invocations

invocations are task-specific prompts with placeholder substitution.

add-tests

add tests for specified code.

familiar invoke codex add-tests "the parse_config function"

covers happy path, edge case, and failure mode.

code-review

review code for issues.

familiar invoke codex code-review "the new authentication module"

checks correctness, clarity, maintainability. lists issues by severity with file:line references.

bootstrap-python

create a new python project.

familiar invoke codex bootstrap-python mypackage cli 3.11 mit

arguments:

1. package name
2. type: cli or lib
3. python version (optional, default 3.13)
4. license (optional)

creates pyproject.toml, src layout, readme, ruff/mypy config, and minimal test.

bootstrap-rust

create a new rust project.

familiar invoke codex bootstrap-rust myapp bin 1.78 mit

arguments:

1. crate name
2. type: bin or lib
3. msrv (optional)
4. license (optional)

creates crate, readme, formatting/linting setup, and minimal test.

explain

understand unfamiliar code.

familiar invoke codex explain "the authentication middleware"

identifies code paths, describes behavior, notes edge cases.

implement-feature

implement a feature from a spec.

familiar invoke codex implement-feature "add rate limiting to the api endpoints"

restates spec, lists files, implements with minimal diffs, adds tests.

infra-change

plan an infrastructure change.

familiar invoke codex infra-change "migrate the database to a new region"

lists components and impact, proposes rollout/rollback steps, highlights security concerns.

refactor

restructure code without changing behavior.

familiar invoke codex refactor "split the monolithic handler into smaller functions"

describes current state and proposed changes, ensures tests pass.

security-review

perform a security review.

familiar invoke codex security-review

identifies trust boundaries, checks for injection risks and secret leakage, lists top risks with mitigations.

add-ci

add CI workflow for a project.

familiar invoke codex add-ci github python
familiar invoke codex add-ci gitlab rust
familiar invoke codex add-ci github node

arguments:

1. platform: github or gitlab
2. language: python, rust, or node

creates complete workflow file with lint, typecheck, and test steps.

audit

comprehensive codebase audit for newcomers.

familiar invoke codex audit
familiar invoke codex audit security

arguments:

1. focus (optional): architecture, security, dependencies, testing

examines architecture, dependencies, security surface, technical debt. produces detailed report with recommendations.

performance

identify and fix performance issues.

familiar invoke codex performance "the search endpoint"
familiar invoke codex performance src/parser.py memory

arguments:

1. target: file, function, or scope to analyze
2. metric (optional): time, memory, cpu, io

profiles first, measures baseline, proposes optimizations with tradeoffs, verifies improvement.

release

prepare a release.

familiar invoke codex release 1.2.0
familiar invoke codex release minor "Added new API endpoints"
familiar invoke codex release 2.0.0-rc.1

arguments:

1. version: number (1.2.0), bump type (major, minor, patch), or pre-release (1.0.0-alpha.1)
2. description (optional): summary for changelog

updates version files, changelog, provides commit/tag/publish commands.

placeholders

invocations support these placeholders:

placeholder	description
$1, $2, ...	positional arguments
$ARGUMENTS	all positional arguments joined
{{key}}	named argument via --kv key=value

example with named arguments:

familiar invoke codex implement-feature --kv spec="add caching" --kv ttl=300