Give ChatGPT Work and Codex one scoped operating Chief instead of a pile of tools to negotiate.

Chief of Staff adds durable operating judgment across ChatGPT Work and Codex:

• explicit project scope and source order;
• account identity checks before connector access;
• plan-scoped authorization for local and external execution;
• fail-safe AGENTS.md loaders without erasing local rules;
• default ICM task contracts and automatic project architecture;
• 85% compression and caveman mode;
• a retained, traceable technical-assistant persona;
• one mandatory content route with pinned Brand Voice, Crafty, and AI Sloppy Copy resources.
• one Agent Plugins skill that routes all supported work without specialist selection.

Install from this repository

Chief is installed from this GitHub repository. This project does not claim an OpenAI review, approval, directory listing, or store distribution.

Windows

git clone https://github.com/plotdevice01/codex-chief-of-staff.git
Set-Location .\codex-chief-of-staff
.\install.ps1

macOS or Linux

git clone https://github.com/plotdevice01/codex-chief-of-staff.git
cd codex-chief-of-staff
./install.sh

The installer clears the prior Chief cache, creates a clean canonical staging package inside the checked-out repository, registers that repository-owned package with Codex, installs chief-of-staff@codex-chief-of-staff, and initializes a private local configuration. Restart Codex, review the Chief hooks, and start a fresh task after installation.

AI Sloppy Copy, Brand Voice Factory, and Crafty Carousels are upstream source products. They are already pinned inside Chief and are not separate user installs.

Current authority model

Chief uses durable local policy, not an expiring or time-boxed mode. Connector access starts disabled. Once the user directly requests or approves a plan that includes writes, pushes, releases, deployments, or publication, Chief executes the complete in-scope path without asking again at each step. Full access is on and equivalent instructions activate the same plan-scoped authorization. The user may steer or revoke it at any time. Host safeguards and missing credentials still apply.

What changed in v2.2.0

• Replaced confirm_each with plan-scoped authorization across the canonical contract, Chief skill, hook output, configuration, SOP, release workflow, and tests.
• Made one approved plan cover its listed local writes, connector batches, pushes, pull requests, merges, tags, releases, deployments, and publication.
• Limited reconfirmation to material scope expansion, a new target or recipient, an unplanned irreversible destructive action, or a missing decision that changes a material outcome.
• Added hook and live-scenario regression coverage against repeated approval prompts.
• Added a mandatory installed-cache proof receipt: active version, exact cache path, stale-version removal, canonical file parity, and loader parity.
• Ends operational replies with numbered next steps followed by the execution trace. Chief completes available authorized steps before listing what remains.

Distribution foundation from v2.1.2

• Fixed project-loader synchronization so it replaces only Chief's managed block and preserves every project-owned instruction outside that block.
• Added regression coverage for project text before, between, and after Chief's managed sections.
• Removed obsolete OpenAI submission scaffolding.
• Corrected both repository installers so upgrade mode re-registers the local checkout instead of calling a Git-only marketplace command.
• Rebuilt the repository release and installed cache from the same canonical source and version.

Distribution corrections from v2.1.1

• Made the GitHub repository and its bundled installer scripts the only documented installation path.
• Removed unperformed OpenAI submission, approval, directory, and workspace rollout steps from public installation guidance.
• Marked AI Sloppy Copy as an upstream factory. Brand Voice Factory and Crafty Carousels have the same role. None is a separate team-facing install.
• v2.1.2 carried forward the accepted v2.1.0 behavior under the documentation-only patch rule. v2.2.0 changes model-facing authorization behavior and therefore requires fresh host acceptance.

Runtime foundation from v2.1.0

• Chief is the only discoverable route for business, creative, research, operational, document, technical, connected-app, and client-delivery work.
• A universal request contract classifies once and loads only the selected internal contracts. It validates the complete result and returns a receipt.
• Chief vendors exact released runtime files from pinned sources:
  • AI Sloppy Copy 0.5.0;
  • Brand Voice Factory 0.2.1;
  • Crafty Carousels 0.6.1. The bundled manifest locks the source commit. It also locks each file hash and byte count.
• Paid ads and organic social query all 751 hooks before drafting. The same query covers seven script frameworks and 39 CTAs. Paid video checks offer compatibility and first-frame action. It also checks visual progression and true concept variation.
• The stale bundled viral-carousel-factory copy is removed. Current Crafty production controls now live behind the Chief content route.
• AI Sloppy Copy activation happens in the content contract. No extra content hook or separate specialist installation is required.
• Chief now reports an execution trace that proves whether requested skills and plugins were materially used instead of merely loaded and name-dropped.
• The active package targets ChatGPT Work and Codex only. Legacy third-party host manifests, installers, templates, validators, and acceptance requirements are removed.

Preserved from v1.0.0

• Every non-trivial task uses a compact ICM contract for scope, exact inputs, one job, relevant references, output, observable status, and human review.
• Every new project or workspace automatically loads the internal ICM Architect workflow. Recurring processes load it too. Full folders appear only when persistent work needs them.
• A pre-tool privacy check blocks configured project or connector values when the current prompt did not supply them.
• Restructure mode requires inventory, reference checks, content proof, a target tree, and a migration map. An approved restructure plan authorizes the mapped moves and deletions without another permission prompt.
• The bundled Architect is pinned to RinDig/icm-architect commit 8f9cdf9. It includes five workspace forms and ten invariants. Both operating modes are present. Codex AGENTS.md routing and the cold walk are included. Chief safety controls remain active.
• The repository now carries Layer 1 routing and an ICM release pipeline. It also includes a conformance matrix and deterministic validation. Failure fixtures cover rejected paths.
• AI Sloppy Copy 0.5.0 with Standard 2.2.0 is pinned inside Chief.
• The retained persona stays unchanged at 97 requirements. The current integration contract has eleven rules and seventeen live acceptance scenarios.
• Static validation and recorded host receipts remain separate evidence. A repository install still requires fresh-task verification in the user's host.

Version numbers

These numbers describe different products or contracts. They are not competing versions of the same file.

Number	What it contains	What users install or cite
Chief of Staff 2.2.0	The plugin, Agent Plugins manifest, Chief workflows, hooks, ICM, and bundled content runtime	Install or cite 2.2.0
AI Sloppy Copy 0.5.0	Canonical source for the pinned checker and copy workflow	Bundled; install separately only for direct development
AI Sloppy Copy Standard 2.2.0	The writing-rules contract inside the pinned checker	Cite the Standard when discussing rule behavior
Brand Voice Factory 0.2.1	Canonical source for the pinned voice-package workflow	Bundled; install separately only for direct development
Crafty Carousels 0.6.1	Canonical source for the pinned carousel workflow and content libraries	Bundled; install separately only for direct development

Chief and AI Sloppy Copy now use the same three-part product version on their GitHub release, tag, ZIP, and manifests. A manifest is host metadata inside a release. It is not another product.

v2.2.0 validation status

v2.2.0 contains the Chief skill and its internal contracts. It contains the hooks and bundled content runtime. Repository installers and deterministic validators are included. Repository tests do not establish OpenAI approval or directory publication. They also do not replace a fresh-task check after installation.

Configure and validate

In the fresh task, ask:

Use the Chief of Staff skill to initialize my local configuration, then
validate the install. Report any missing bundled runtime file or hook.

Installation activates no connector or project access. Those remain off until the local configuration explicitly turns them on.

Configure

Start a fresh task and ask:

Use the Chief of Staff skill to initialize my local configuration.

The initializer creates a private chief-of-staff.json in the platform configuration directory. Connectors remain disabled and projects remain empty until the user adds them.

From the cloned repository:

py -3 .\scripts\configure.py init --owner "Your Name" --timezone "Etc/UTC"
py -3 .\validate_install.py --strict-dependencies

On macOS or Linux, use python3 and forward-slash paths.

See installation and configuration for the complete paths, upgrade, uninstall, and recovery procedures.

What changes

Without Chief of Staff	With Chief of Staff
Work starts before scope is named	One scope is selected first
A connected account is assumed correct	Live identity must match configuration
Project instructions can overwrite each other	Shared and project rules remain separate
Context and state are improvised per task	ICM names inputs, output, state and review
One plan becomes many permission prompts	One approved plan authorizes every included step through completion
Long answers bury the decision	The result leads; risks and the next action follow
Persona claims are prose	97 requirements and seventeen scenarios are traceable

How it works

The plugin is skills-only. It does not run a server or add connector access. Codex lifecycle hooks load the generic operating contract and retained persona once and omit duplicate injection when the instruction chain already contains the canonical block. Project loaders retain local rules and provide an explicit fallback if a Codex hook is absent. Private identities, scopes, paths, and authorization rules live in a local ignored configuration.

The shared contract applies the compact ICM task kernel by default. The bundled ICM Architect skill handles project and workspace design through five forms. It loads only the form reference and files needed for the current job.

Read the architecture for configuration resolution and hook behavior. It also covers trust boundaries and project propagation.

Behavior example

The sarcasm applies to direct replies when useful. It does not leak into client-facing, legal, medical, executive, or external communication unless the user explicitly asks.

Validate

py -3 .\Test-Persona.py
py -3 .\validate_install.py --example
py -3 .\scripts\validate_repository.py
node tests/test_hooks.js
py -3 .\tests\test_icm.py
py -3 .\tests\test_release.py
py -3 .\tests\test_sync.py
py -3 .\scripts\verify_installed_cache.py --require-only-current --require-plugin-state
py -3 .\scripts\build_release.py --output dist

Static tests verify:

• 97 persona requirements and source hashes;
• eleven integration rules and seventeen live acceptance definitions;
• five ICM forms and ten invariants, plus cold-walk failure behavior and token budgets;
• communication and safety defaults;
• plugin, hook, skill, configuration, and release version parity;
• public-file privacy scanning;
• Codex lifecycle hook output;
• ICM prompt classification and correction limits;
• recovery plus pre-tool and final-response privacy checks;
• deterministic release contents;
• active installed-cache version, canonical parity, stale-version removal, and project-loader parity;
• the pinned content manifest and all 751 hooks;
• seven scripts and 39 CTAs;
• the bundled final checker.

The seventeen prompts in persona/persona-contract.json still require a fresh host session. Static tests cannot grade live model behavior without becoming test theater.

Why one plugin and internal source products

Chief of Staff contains the complete retained persona and response modes. It also carries account gates and project routing. Universal task routing is built in. Chief remains the only discoverable skill the team needs. AI Sloppy Copy, Brand Voice Factory, and Crafty Carousels remain the canonical source products. Chief vendors their pinned runtime files so teams do not negotiate three extra plugins for every content request.

See dependencies for ownership and minimum versions.

Documentation

• Installation and upgrades
• Configuration
• Architecture
• ICM conformance
• Testing
• Release process
• Examples
• Changelog

Security and privacy

Never commit chief-of-staff.json. The repository excludes it, release automation scans for private values, and the plugin does not send telemetry.

Read SECURITY.md and PRIVACY.md.

License

MIT