Summary

Plugins connect Codex to external tools and data sources (e.g., Google Drive, email); skills are reusable playbooks that teach Codex your team’s specific processes and formats. Access both from the Plugins menu (top-left) to install, browse, or create. Create plugins when you need external integrations (requires more technical work); create skills to encode recurring workflows and team conventions (simple to author). Invoke a skill in a thread by prefixing its name with $ (for example: $customer-update).

Key Points

• Access: Open the Plugins menu (top-left) to view recommended/installed plugins and the skills library, or to create new ones.
• Plugins: Use when Codex needs data or capabilities from another tool; install or build a plugin to grant that access (examples: Google Drive, email, third‑party services).
• Skills: Use to codify team processes (newsletters, account briefs, report formats); you can ask Codex to help you create a skill step‑by‑step.
• Invocation: Call a skill inline with $skill-name (e.g., $customer-update Create a weekly customer update using the notes and files in this folder.).
• Combine: Use both when you need Codex to follow your team’s process using information from connected tools (e.g., $google-doc-html-email-stager to pull Drive files and draft a report in your standard format).
• Practical workflow: install/connect the needed plugin(s) → create or select a skill that encodes your process → invoke the skill with $ and provide context (notes, folders, or files).

Why this matters

• Reduces repetitive instructions by encoding conventions and data access.
• Enables predictable, team-aligned outputs and automations that integrate with your existing tools.