I’d like to propose an improvement specifically for the official OpenAI Codex extension for Visual Studio Code (Codex – OpenAI’s coding agent).
Right now, when this extension performs code edits, it applies changes directly to the file. That works fine for small adjustments, but it quickly becomes hard to see exactly what was modified in medium or larger edits.
This lowers visibility and control over the changes the AI makes, especially compared to other tools like GitHub Copilot, which shows a diff and lets you accept or reject edits before they’re applied.
Feature request
Please consider adding a workflow where:
The extension shows a diff preview before applying edits
Users can accept or reject changes per hunk or block
It integrates with VS Code’s native diff/patch UI
Even a basic “Preview changes before applying” option would already be a big usability improvement.
This would enhance transparency, trust, and control — especially in professional workflows where reviewing code changes is critical.
Hi @isaacT, this is a really thoughtful suggestion, and honestly, a fair one.
Right now the Codex extension applies edits directly, which is fast, but as you pointed out, it can get hard to track what changed once the edits get larger. Especially in professional workflows, being able to review a diff before changes land is pretty important.
There isn’t currently a built-in “preview before apply” workflow in the extension, but the idea of diff preview + selective acceptance makes a lot of sense. I’ll make sure this feedback is captured, particularly the integration with VS Code’s native diff UI, which would feel very natural.
Appreciate you laying it out clearly. This is the kind of UX improvement that can make a big difference in day-to-day usage.
Helo, I just switched over from another IDE/extension where this was a native feature. Without it, I can’t clearly see what Codex has changed, and I need a way to track those edits. My codebase is 50,000 lines long; when it modifies 20 different locations, I can’t verify if the changes are correct or even see the logic behind the edits (e.g., if it started at the right place). Currently, I can only see the output in the chat window. I’m using Codex in Windsurf with a Plus subscription and considering upgrading to Pro, but I don’t feel safe using it without this feature – even though I’ve noticed its work is very precise.
Is there any movement here? This is the only thing that prevents me from entirely switching from Cursor to Codex. Are there workarounds? Hunk-level Accept/Reject is a must-have and VSCode seem to already support it.
+1, all agentic coding providers have this (AntiGravity, Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor…), besides Codex…
I am also missing that when I enter the plan mode, it auto-creates the bullets, and I can clearly see which bullet it is currently implementing in the agent mode.
