Codex Record & Replay: Turn a Demonstrated Workflow into a Reusable Skill

Melvin Vivas · X video post · 2026-06-18 · 2:04 · 100 views · Open on X

Topics: AI Dev Tools & Productivity, AI Agents, Tool Use & MCP · Level: beginner

Summary

Melvin Vivas shares a demo of Codex's Record & Replay feature. You do a recurring task once while Codex watches, and Codex turns the recording into a skill you can inspect and edit. The example is publishing a YouTube video: Codex learns where the metadata is kept, how the asset package is organized and which upload settings to use, then repeats the whole process for a new video in a fresh thread. Later runs can use computer use, browser use, connected plugins, or a mix of them.

Key points

• Record & Replay: show Codex a recurring task once and it turns the demo into a skill you can inspect and edit.
• You decide when recording starts and stops.
• Example workflow: pull metadata (title, description) from a publishing spreadsheet, find the matching assets, add the thumbnail and English captions in YouTube Studio, then save the video as private.
• After recording, Codex reviews the demo and saves what it learned in the skill: where the metadata lives, how the upload package is organized, and how to add captions, save and verify.
• To reuse it, open a fresh thread, attach the next video package and ask Codex to handle it. Codex matches the package to the right spreadsheet row, fills in the fields, uploads and checks that everything saved.
• When it runs a skill, Codex can use computer use, browser use, your connected plugins, or a combination of them.
• Other uses mentioned: formatting and sharing pull requests, or setting up calendar invites the way you like.
• Showing the workflow once means you don't have to write out every step and preference in a prompt.

Resources mentioned

• OpenAI Codex · tool · openai.com · paid
  OpenAI's coding agent. In the diagram it writes code, fixes review findings and drives the build loop. The creator also used it to make this video.
  Also in: An agent bot that installs and drives Codex on its own (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Asking a Coder bot to install Codex (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Sign in with ChatGPT: Setting Usage Limits for Each App (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Codex Cloud Environments Must Be Saved & Published Before Use (Melvin Vivas on X · notes) and 240 more
• YouTube Studio · tool · studio.youtube.com · free
  YouTube's creator dashboard for uploading and managing videos; it is the target app in the demo workflow.

Try this

• Pick a recurring task (for example publishing a video, sharing a PR or setting up calendar invites) and record yourself doing it once with Codex Record & Replay.
• Inspect and edit the skill Codex generates, then run it in a fresh thread on the next instance of the task.
• Automate a YouTube publishing pipeline: spreadsheet metadata → thumbnail and captions → private upload → check that it saved.
• Make a Codex skill that formats and shares pull requests the way your team does.
• Make a Codex skill that sets up calendar invites with your preferred settings.