The line under the Codex prompt can show the model, how much context is left, your 5-hour and weekly limits, the branch and more. Codex draws it from its own list of items, so there is no script to write: you pick the items, order them and add two lines to config.toml. This lesson builds a footer and a tab title you will actually read.
Open the builder
Open Config Studio for Codex and press Status line and terminal title. Under The footer and the title, a small Codex window shows the footer and the tab title with example values, and the right column shows What this looks like above the [tui] lines.
Two tabs sit under the window: Footer and Terminal title, each with how many items it has.
Pick the footer items
On Footer, the items are grouped: Model, Context and tokens, Usage limits, Folder, Git, Modes, State, Thread, Progress and This machine. Press an item to add it; it lights up and appears in the preview at once.
A good start: model-with-reasoning, context-remaining, five-hour-limit, weekly-limit and git-branch. The A footer worth reading starter pack (lesson 7) sets exactly these, and the title below, with one press of Fill it in.
The preview uses example values. In Codex, an item with nothing to show (no branch outside a repository, say) is left out until it has something.
Put them in order
The items you picked form a row under the tabs. Drag one to move it, or use ‹ and ›; × removes it. The order in the row is the order in the footer and in status_line.
Set the terminal title
Press Terminal title. The same kind of list builds the text of the terminal tab, so you can tell several Codex sessions apart. activity and project-name make a title that says what Codex is doing and where.
Colours, hiding and the default
- Colours from the /theme colours each item from the theme you picked in Codex with
/theme. - Hide the footer turns the line off entirely.
- Codex's default goes back to what Codex shows when you set nothing, and then nothing is written for the footer.
- On Terminal title, Keep Codex's default title and Clear the title do the same for the tab.
The file is two or three lines under [tui] in ~/.codex/config.toml. Inside Codex, /statusline and /title edit the same keys, so you can fine-tune there later.
Next: MCP servers, skills and custom agents, the tools and helpers Codex can reach.