# How Jason Liu actually uses coding agents

Instructor creator, OpenAI DX

**If you take one thing:** `$ultragoal`, goal kept in an editable file. long Codex runs chase a goal kept in a file, so he can add scope while the loop is still running.

- **Agent:** Codex (app) ([source, 2026-07-24](https://ai.engineer/talks/il1c1a2FufU-full-workshop-setting-yourself-up-for-success-jason-liu-openai-codex))
- **Model:** GPT-5.5 ([source, 2026-07-24](https://ai.engineer/talks/il1c1a2FufU-full-workshop-setting-yourself-up-for-success-jason-liu-openai-codex))
- **Model:** GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark ([source, 2026-07-24](https://ai.engineer/talks/il1c1a2FufU-full-workshop-setting-yourself-up-for-success-jason-liu-openai-codex))
- **Review:** Review skills modelled on colleagues' PR feedback; memory changes reviewed as git diffs ([source, 2026-07-24](https://ai.engineer/talks/il1c1a2FufU-full-workshop-setting-yourself-up-for-success-jason-liu-openai-codex))
- **Harness:** Codex app: pinned megathreads per workstream, an Obsidian vault in git as shared memory, Heartbeats ([source, 2026-05-10](https://jxnl.co/writing/2026/05/10/codex-maxxing/))
- **Rules file:** Global agents/AGENTS.md (installed as ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md) plus a vault AGENTS.md ([source, 2026-01-12](https://github.com/jxnl/dots/blob/34d197b7e2ede7c57d11b601250b42b8a2ae303a/agents/AGENTS.md#L20-L22))
- **Skills:** audit-ai-code, audit-ai-frontend, audit-ai-writing, email-like-me, file-organizer, gh-address-comments, gh-commit, gh-fix-ci, loop, recording-to-video-essay, self-improve, simple-html-artifact, slidev-presentation-kit, transcript-to-blog, tweet-like-me ([source, 2026-07-14](https://github.com/jxnl/dots/tree/34d197b7e2ede7c57d11b601250b42b8a2ae303a/agents/skills))
- **MCP servers:** slack, gmail, calendar ([source, 2026-05-10](https://jxnl.co/writing/2026/05/10/codex-maxxing/))

## In their words

> And all of this work is done effectively in the Codex app.

> Um, I found that, uh, the 5.5 models are pretty reluctant to take these like destructive actions.

> Like, uh, I think, I think I have a thing that just checks me into flights, and that is like a Spark agent.

> And so I just have like a review my code like Charlie based off the past year of like feedback he's given on pull requests. Review my code like Dominic.

> These are not short chats. They are megathreads that I have been compacting for months.


Archetype (our label): Orchestrator. Newest source: 2026-07-24.
Card: https://www.prehistoriq.com/stacks/jxnl/ · Data: https://github.com/prehistoriq/stacks/blob/main/data/stacks/jxnl.json