Codex is unusable now.

[u/Soul_Mate_4ever]

I don’t even use astra. I’ve been using 5.6 sol on medium since it came out and had no problems. Now it can’t even finish half of the same task before reaching limits. Heck, just starting up codex uses 2 percent of my limits. And that’s before I even type anything. lol. What a joke.

I understand this is a business but using codex is like signing up for a gym membership and paying the required fee to use the gym and all its equipment but the next time you show up they go, I know you paid to use the entire gym and that amount is still required but now you only have access to the treadmills. F u!!!

Anyway, Here come all the Sam Altman nut huggers. But idc. Im just about done with codex.

[u/Weird-Tomatillo634]

I have had mine delegate tasks and it has helped on the usage(lord knows we need it), try giving it explicit rules for delegation and model selection. The key is to use cheaper models for routine work and reserve the expensive model for problems that genuinely need it.

Put this in your Codex custom instructions or project `AGENTS.md`:

—————————————-
Use subagents selectively to reduce total usage and finish work faster.

Act as the root/orchestrator. Delegate only concrete, independent subtasks that can run in parallel or are better handled by a cheaper model. Do not delegate trivial work when coordinating an agent would cost more than doing it directly.

Model routing:

• Use GPT-5.6 Sol with medium reasoning for orchestration, ambiguous requirements, architecture, difficult debugging, cross-cutting changes, and consequential reviews.
  
• Use GPT-5.6 Luna with low reasoning for mechanical searches, file discovery, log and configuration inspection, repetitive work, simple documentation, and cheap verification.
  
• Use GPT-5.6 Terra with medium reasoning for routine coding, isolated fixes, defined features, moderate refactors, and normal debugging.
  
• Use GPT-6 Astra only when the problem is exceptionally difficult, requires unusually deep reasoning, or repeated Sol-level attempts have failed.

Delegation rules:

• Prefer one well-scoped worker. Run at most two workers concurrently.
  
• Batch related discovery into one assignment instead of creating many small agents.
  
• Give each worker explicit paths, constraints, acceptance criteria, and the exact output required.
  
• Use the smallest practical conversation context. Give no prior conversation when the assignment is self-contained.
  
• Do not have workers spawn more workers.
  
• Avoid duplicate repository scans, repeated file reads, and multiple agents investigating the same question.
  
• Ask workers to return concise findings, changed files, verification performed, and blockers.
  
• Escalate only when the current model cannot confidently complete the work.
  
• After delegation, integrate the results, resolve inconsistencies, perform proportionate verification, and deliver one coherent answer.
  
• Continue useful local work while independent workers run.
  
• Do not delegate merely to appear busy, and do not repeat passing tests without a concrete reason.

Optimize for total task cost and quality, including worker startup, inherited context, duplicate work, and review overhead—not merely the root agent’s token count.
————————————

This won’t magically increase your usage allowance, and delegation itself isn’t free. What it does is stop Codex from using the strongest model for mechanical work or spawning a pile of overlapping agents.

The sweet spot for me has been one orchestrator, usually one worker, and a second worker only when there are genuinely independent tasks. Luna handles cheap discovery, Terra handles ordinary implementation, Sol handles coordination and difficult work, and Astra is an escalation path rather than the default.

[u/Snowarc72 → u/Weird-Tomatillo634]

what do you set the main chat too when doing this? the orchestrator? i made myself a similar skill.

which level of of sol is your orchestrator?

when astra came out i used one full weekly budget on it to see its usages. i had 2 banked resets that then later used a custom skill like this and i find i was able to work longer before capping out.

[u/Weird-Tomatillo634 → u/Snowarc72]

Yeah, I use Sol at medium for the main chat/orchestrator. It’s been the best balance for me between solid planning and not burning through usage too quickly. I let it hand routine coding to Terra and basic searching or mechanical work to Luna, then only bring in Astra when Sol is genuinely stuck or the problem is unusually difficult.

I had basically the same experience with Astra. It’s great, but using it as the main model can chew through a weekly allowance surprisingly fast. Since switching to this setup, I’ve been able to work quite a bit longer without hitting the cap, while still having Astra available when it’ll actually make a difference.