Description

OpenAI Codex CLI added a /goal command that implements a persistent, durable objective layer on top of the normal conversation loop. This is distinct from existing session persistence (#2807) — it's an explicit goal object with formal lifecycle management.

Reference: https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli/features

How It Works

• /goal create <text> defines a durable objective that persists across turns, interruptions, session resumes, and budget boundaries
• The goal state machine has states: active, paused, completed, cleared
• TUI controls: create, pause, resume, clear
• App-server API: goals are addressable via the app-server API for programmatic control
• Budget accounting: token/turn usage is tracked against the active goal
• Model tools: goal-constrained model tools that respect goal scope
• Stale update protection: guards against out-of-order goal state transitions

Contrast with Existing Zeph Features

Zeph has:

• Session history in SQLite (persistent across restarts)
• /compact for context compression
• zeph-scheduler for periodic tasks

What /goal adds that Zeph lacks:

• Explicit multi-turn objective tracking — the agent knows it is pursuing goal G across N turns
• Formal goal lifecycle — not just "keep chatting" but a named, pauseable, resumable objective
• Budget accounting per goal — cost and turn count attributed to a specific objective
• User-visible goal state — TUI shows the active goal and progress

Relevance to Zeph

This pattern is particularly valuable for long-running agentic tasks (refactors, multi-file edits, research cycles). Zeph's orchestrator already has a DAG planner and multi-step execution; adding a /goal layer would let users define the overarching objective that the orchestrator pursues.

Proposed Design Direction

• Add zeph_goals table to SQLite (id, text, status, token_budget, turns_used, created_at, completed_at)
• Add /goal <create|pause|resume|clear|status> slash command in all channels
• Expose goal state in TUI status panel
• Pass active goal text as a system context prefix so the LLM always has the objective in scope
• Wire goal token/turn accounting into CostTracker

References

• Codex: https://kingy.ai/ai/openai-codex-goal-the-new-long-horizon-mode-for-agentic-coding/
• Related: research(core): session persistence with replay, resume, and fork capabilities #2807 (session persistence), research(orchestration): OpenHands planning mode — PLAN.md-first approval before any file changes #3093 (OpenHands planning mode / PLAN.md-first)