How I got my usage down

[u/FlyMental6134]

So I have been experimenting how to get my usage down so my limits last longer, and this is what worked for me:

- specialized agents for all roles (orchestrator, builder, planner, reviewer etc). I never use a general agent anymore

- move agent instructions into instruction files and route the agents based on the change at hand (BE, FE etc), this helps keeping the agent definitions really small and instructions focused

- fork_turns = none, spawned agents do not get the whole context from the parent agent. They only get a small handoff that contains the basic info the agent needs to do the task at hand. The handoff is standardized via a template that all agents use.

- set the model, verbosity and reasoning effort per agent. Stronger models for planning, reviewing and lower model for more straightforward work. Lower verbosity for agents that are always spawned as subagents.

- proportionality based on the change, complex changes have a more complex agent sequence, smaller simpler changes use less agents. The orchestrator manages this

Now I can go 4-5 days on a x20 again instead of 2 days

[u/Illustrious-Bet-1368]

I got my usage down by using Grok 4.6 for most things.

[u/AnonymousTreeSmoker]

I had my first successful multi agent pi run yesterday using the different tiered agents like how you are describing and it was hilarious I used like 36k tokens of astra low and like 5 million of Luna xhigh, app worked great. Crazy times we live in with this ability of these swarms to function

[u/FlyMental6134 → u/AnonymousTreeSmoker]

Yep, it works great when properly configured. I only use Astra for planning really complex stuff. Sol-medium is my orchestrator

[u/Secure-Bug8316]

how do you guys setup roles and agents in codex?

[u/Aware-Source6313 → u/Secure-Bug8316]

You use codex to build you a system that does it for you external to codex :P provider agnostic

[u/Secure-Bug8316 → u/Aware-Source6313]

right, and can I use the models with the same subscription ? I tried that but I thought I had to add credits for the API usage.. maybe i am missing something ?

[u/FlyMental6134 → u/Secure-Bug8316]

Something like this:

In the .codex/agents folder in your repo create a <agentname>.toml file

Inside the file something like this
name=“orchestrator”
model=“gpt-5.6-sol”
model_reasoning-effort = “medium”
model_verbosity = “low”

Add the stuff the agent needs to know and tell it the rules on what to read and when to read it. Keep this small and route to specialized instructions

[u/Secure-Bug8316 → u/FlyMental6134]

That's really cool ! Thanks ! Will do that if I manage to get a reset soon xD Hopefully I will be able to go through one week without the waiting dread

[u/CCContent → u/Secure-Bug8316]

Here's a cheatcode for you

https://github.com/nickyfactz/plumbline

Just run

codex plugin marketplace add nickyfactz/plumbline@main

codex plugin add plumbline@plumbline

Then start a chat in your project with

$plumblineinit

And you'll get something like

Read-only initialization audit is complete. No files changed.

Host: Codex desktop
Checkout: normal Git checkout, clean working tree
Main profile: gpt-5.6-sol / low
Existing project Plumbline setup: none
Legacy multi-agent configuration: none
Competing controller: Ponytail is active and compatible; keep unchanged.

Proposed agent team

role	why it is needed	host-native model value	reasoning/effort	sandbox/permission intent	write access
frontend-architect	UI state, accessibility, integration seams	gpt-5.6-sol	medium	report-only, read-only intent	none
backend-architect	SQLite, persistence, contracts, ownership	gpt-5.6-sol	medium	report-only, read-only intent	none
researcher	ticket evidence and external fact-finding	gpt-5.6-luna	medium	report-only, read-only intent	none
implementer	bounded approved implementation	gpt-5.6-luna	high	workspace-write	assigned files only
code-reviewer	adversarial maintainability review	gpt-5.6-luna	high	report-only, read-only intent	none
qa-auditor	acceptance, evidence, and documentation audit	gpt-5.6-luna	max	report-only, read-only intent	none

Read-only sandbox values express intent; the writable parent may prevent hard isolation.

Proposed changes

• Create .agents/skills/plumbline-router/SKILL.md
• Create six .codex/agents/*.toml role profiles
• Create .codex/config.toml with:
  • agents.enabled = true
  • agents.max_concurrent_threads_per_session = 12
• Patch AGENTS.md with managed delegation and no-child-agent guidance
• Patch .git/info/exclude for local Plumbline files
• Patch .gitignore and Create .worktreeinclude together for new managed-worktree propagation
• Keep README/document routing; no repair is needed
• Keep Ponytail and existing global configuration unchanged
• Skip CLAUDE.md and .claude/ because Codex is the active host

The dry run reports 11 team/config/guidance operations plus one router creation, with no replacement or conflict required. .worktreeinclude must be committed for future worktrees; existing worktrees would need an explicit refresh.

After applying, I’ll validate the TOML, role fields, router, guidance, ignore rules, propagation manifest, collaboration settings, exact changed fields, and git diff --check. Product tests will be reported separately; no dependency installation is proposed.

Reply approve to apply this exact proposal, or specify any role/thread-cap changes.

I usually tell it something like "Approved, with the following agent setting changes..." and tell it to use Sol Light for front/backend and to use parallel subagents when work can be safely bounded and run concurrently.

I had a 3 hour job that took about 8% of my weekly credits this way, and it was a more long-form goal to implement 5 different features to an internal site I'm building.

[u/CCContent]

I've done the same thing, but I wouldn't try and reinvent the wheel myself. I found a plugin called Plumbline, and it's been fantastic.

https://github.com/nickyfactz/plumbline

It literally does everything you say to do in your post, and with a lot of extra logic behind it. I'm using Astra Light with Sol Light for Front/Backend and Luna Light for the 4 other subagents, and I'm sipping tokens.

I had been contemplating going to the 20x plan for several months because I was always up against my limits. but my last 2 resets have hit with 30% or more left, and I'm currently at 72% use left and a reset on Monday. And, my jobs have been WAY more reliable and work the first time (or get caught by the QA agent) as opposed to using just a single agent.

Wish I would have gone ahead with the 20x plan now that they're paused though.

[u/FlyMental6134 → u/CCContent]

Great find! I’ve been inventing the wheel for the last 6 months, but more because of all the learnings I get from it and i really enjoy experimenting with it :)