Codex CLI

The Codex CLI sends OpenAI Responses requests. Kontinent AI serves that format at https://api.kontinentai.com/v1/responses. You add Kontinent AI to Codex as a model provider.

Before you start, make sure that you have:

• The Codex CLI, installed.
• A Kontinent AI key. See Quickstart.
• Balance from a top-up or a redemption code. The GPT models are not starter models.

1. Set the key

export KONTINENT_API_KEY="sk-kont-..."

Put this line in your shell profile, for example ~/.zshrc, so that each new shell has the key.

2. Add the provider

Open ~/.codex/config.toml. Add these lines:

model = "gpt-5.5"
model_provider = "kontinent"

[model_providers.kontinent]
name = "Kontinent AI"
base_url = "https://api.kontinentai.com/v1"
env_key = "KONTINENT_API_KEY"
wire_api = "responses"

Key	What it does
model	The model that Codex uses. Select one from the list on this page
model_provider	Selects the provider table below it
base_url	Our API. Codex adds /responses to it
env_key	The name of the environment variable that holds your key. Codex sends the key in Authorization: Bearer
wire_api	The request format. responses is the only value that Codex supports

3. Make sure that the connection works

Send one small request with curl:

curl -sS -w '\n%{http_code}\n' https://api.kontinentai.com/v1/responses \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KONTINENT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "gpt-5.5", "input": "Say OK.", "max_output_tokens": 256}'

A JSON response that ends with 200 shows that the key and the URL are correct. Then run Codex:

codex exec "Say OK."

Codex prints the answer of the model.

Models

These models work on the Responses endpoint. This list comes from our model catalogue:

• gpt-5.5
• gpt-6.1-sol
• gpt-5

To use a different model for one session, run codex --model gpt-5.

Costs and limits

• Codex streams its responses. A streamed Responses response does not include our kontinent cost block. We record the cost of each request, and the dashboard shows it.
• The GPT models think before they answer, and we charge for that output as output tokens.
• Each request counts toward the limit of 60 requests a minute for each key.

Problems

Problem	What to do
401	Make sure that the shell that starts Codex has KONTINENT_API_KEY
402	Your balance is too low. Top up on the balance page
400 that says is not served on /v1/responses	Select a model from the list on this page
404	Make sure that base_url ends with /v1 and not with /v1/responses

The Codex documentation for model providers is at learn.chatgpt.com.