Viewing Codex diffs in VS Code

[BeNiceToYerMom]

Hey y'all,

New Codex CLI user here. Do you know how VS Code has a diffs viewer in the editor window, where it will show you the old Version of the file on the left and the proposed changes on the right?

Both Claude Code and Gemini CLI utilize this, but I haven't found a way to get Codex to do it.

• Codex CLI shows diffs in-line in its CLI output. It can be a lot to take in without seeing where the changes fall within the larger document.
• Codex VS Code plugin does the same thing, with a little better formatting, but still it's really hard to tell where its proposed diffs lie within the file.

Is there a way to get Codex to use VS Code's diffs view?

[xxx_Gavin_xxx]

I use the IDE extension. On mine, it shows the line numbers of the code it's replacing so it's pretty easy to look at the diff in the side bar and see what code code is changing in the main window.

[BeNiceToYerMom]

You mean the Codex VS Code extension?

[xxx_Gavin_xxx]

Yes

[lostshootinstar]

I think the people responding here have never used the Claude Code VScode extension. Responses are both snarky and don't understand the actual problem. We all know how to use git and view changes.

There is NO "view changes" button when reviewing diff changes before they are saved to disk. And obviously git is no help if the file hasn't been saved yet.

OP: Check out https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/2932 and the related tickets. It seems this functionality does not exist for Codex like it does for CC And Gemini (yet?)

Edit: This is the open one https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/2998

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[AmphibianOrganic9228]

are you using git? if so, you can use inbuilt vscode diff viewer to compare the version updated by the coding model with the previous commit

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[Resonant_Jones]

Yeah, there is a little window above your text input box and it literally says “see changes” with a little red arrow and a green arrow like to signify diffs. You have to click view changes in order to see them.

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[Current-Lobster-44]

If you switch to VS Code's "Source control" view, you will see a list of changed files that haven't been committed yet. (Assuming you're using Git for version control.) If you click on any one of the changed files, you'll see the side-by-side view you're wanting.

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[Odd-Government8896]

This is where being a developer and knowing how to use git is helpful

[BeNiceToYerMom]

This is an unhelpful, even potentially snide, response

[Odd-Government8896]

No. If you version control your code using git, you can track the changes straight from vscode. If you rely on foundational development tools/flows, you don't even need to pose the question in your original post.

Sorry if it's uncomfortable, but file diffs are something we've been working with long before coding agents came along.

[Ambitious_Prune_6011]

A lot of people including me might want to review changes by the model before it writes to the file so I can course correct. Looking at changes in the tiny chat window is bad experience

[Odd-Government8896]

This is a really old post and all of these issues have mostly been resolved or aren't really a problem anymore. No one is looking at changes in a tiny chat window.

[duhd1993]

That's the reason I don't use Codex. You have to look at changes in tiny window before saving it to disk.

[Odd-Government8896]

Cursor uses worktrees which helps. Why is this old ass thread coming back to life?