Guard

AI coding app quick start

Codex quick start

Put Guard in front of the Codex setup you already use.

Install GuardBack to install

Prerequisite

Install Guard

If you haven't installed Guard yet, run the install script first. This installs hol-guard via pipx and configures it for Codex in one step.

Terminal

set -o pipefail; curl -fsSL https://hol.org/guard/install.sh | bash -s -- --harness codex --mode install --verify

Already have Guard installed? Skip to the harness command below. Full install guide.

Harness command

Attach to Codex

Terminal

hol-guard install codex

Guard stays local by default — no account required to protect your first session. Connect Guard Cloud later to sync security records across your devices.

What Guard checks

  • ~/.codex/config.toml
  • project .codex/config.toml
  • configured MCP server entries and local tool paths

What install changes

  • Starts with wrapper mode so you can try Guard without rewriting your setup.
  • Keeps a local decision trail for what you approved and what changed later.

Verification

Confirm the setup before your first protected session.

1

Run the setup command

Start with the Guard command matched to this AI coding app and its setup mode.

Command

hol-guard install codex
2

Run the next verification commands

Confirm Guard sees the expected config paths before your first protected session.

Command

hol-guard run codex --dry-run
3

Check your first security record

After Guard records a local decision, open the receipt list to confirm what was scanned.

Command

hol-guard receipts

Safe demo & test protection

Use --dry-run for demos and CI. Guard scans and reports without blocking, so you can show what it catches without interrupting a live session.

Sync to Guard Cloud

Connect Guard Cloud to carry your security records, team memory, and approval history across every machine and teammate — no rebuilding approvals when you switch devices.

Review Guard Cloud plans →

Troubleshooting

Something not working?

  • Guard does not intercept launches

    Run hol-guard doctor codex and check that the wrapper path matches your installed binary.

  • No security record after the first run

    Check that ~/.hol-guard/ is writable. Guard writes every decision there by default.

  • Cloud sync not reflecting local decisions

    Run hol-guard sync --status to see if Guard Cloud can reach the server. Local protection keeps running even when sync is unavailable.

Approval surface

Guard local approval center (browser, localhost) — opens automatically when a new or changed artifact needs a decision.

Run command

hol-guard run codex

Uninstall / revert

Guard leaves no background services. Your approval history stays on disk in ~/.hol-guard/ unless you delete that folder.

Uninstall command

hol-guard uninstall codex

Current phase notes

  • Native Codex confirmation dialogs are not replaced — Guard adds a pre-flight check before Codex launches.
  • Wrapper mode only in v1. Hook-based integration planned for a future release.