How to back up and move Codex CLI sessions to another machine

Where Codex CLI keeps sessions

~/.codex/sessions/YYYY/MM/DD/rollout-<timestamp>-<thread-id>.jsonl

the thread, one JSON record per line, filed under the day it started

~/.codex/session_index.jsonl

an index with thread names and last-updated times

• The thread id is the UUID at the end of the file name; codex resume <thread-id> takes it.
• vibi uses the thread name from the index as the session title when there is one.

How sessions get lost

• A new or reinstalled machine: nothing syncs ~/.codex by default.
• Cleaning out old session files by date.
• A teammate who needs to pick up the thread has no way to get the file but copying it by hand.

Back up Codex CLI sessions

vibi is a single executable for macOS, Linux and Windows; nothing else to install, no root.

curl -fsSL https://vibivibi.com/install.sh | sh

1. Install vibi and enroll the machine once.
2. In the project directory, run the picker; it lists the Codex threads whose working directory is that project.

   vibi push

3. Choose Sync. The rollout file is encrypted locally and uploaded; later pushes add versions.
4. Non-interactive form for scripts.

   vibi push --session 1 --sync

Restore on another machine

1. Enroll the other machine and pick the thread.

   vibi pull

2. vibi writes the file back under ~/.codex/sessions/ with its original name, filed under the right day, so Codex CLI lists it again.

   codex resume <thread-id>

3. Older versions by number.

   vibi pull <id> --rev 1

Share a session with a teammate

• In the picker choose Send and type their email. The session is encrypted for their key on your machine; they see it in their inbox and pull it with their own password.
• If the address has no vibivibi account yet, vibi makes a provisional key for them, shows you a one-time passphrase before anything is uploaded, and emails them an invitation. They sign up, enroll a machine, and type the passphrase once.
• Sending again after more work adds a version; recipients keep the one they were sent.

What is encrypted

The session content, its title, working directory and model name are encrypted on your machine with a key only you and your recipients hold (X25519, HKDF-SHA256, AES-256-GCM; the private key is wrapped with your encryption password). vibivibi stores the ciphertext, its size, a fingerprint of the key, the agent kind and the optional plain-text name you give a session. The client is open source, so this can be checked: github.com/subconscious-systems/vibi-cli.

Questions

Where are Codex CLI sessions stored?

In ~/.codex/sessions/, in folders by year, month and day, as rollout-<timestamp>-<thread-id>.jsonl files. ~/.codex/session_index.jsonl holds thread names.

How do I resume a Codex thread on another computer?

Back it up with vibi push, pull it on the other machine with vibi pull, then run codex resume <thread-id>. The file is restored with its original name under the day folder.

Can a teammate continue my Codex thread?

Yes. Send it with vibi push; it is encrypted for their key, they pull it and run codex resume. They need a vibivibi account; if they do not have one yet, vibi invites them and gives you a passphrase to pass on.