How to Use Codex Plugin Marketplace: Install, Manage, and Share Plugins

Mar 27, 2026

My team had a plugin sharing problem. Every time someone created a useful Codex plugin, they’d Slack the file to everyone else. We had three different versions of the same “deployment-helper” plugin floating around, and nobody knew which one was current.

I knew there had to be a better way. After digging through the documentation, I discovered Codex has a three-tier marketplace system that solved our problem completely.

The Problem with Manual Plugin Management

Before understanding the marketplace system, I was doing everything wrong:

Copying plugin files between projects manually
No version tracking for team plugins
No discovery mechanism for useful tools
Different team members had different plugin versions

The worst part? I didn’t even know there was a better approach.

Discovering the Three-Tier System

Codex actually provides three marketplace levels, each serving a different scope:

+------------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| Tier             | Location                  | Purpose                |
+------------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| Official         | OpenAI-hosted             | Community plugins      |
| Repository       | $REPO_ROOT/.agents/plugins| Team-wide sharing      |
| Personal         | ~/.agents/plugins          | Local experiments      |
+------------------+---------------------------+------------------------+

Each tier has a specific use case. I was trying to use the personal tier for team sharing—which was my first mistake.

The Official Marketplace

The OpenAI-hosted marketplace is the easiest entry point. It’s a central catalog of curated plugins.

Current Limitation: It’s display-only right now. You can browse and discover plugins, but self-publishing isn’t available yet. OpenAI says it’s coming soon.

Best for: Discovering community plugins and official integrations. When you need something standard, check here first.

The Repository Marketplace

This was the game-changer for my team. The repository marketplace lives at $REPO_ROOT/.agents/plugins/marketplace.json and gets version-controlled alongside your code.

Here’s what our team marketplace looks like:

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "team-code-review",
      "source": "github:myorg/codex-plugins",
      "version": "1.2.0"
    },
    {
      "name": "deployment-helper",
      "version": "3.0.1",
      "source": "github:myorg/devops-plugins"
    },
    {
      "name": "test-generator",
      "version": "2.1.0",
      "source": "github:myorg/testing-tools"
    }
  ]
}

When a team member clones the repo, they get the exact same plugin configuration. No more Slack file transfers. No more version confusion.

Best for: Team-specific workflows and project-standard plugins.

The Personal Marketplace

Located at ~/.agents/plugins/marketplace.json, this is your private plugin playground.

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "my-experimental-tool",
      "source": "local:~/dev/plugins/experimental",
      "version": "0.1.0"
    },
    {
      "name": "temp-automation",
      "source": "github:someone/cool-plugin",
      "version": "1.0.0"
    }
  ]
}

I use this for:

Experiments I’m not ready to share
Personal productivity tools
Testing plugins before promoting to team marketplace

Best for: Personal productivity tools and experimental plugins.

Understanding Installation and Caching

When Codex installs a plugin, it stores two things:

~/.codex/plugins/cache/     <- Downloaded plugin code
~/.codex/config.toml        <- Enable/disable state

The cache enables offline usage and faster re-activation. The config file tracks which plugins are active.

Here’s what my config looks like:

[plugins]
team-code-review = { enabled = true }
deployment-helper = { enabled = false }
experimental-tool = { enabled = true }
test-generator = { enabled = true }

I can enable or disable plugins without re-downloading them.

Common CLI Commands

# Install a plugin from marketplace
codex plugin install team-code-review

# List all installed plugins
codex plugin list

# Enable a disabled plugin
codex plugin enable deployment-helper

# Disable without removing
codex plugin disable experimental-tool

# Remove completely
codex plugin remove temp-automation

The Mistake I Made Initially

I published team plugins to my personal marketplace, then wondered why nobody else could use them. The tiers aren’t just different locations—they serve different scopes:

Official     -> Everyone in the community
Repository   -> Everyone with repo access
Personal     -> Only you, on your machine

Once I moved plugins to the repository marketplace and committed the marketplace.json file, the team instantly had access.

A Workflow That Works

Here’s the process I now follow:

graph TD
    A[Create Plugin] --> B{Scope Decision}
    B -->|Just for me| C[Personal Marketplace]
    B -->|Team needs it| D[Repository Marketplace]
    B -->|Everyone needs it| E[Official Marketplace]
    D --> F[Commit to Git]
    F --> G[Team Pulls Changes]
    G --> H[Everyone Has Same Plugins]
    C --> I[Test Locally]
    I --> J{Works Well?}
    J -->|Yes| D
    J -->|No| K[Iterate]
    K --> I

Version Control Strategy

For repository plugins, I treat marketplace.json like any other dependency file:

Pin versions explicitly - No wildcards or “latest”
Update deliberately - Changes go through code review
Document additions - Why did we add this plugin?

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "team-code-review",
      "source": "github:myorg/codex-plugins",
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "notes": "Automated PR review for Python projects. Added 2026-03-15."
    }
  ]
}

The notes field isn’t required, but it helps new team members understand the purpose.

When to Use Which Tier

+------------------------+------------------+------------------+
| Scenario               | Use Tier         | Why              |
+------------------------+------------------+------------------+
| Official integration   | Official          | Curated, trusted |
| Team workflow tool     | Repository        | Shared access    |
| Personal experiment    | Personal          | No impact on team|
| Testing before share   | Personal first    | Safe iteration   |
| Production deployment  | Repository/Official| Reliable source |
+------------------------+------------------+------------------+

Summary

The Codex Plugin Marketplace solved our plugin chaos. The key insight is matching the tier to the scope:

Personal marketplace for experiments
Repository marketplace for teams
Official marketplace for community tools

Don’t do what I did—copying files manually, losing track of versions, and confusing your teammates. Use the marketplace system as it was designed.

Final Words + More Resources

My intention with this article was to help others share my knowledge and experience. If you want to contact me, you can contact by email: Email me

Here are also the most important links from this article along with some further resources that will help you in this scope:

👨‍💻 OpenAI Codex Documentation

Oh, and if you found these resources useful, don’t forget to support me by starring the repo on GitHub!