baoyu-skills/skills/baoyu-image-gen/references/codex-oauth-vs-openai-api-key.md

Codex OAuth vs OpenAI API key

This deprecated skill keeps cross-cutting image-generation guidance in sync with baoyu-imagine.

The openai provider uses the standard OpenAI Images API and requires OPENAI_API_KEY. It calls OpenAI-compatible image endpoints such as /images/generations and /images/edits.

Codex / ChatGPT login is different. Codex image generation is driven by Codex OAuth and the Codex runtime's image_gen capability, not by the public OpenAI Images API key path. A Codex OAuth token is not a drop-in replacement for OPENAI_API_KEY, and setting OPENAI_BASE_URL to a Codex backend will not make the existing openai provider work because the auth, route, and payload shape differ.

What to use instead

• If running inside Codex and the native imagegen skill/tool is available, use it directly.
• If running outside Codex but the codex CLI is installed and logged in, use the repo-level scripts/codex-imagegen.sh wrapper when the calling skill supports it.
• If running inside Hermes and a native image_generate tool is available, use that as a runtime-native fallback. Be explicit about whether reference images are passed directly or only reconstructed from extracted traits.
• If first-class Codex OAuth support is added, add a distinct provider such as openai-codex rather than modifying the existing openai provider.

Reference-image prompting note

When using actual reference images for identity preservation, avoid long generic descriptions of the subject. Prefer direct wording:

Use the person/object in the reference image(s) as the same identity. Do not redesign it or create a similar-looking new subject. Only change scene, clothing, pose, lighting, rendering style, and composition.