:

~/.codex/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md

Every subagent inherits the installed skills. When a worker is assigned a testing subtask, it naturally activates testing-related skills. When another worker handles documentation, it picks up documentation skills.

Best skills for Codex subagents

Code review skills. Have the manager spawn a review agent that checks every other agent's output. This is the easiest way to catch issues in parallel workflows.

Testing framework skills. Each testing worker benefits from knowing your specific framework patterns. Jest, Pytest, Vitest, Playwright.

Git automation skills. When parallel agents produce changes, you need clean commits. A git skill ensures conventional commit messages and proper branch management.

DevOps skills. If subagents are generating infrastructure code, a DevOps skill keeps Docker, Terraform, and CI/CD configs consistent.

Browse all Codex-compatible skills at agensi.io/skills.

Codex subagents vs Claude Code Agent Teams

Both support parallel agents with dedicated context windows. Codex allows up to 8 parallel workers with cloud sandboxing. Claude Code Agent Teams use shared task lists and direct messaging between agents. Codex is better for delegated, autonomous work. Claude Code is better for coordinated, interactive work.

Both support the same SKILL.md format. Your skills work in either tool.

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Related: Best Codex CLI Skills 2026 and How to Install Skills in Codex CLI.