README.md

@@ -349,11 +349,23 @@ The `gitea-dev` bottle. Backs my work on personal projects: provider
 auth through egress and gitea.dideric.is over SSH.
 ````
 
-For a Codex-backed base bottle, set `agent_provider.template: codex`
-and use the `codex_auth` egress role for the OpenAI API route. The
-built-in Codex template uses `Dockerfile.codex`; set
-`agent_provider.dockerfile` to build the agent from a custom
-Dockerfile while keeping the bot-bottle sidecars in place.
+For a Codex-backed base bottle, set `agent_provider.template: codex`.
+The Codex template expects ChatGPT/device login state instead of an
+`OPENAI_API_KEY` env var; no API-key placeholder is forwarded into the
+agent. To let headless device-code login request a user code, add an
+unauthenticated egress route for the device-auth endpoint:
+
+```yaml
+egress:
+  routes:
+    - host: auth.openai.com
+      path_allowlist:
+        - /api/accounts/deviceauth/
+```
+
+The built-in Codex template uses `Dockerfile.codex`; set
+`agent_provider.dockerfile` to build the agent from a custom Dockerfile
+while keeping the bot-bottle sidecars in place.
 
 ### Example agent (`~/.bot-bottle/agents/gitea-helper.md`)
 

bot_bottle/agent_provider.py

@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ _RUNTIMES = {
         command="codex",
         image="bot-bottle-codex:latest",
         dockerfile=str(_REPO_ROOT / "Dockerfile.codex"),
-        auth_role="codex_auth",
-        placeholder_env="OPENAI_API_KEY",
+        auth_role="",
+        placeholder_env="",
         prompt_mode="read_prompt_file",
         bypass_args=("--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox",),
         resume_args=("resume", "--last"),

bot_bottle/backend/docker/prepare.py

@@ -201,18 +201,18 @@ def resolve_plan(
     # never lands on argv or in env_file) goes into one dict. Nothing
     # mutates the host os.environ.
     forwarded_env: dict[str, str] = dict(resolved.forwarded)
-    # When the bottle declares an egress route with the
-    # `claude_code_oauth` role marker, claude-code's outbound
-    # Authorization gets stripped + re-injected by egress. The
-    # agent's environ still needs *something* claude-code recognises
-    # as a credential or it refuses to start; ship a non-secret
-    # placeholder. The placeholder isn't any real token value, so
-    # leaking it would tell an attacker only that egress is in
-    # front. Manifest validation enforces singleton on this role.
+    # Some provider CLIs refuse to start without *some* credential
+    # env var even when egress will strip + re-inject the real
+    # Authorization header. For those providers, auth_role names the
+    # route marker that enables a non-secret placeholder env. Codex is
+    # intentionally absent here: it should use its device/ChatGPT login
+    # state, and an OPENAI_API_KEY placeholder would force API-key auth.
     has_provider_auth = any(
-        provider_runtime.auth_role in r.roles for r in egress_plan.routes
+        provider_runtime.auth_role
+        and provider_runtime.auth_role in r.roles
+        for r in egress_plan.routes
     )
-    if has_provider_auth:
+    if has_provider_auth and provider_runtime.placeholder_env:
         forwarded_env[provider_runtime.placeholder_env] = "egress-placeholder"
     if provider.template == "claude" and has_provider_auth:
         # Belt-and-braces: turn off telemetry endpoints (statsig,

bot_bottle/backend/print_util.py

@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@ def visible_agent_env_names(
 ) -> list[str]:
     """Env names worth showing in launch summaries.
 
-    Provider auth placeholders (`OPENAI_API_KEY`,
-    `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN`) are implementation details: they are
-    non-secret dummy values that satisfy the provider CLI while egress
-    injects the real upstream Authorization header. Showing them in
-    preflight makes the operator think a real key is entering the
-    agent, so hide only that provider-owned placeholder.
+    Provider auth placeholders (currently `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN`)
+    are implementation details: they are non-secret dummy values that
+    satisfy the provider CLI while egress injects the real upstream
+    Authorization header. Showing them in preflight makes the operator
+    think a real key is entering the agent, so hide only the active
+    provider-owned placeholder.
     """
     hidden = {runtime_for(agent_provider_template).placeholder_env}
-    return sorted({name for name in env_names if name not in hidden})
+    return sorted({name for name in env_names if name and name not in hidden})

bot_bottle/backend/smolmachines/prepare.py

@@ -112,18 +112,18 @@ def resolve_plan(
     egress_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     egress_plan = Egress().prepare(bottle, slug, egress_dir)
 
-    # Claude-code refuses to start without *something* it
-    # recognises as a credential. When the bottle has an egress
-    # route carrying the `claude_code_oauth` role marker, egress
-    # strips + re-injects the real Authorization header on the
-    # outbound leg using a token held in egress's own environ — so
-    # the agent gets a non-secret placeholder here (matches the
-    # docker backend's forwarded_env logic in
-    # bot_bottle/backend/docker/prepare.py).
+    # Some provider CLIs refuse to start without *some* credential
+    # env var even when egress will strip + re-inject the real
+    # Authorization header. For those providers, auth_role names the
+    # route marker that enables a non-secret placeholder env. Codex is
+    # intentionally absent here: it should use its device/ChatGPT login
+    # state, and an OPENAI_API_KEY placeholder would force API-key auth.
     has_provider_auth = any(
-        provider_runtime.auth_role in r.roles for r in egress_plan.routes
+        provider_runtime.auth_role
+        and provider_runtime.auth_role in r.roles
+        for r in egress_plan.routes
     )
-    if has_provider_auth:
+    if has_provider_auth and provider_runtime.placeholder_env:
         guest_env[provider_runtime.placeholder_env] = "egress-placeholder"
     if provider.template == "claude" and has_provider_auth:
         guest_env.setdefault("CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC", "1")

bot_bottle/manifest.py

@@ -188,6 +188,13 @@ EGRESS_AUTH_SCHEMES = ("Bearer", "token")
 #                      logic — declare the role on whichever route
 #                      injects the OAuth header.
 #
+#   codex_auth: placeholder marker reserved for follow-up Codex
+#               credential-injection work. It is still accepted so
+#               existing manifests and future egress-held auth flows
+#               have a stable role name, but it no longer triggers an
+#               OPENAI_API_KEY placeholder. Codex bottles should prefer
+#               device/ChatGPT login state today.
+#
 # Routes without a `role` are pure proxy entries: egress
 # enforces path_allowlist + injects auth on its own, but nothing
 # special happens on the agent side.
@@ -196,10 +203,9 @@ EGRESS_ROLES = frozenset({
     "codex_auth",
 })
 
-# Singleton roles may appear on at most one route per bottle.
-# claude_code_oauth drives a single placeholder env var; two routes
-# claiming it would leave "which one is the canonical OAuth route?"
-# ambiguous for any future role-aware logic.
+# Singleton roles may appear on at most one route per bottle. Some
+# roles drive a single provider auth path; two routes claiming one
+# marker would leave "which one is canonical?" ambiguous.
 EGRESS_SINGLETON_ROLES = frozenset({
     "claude_code_oauth",
     "codex_auth",

docs/prds/0026-agent-provider-templates.md

@@ -86,7 +86,10 @@ agent_provider:
 
 ## Open questions
 
-- The initial Codex auth role is `codex_auth`; it provides a non-secret `OPENAI_API_KEY` placeholder to the agent while egress holds the real token.
+- `codex_auth` is retained as a placeholder marker for follow-up Codex
+  credential-injection work. The Codex template should not inject an
+  `OPENAI_API_KEY` placeholder; Codex bottles use device/ChatGPT login
+  state instead.
 - Existing state-folder transcript capture is Claude-specific and should remain gated to Claude until the follow-up state/transcript refactor.
 
 ## References

tests/unit/test_agent_provider.py

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+"""Unit: provider runtime defaults."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import unittest
+
+from bot_bottle.agent_provider import runtime_for
+
+
+class TestAgentProviderRuntime(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_claude_keeps_oauth_placeholder(self):
+        runtime = runtime_for("claude")
+        self.assertEqual("claude_code_oauth", runtime.auth_role)
+        self.assertEqual("CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN", runtime.placeholder_env)
+
+    def test_codex_does_not_inject_openai_api_key_placeholder(self):
+        runtime = runtime_for("codex")
+        self.assertEqual("", runtime.auth_role)
+        self.assertEqual("", runtime.placeholder_env)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()

tests/unit/test_print_util.py

@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ from bot_bottle.backend.print_util import visible_agent_env_names
 
 
 class TestVisibleAgentEnvNames(unittest.TestCase):
-    def test_hides_codex_auth_placeholder(self):
+    def test_codex_shows_openai_api_key_if_user_declares_it(self):
         self.assertEqual(
-            ["CUSTOM"],
+            ["CUSTOM", "OPENAI_API_KEY"],
             visible_agent_env_names(
                 ["OPENAI_API_KEY", "CUSTOM"],
                 agent_provider_template="codex",