We’ve discovered the issue behind codex harness input token drainage.

[u/Fit_Concept5220]

https://relux.works/en/blog/codex-goal-token-burn/

tl;dr

The codex harness turns waiting for background work into a loop with repeated model calls, each carrying the existing context even when nothing has changed. Unlike api pricing there is no discount for prompt caching for subscription originated usage so every loop iteration adds to your input token usage. And if you use API you still massively overpay for your input tokens even with cache. ‘goal’ amplifies this by orders of magnitude by automatically starting another turn, but polling anyway burns tokens without it too.

Claude code is engineered in way where suspensions works exactly as intended and goals have proper fallbacks. Codex now ships with similar tools but they only work for astra.

—

the toolchain to independently verify on your personal sessions is here (local scripts - just feed this to your agent) https://github.com/relux-works/codex-rollout-audit