Web search is now enabled by default
Codex now enables web search for local tasks in the Codex CLI and IDE Extension.
By default, Codex uses a web search cache, which is an OpenAI-maintained index of web results. Cached mode returns pre-indexed results instead of fetching live pages, while live mode fetches the most recent data from the web. If you are using --yolo or another full access sandbox setting, web search defaults to live results. To disable this behavior or switch modes, use the web_search configuration option:
web_search = "cached"(default; serves results from the web search cache)web_search = "live"(fetches the most recent data from the web; same as--search)web_search = "disabled"to remove the tool
To learn more, check out the configuration documentation.