Interview Bank

Mastering Codex and the OpenAI Agents SDK in 5 Days

D1 Getting Started With the Codex CLI: Install, AGENTS.md, Approval Modes and the Sandbox, Common Commands

• Codex splits 'when to ask the user' and 'what can be touched' into two independent settings, approval_policy and sandbox_mode. Why separate them, and what does each solve?Codex 把「什么时候问用户」和「能碰到什么」拆成 approval_policy 和 sandbox_mode 两组独立开关。为什么要拆？各自解决什么问题？

  Common in ChinaCommon overseasIntermediate#coding-agent#security#sandbox

  How to reason about it · think before answering

  1. The discriminating part is 'why separate'; reciting the values without explaining orthogonality earns little.
  2. Define both: approval policy is process control, whether a human must nod before an action; sandbox is permission control, whether the OS allows the action at all.
  3. Then justify orthogonality with combinations a single slider cannot express: 'do not interrupt me but never leave the workspace' versus 'ask every time but read-only'.
  4. Ground it in implementation: the sandbox uses OS mechanisms (Seatbelt on macOS, bubblewrap on Linux) rather than model goodwill, so it is a hard limit, while approval is the one human checkpoint.
  5. Expect the follow-up: why is network off by default? Because network is the channel for code leaving or entering the machine, a different risk class from local edits.

  分析过程 · 先想清楚再作答

  1. 题眼是「为什么拆」。只背出每组的取值等于没答，面试官要听的是两者正交带来的好处。
  2. 先给定义：审批策略是流程控制，决定动作执行前要不要人点头；沙箱是权限控制，决定即使模型想做、操作系统允不允许。
  3. 再说为什么正交：你可能想要「不打扰我，但绝不许出工作区」（on-request 加 workspace-write），也可能想要「每步都问，但只让它读」（untrusted 加 read-only）；合成一个滑杆就表达不了这两种组合。
  4. 落到实现：沙箱靠操作系统机制（macOS Seatbelt、Linux bubblewrap），不是靠模型自觉，所以它是硬约束；审批则是唯一由人把关的环节。
  5. 可预期的追问：为什么网络默认关？因为联网是把内部代码送出去或把外部代码拉进来的通道，风险等级和改本地文件不同，需要单独授权。

  Key points

  • approval_policy governs process: untrusted / on-request / on-failure / never decide whether a human confirms first
  • sandbox_mode governs permission: read-only / workspace-write / danger-full-access decide what the OS allows
  • Orthogonality lets you express 'no interruptions but stay in the workspace' and 'ask each step but read-only'
  • The sandbox is an OS-level hard limit, approval is the human checkpoint, and network is off by default

  答题要点

  • approval_policy 管流程：untrusted / on-request / on-failure / never 决定动作前是否要人确认
  • sandbox_mode 管权限：read-only / workspace-write / danger-full-access 决定操作系统放行什么
  • 两者正交才能表达「不打扰但不越界」和「步步问但只读」这类组合
  • 沙箱是操作系统级硬约束，审批是唯一的人工把关点；网络默认关闭需单独放开