Task Machine vs Codex
Codex plans, changes and reviews code in an app, terminal, editor or cloud workspace. Task Machine organizes work around shared Tasks, Goals and an Inbox for decisions.
Visit Codex Switching from Codex? Read the migration guideTask Machine and Codex, point by point
Built from each company's public pages. Every answer links to its source and shows when we last checked it. The oldest check on this page was November 13, 2026.
| What you compare | Task Machine | Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Goals |
Task Machine
Yes
Give a Goal an agent lead and link Metrics, such as weekly signups or open pipeline value. The lead sees each Metric's latest value and trend, reviews the Goal on its own when a number or the linked work changes and on a schedule, and proposes what is missing for you to approve. |
Codex
Yes
Goal mode gives Codex a persistent target to track while a task runs. You can define tests or measurements as completion criteria and steer the same session as it works toward them. |
| Leads |
Task Machine
Yes
Goals, Projects and Teams each have a lead, a person or an agent. A Goal lead checks that the work can still reach the outcome. A Project lead reviews its Tasks against the Goals that direct it and asks you to settle conflicts between them. A Team lead triages the queue. Every gap becomes a proposal you approve. |
Codex
Partly
A main agent delegates to specialized subagents, routes follow-up instructions and collects their results. Its docs describe coordination within a chat rather than assigned lead roles over projects, goals or teams. |
| Tasks |
Task Machine
Yes
Every job is a Task that a person or an agent owns. The Task keeps its plan, discussion, decisions, runs and history together, so you can steer one job in detail without reading a chat log, and people and agents hand work to each other on the same record. |
Codex
Yes
Through its Linear integration, you can assign issues to Codex just as you assign them to teammates. Codex posts progress and results on the issue, and follow-up comments continue the same cloud chat. |
| Recurring work |
Task Machine
Yes
Start a Task or Workflow once, on a schedule in your timezone, or when a service event arrives, such as a paid invoice or a pull request review. A recurring job keeps one stable root Task and gives each occurrence its own status and history, so repeated work does not flood your board. |
Codex
Yes
Codex in the desktop app can run scheduled tasks in local projects or isolated worktrees. Separately, Linear triage rules can automatically delegate new issues to Codex cloud chats. Local schedules need the computer and app running. |
| Workflows |
Task Machine
Yes
A Workflow repeats your steps in the same order every time, with branches, human questions and approvals, and verifier checks that judge each result against its requirements and send weak work back with feedback. Every run keeps a step-by-step history you can read afterwards. |
Codex
Partly
Skills package reusable process instructions and resources, and plugins add tools and runtime hooks. Its docs describe agent-followed instructions rather than a fixed execution graph with enforced steps and branches. |
| Autonomy |
Task Machine
Yes
Consequential decisions land in your Inbox with their context. You set what each agent may do on its own: every action is either Ask first or Automatic, per agent, and you can change that whenever the work or the stakes change. |
Codex
Yes
Sandbox settings, command rules and approval policies determine when Codex asks before acting. Requests route to you by default, with desktop permission notifications and an Activity view for chats waiting for a response when available. |
| Learned autonomy |
Task Machine
Yes
Task Machine studies the approvals and corrections you already make. When an agent does well it proposes giving it more freedom, and when it needs closer supervision it proposes tighter review, each with the evidence. A short lucky streak is not enough, and nothing changes until you accept. |
Codex
Not published
Its docs do not describe Codex proposing permission changes from your approval history. Auto-review evaluates individual action requests under a configured policy, while local memories carry context into later work. |
| Memory |
Task Machine
Yes
Agents keep lessons from your corrections, such as an accepted example or a mistake to avoid, and carry the relevant notes into later work. Memory is kept per agent, project, goal, team and workspace, and you can read, correct and restore any note. |
Codex
Yes
Opt-in local memories turn eligible earlier chats into files that inform later sessions. You can inspect the files, control each chat's use and contribution, or delete the store. The docs discourage hand editing as the primary control. |
| Planning |
Task Machine
Yes
Plan in Chat with your agents, and the plan becomes Tasks or Library documents instead of staying in a chat log. Before an agent starts, you review its plan and the acceptance criteria its work will be judged against. |
Codex
Yes
Plan mode lets you ask Codex for an execution plan before implementation starts. You can refine an unclear outcome through conversation into a goal with measurable success criteria before starting Goal mode. |
| Intake |
Task Machine
Yes
Send work in over HTTP with a project token. It lands in the project as a Task, or in your Inbox as a proposal first. A team lead agent triages it to the right owner and asks you only when the decision is yours. |
Codex
Yes
Linear assignments, mentions and triage rules route issue work to Codex. It selects a repository environment, starts a cloud chat and posts progress back to the issue. |
| Connectors |
Task Machine
Yes
Install services from a catalog as MCP servers, APIs or command-line tools, or add your own custom Connector for any of the three. Events Connectors receive webhooks from a service, such as a paid invoice, and start Workflows or wake a waiting Task. |
Codex
Yes
Cloud environments connect Codex to APIs and private services. Local clients can connect Linear through Model Context Protocol, and Linear triage rules can automatically start Codex cloud work. |
| Models |
Task Machine
Yes
Auto is the default. For each stage of the work it chooses a model from the task, current model capabilities, pricing and your applicable budgets, and you can fix a specific model on an agent when you want to. |
Codex
Partly
You choose the model and reasoning effort through app controls, the CLI or the editor. Its docs describe manual choices and defaults rather than automatic model selection for each task or step. |
| Cloud or your own computer |
Task Machine
Yes
Run agents in Managed Cloud with nothing to install, or connect a Local Worker, a computer you control, for local files, tools and accounts. You choose where each agent runs. |
Codex
Yes
The CLI works against repositories and tools on your own machine. Codex Cloud provides a separate workspace for each task and keeps working while your computer sleeps. |
| Your own subscription |
Task Machine
Yes
Sign in to your ChatGPT (Codex), Claude or GitHub Copilot subscription on a Local Worker, and the agents there use it instead of Task Machine's models. |
Codex
Yes
ChatGPT sign-in covers subscription access, and an OpenAI API key provides usage-based access for local app, CLI and editor work. API-key access does not include Codex cloud, which requires ChatGPT sign-in. |
| Pricing |
Task Machine
Yes
Usage based. From $29 a month before tax, the whole payment becomes usage that your workspace shares across people and agents, with no base fee and no trial. Larger monthly amounts lower the AI and Cloud rates. |
Codex
Yes
USD pricing lists Plus at $20 a month and Pro from $100 a month, with included usage and extra credits. API-key usage is billed separately at API rates. Local messages and cloud chats share the plan allowance. |
| Correctness |
Task Machine
Yes
Every Task carries acceptance requirements, and each one gets a Pass, Fail or Uncertain check against the delivered work before a person reviews it. Workflow steps can add a verifier check that sends failed work back with feedback. You review the plan first, so the criteria exist before work starts. |
Codex
Yes
Goal mode can verify progress against tests, measurements and completion criteria. Codex also offers dedicated code review and cloud tasks whose changed files and check results you inspect before accepting the work. |
For software work
| What you compare | Task Machine | Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Code review rules |
Task Machine
Yes
Internal code review checks completed changes against the enabled rules of your repository. Rule discovery reads the repository and proposes rules, each screened against violating and valid examples first, and Task Machine suggests turning off a rule that agents keep dismissing. |
Codex
Yes
Codex reviews GitHub pull requests against applicable code review rules in AGENTS.md files. Root guidance and more specific nested guidance apply to the changed files they cover. |
| Adversarial review |
Task Machine
Yes
When an approved plan has high sensitivity or a Critical review level, the change also gets an adversarial review. Two independent reviewers examine the changed files together for defects such as a broken caller or a duplicate charge on retry. Findings keep their reproduction steps, and a skipped or failed review never counts as a pass. |
Codex
Yes
Security Review adds a separate security-focused pass over pull requests alongside Code Review, using threat-model context when configured. It is a research preview for Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, not Plus. |
| Risk rating |
Task Machine
Yes
Before final review, Merge risk rates the exact revision Low, Moderate or High, with notes on alignment, impact, verification, rollback cost and error detection, plus file references. It informs your decision and never merges for you. |
Codex
Partly
Auto-review assesses the risk and authorization of individual proposed actions. Its docs describe action-level risk categories rather than an overall risk rating for a code change before merge. |
| Pull requests |
Task Machine
Yes
Agents deliver against the exact reported revision, address review feedback and update the branch under your repository rules. Task Machine records its own approval of the exact commit before an agent may merge. |
Codex
Yes
Codex cloud tasks can open pull requests, and authors can ask Codex to address specific review feedback. Its review interface also exposes checks and lets you investigate failing checks before deciding to merge. |
A fact we cannot find or cannot check is left out, and prices can change after the date shown. Task Machine publishes this comparison and is an interested party. Codex is named only to identify it, and there is no relationship between the two companies. Has something changed? Tell us.
Who each one suits
Codex suits you if you want to plan, edit and review code in your terminal or editor, then delegate longer tasks to a hosted workspace. Its IDE extension keeps open files, selected code and reviewable edits beside the source.
Task Machine suits you if you want people and agents to own shared Tasks, with Goals, recurring work and an Inbox for decisions. You review the plan and acceptance requirements before an agent starts.
You may stay with Codex if your work already arrives through Linear issues or GitHub pull requests and you want the agent close to your code. Codex can take Linear assignments, post progress and review pull requests against repository rules.
Keep the agent beside your code
Codex is OpenAI's coding agent across the desktop app, command-line interface, IDE extension and cloud tasks. Its current desktop experience sits in the ChatGPT app, where you choose Codex. The extension supports Visual Studio Code and compatible editors such as Cursor and Windsurf. Xcode and JetBrains provide separate integrations.
You can plan in conversation before implementation, give a coding session a persistent goal with measurable completion criteria, and inspect the result. Codex Cloud keeps each task in its own workspace and continues while your computer sleeps. Local CLI work uses files and tools on your own machine.
Task Machine gives each job a Task, owned by a person or agent, with its plan, discussion, decisions and history together. Goals can have an agent lead and linked Metrics. The distinction is how you organize and review shared work, rather than whether an agent can plan or run locally.
Repeat work and review actions
Codex desktop schedules can run in a project or isolated worktree while your computer and app remain running. Linear triage rules provide a separate way to start cloud work when new issues arrive. Skills save process instructions, while plugins bundle skills and connected tools.
Codex approval policies control when the agent asks before acting. You can also choose Auto-review, which sends eligible action requests to a separate reviewer agent. This checks the proposed action under its configured policy. It does not establish a proposal to change permissions from your approval history.
Task Machine Workflows repeat defined steps with branches, questions and approvals. Verifier checks can send weak work back with feedback. Autonomy settings govern what each agent may do, with decisions brought to your Inbox.
What the prices cover
Codex's documentation lists USD prices of $20 a month for Plus and Pro plans from $100 a month. Plus includes the web, CLI and IDE extension, together with cloud integrations such as automatic code review. Free and Go have narrower desktop access subject to rollout. Local messages and cloud chats share the plan allowance, and eligible users can buy extra credits. API-key access uses separate API billing and excludes cloud features such as GitHub review.
Task Machine is usage based, from $29 a month before tax, with the whole payment available as shared workspace usage and no base fee. You keep 100% of your revenue, Task Machine takes no cut and never takes custody of your accounts. See pricing for what consumes usage.
Common questions
Is Codex separate from ChatGPT?
Codex is the coding product covered here, including its CLI, IDE extension and cloud tasks. The desktop app now lets you choose ChatGPT or Codex. This comparison does not attribute every ChatGPT feature to Codex.
Can both run work on my own computer?
Yes. Codex CLI runs against your local repository and installed tools, and Codex also offers hosted cloud tasks. Task Machine offers Managed Cloud and a Local Worker on a computer you control.
Can Codex follow our code review rules?
Yes. Codex reads applicable AGENTS.md rules when reviewing GitHub pull requests. Task Machine also checks changes against enabled repository review rules.
Does Codex remember earlier work?
Yes. Opt-in local memories carry context into later sessions, and you can inspect their generated files or delete the store. Task Machine memories can also be read and corrected, with separate agent, project, goal, team and workspace scopes.