Codex Preview Line Jumps from 0.167 to 0.168: Four Releases, No Stable Close (2026)
The Codex 0.167 preview line reached alpha.5 on GitHub without ever shipping a stable release — npm's alpha dist-tag moved to 0.168.0-alpha.1 on November 4, while PyPI's openai-codex remains stuck at 0.163.0.
Codex's preview channel just did something unusual: the 0.167 line never got its own stable release, and npm's alpha dist-tag moved to 0.168.0-alpha.1 on November 4.
Update note, 2026-11-08: the picture has flipped since publication — the stable 0.167.0 shipped on 11-06 at 01:40 UTC (GitHub), npm's 0.167.0 took over the latest tag at 01:46 UTC, and PyPI followed at 01:53 UTC; the 0.168 line ran five alphas (numbering skipped alpha.4/alpha.5) and likewise closed with no stable; the 0.169 preview line has opened at alpha.2 (11-06T22:13Z, with alpha.3 at 11-07T19:31Z); and the PyPI gap ended by version skipping — 0.164.0/0.165.0/0.166.0 never reached PyPI, and latest jumped straight from 0.163.0 to 0.167.0. The timeline is archived in OpenAI Models Release Notes (2026, Living Document). The body below preserves the as-of-2026-11-04 registry record.
How the 0.167 line ended
Per the GitHub releases feed (fetched 2026-11-04), the 0.167 line shipped three more entries after alpha.2 (published to npm 2026-11-01T19:00 UTC, recorded in this site's OpenAI Models Release Notes (2026, Living Document) on 2026-11-02): 0.167.0-alpha.3 (feed stamp 2026-11-01T22:30 UTC), 0.167.0-alpha.4 (2026-11-03T02:29 UTC) and rust-v0.167.0-alpha.5 (2026-11-04T00:45 UTC). All four entries — alpha.2 included — keep the same form: a one-line title with no body to extract. The npm versions map corresponds with alpha.2 / alpha.3 / alpha.4 plus platform packages; rust-v0.167.0-alpha.5 has no same-numbered npm version, so GitHub tags and npm versions do not map one-to-one.
The gap is on the stable side: no non-alpha 0.167.0 exists in the npm versions map, and latest never left 0.166.0. The 0.167 line ends as a preview-only line.
The 0.168 line opens, and the alpha channel switches tracks
At 02:58 UTC on 11-04, the releases feed carried 0.168.0-alpha.1; npm's six platform packages followed at 03:04–03:09 UTC, and the alpha dist-tag jumped from 0.167.0-alpha.4 to 0.168.0-alpha.1. Preview-channel users therefore cross a line boundary directly — from the 0.167 line's last npm preview to the 0.168 line's first, with no stable buffer in between. The 0.168.0-alpha.1 feed entry likewise carries only a one-line title; per this site's practice, its semantic changes against the 0.167 line wait for a stable release and extraction from CHANGELOG and diffs.
Where the three channels stand
| Channel | Value (checked 2026-11-04) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub release feed | 0.168.0-alpha.1 (11-04T02:58Z) | one-line title only |
| npm @openai/codex | latest = 0.166.0; alpha = 0.168.0-alpha.1 | no stable 0.167.0 |
| PyPI openai-codex | latest = 0.163.0 (published 2026-10-15) | three stable versions behind npm |
The PyPI gap has persisted since this site first recorded it on 2026-10-30 and has widened: npm's stable was already 0.166.0 then, and the preview line has now moved two stations further.
Next steps
- Codex CLI 0.166.0, Explained: GPT-6.1 Terra in Vertex AI and Bedrock Catalogs, Transcript Search, doctor
- Codex CLI 0.164–0.165, Explained: GPT-6.1 Terra in the Catalog, a Vertex AI Provider, /presets, memory v2
- openai-node 7.46–7.50: Five Releases, 12-Hour Caching and Service Tiers Land in the SDK
- OpenAI Models Release Notes (2026, Living Document) - the timeline archive of the 0.167.0 stable, the 0.168 close-out, and the 0.169 opening
Key points
- GitHub releases feed (fetched 2026-11-04): 0.167.0-alpha.3 stamped 2026-11-01T22:30 UTC, 0.167.0-alpha.4 at 2026-11-03T02:29 UTC, rust-v0.167.0-alpha.5 at 2026-11-04T00:45 UTC, 0.168.0-alpha.1 at 2026-11-04T02:58 UTC — all preview entries whose release notes keep this series' one-line-title form, with nothing to extract
- npm @openai/codex (checked 2026-11-04): the alpha dist-tag is 0.168.0-alpha.1 (six platform packages published 03:04–03:09 UTC on 11-04); latest is 0.166.0; the 0.167 line in the versions map ends at 0.167.0-alpha.4 and no stable 0.167.0 exists
- PyPI openai-codex (checked 2026-11-04): latest is still 0.163.0 — npm's stable is 0.166.0 and the preview line has reached 0.168, so the channel gap has widened since this site first recorded it on 2026-10-30
- The 0.167 line on npm consists of alpha.2 / alpha.3 / alpha.4 and their platform packages; the GitHub-side rust-v0.167.0-alpha.5 has no same-numbered npm version — GitHub tags and npm versions do not map one-to-one (consistent with the known SDK-side pattern)
- 0.168.0-alpha.1's release feed entry likewise carries only a one-line title; per this site's practice, its semantic changes against the 0.167 line will be extracted from CHANGELOG and diffs when a stable ships, not inferred at preview stage
Frequently asked questions
Official references
Related articles
Codex CLI 0.166.0, Explained: GPT-6.1 Terra in Vertex AI and Bedrock Catalogs, Transcript Search, doctor
0.166.0 went stable on 2026-10-29T19:47 UTC: GPT-6.1 Terra covers the Vertex AI and Bedrock catalogs too; the TUI gains keyboard transcript selection and search; queue --resume and doctor --network-only land. PyPI gap: three versions.
Read articleCodex CLI 0.164–0.165, Explained: GPT-6.1 Terra in the Catalog, a Vertex AI Provider, /presets, memory v2
Two stable releases since 0.163: 0.164.0 (Oct 23) adds /presets and inline /model and /permissions; 0.165.0 (Oct 27) ships a Vertex AI provider and GPT-6.1 Terra in the catalog. Checked against the official notes.
Read articleOpenAI Maintains Software with GPT-6: 1,400+ PRs, 800k Lines, 92%-for-14%
OpenAI's Core Experimentation team details GPT-6-powered maintenance: 1,400+ dead-code PRs, stale-experiment retirement, and a comparison where 6.1 Sol Ultra matched 92% of Astra's findings at 14% of the cost.
Read articleSubscribe to GPTMap Weekly
One email every Monday: curated OpenAI updates, deep dives, and best practices. No ads, unsubscribe anytime.
Submitting opens Buttondown in a new tab to confirm your subscription.