cd /news/ai-tools/show-hn-codex-plays-nethack · home topics ai-tools article
[ARTICLE · art-75012] src=asciinema.org ↗ pub= topic=ai-tools verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Show HN: Codex Plays NetHack

A developer created Terminai, a transparent terminal wrapper that lets AI models like Codex or Claude control a terminal session with user approval, and demonstrated it by having Codex play NetHack in auto-approve mode with the goal of ascending. The tool provides full terminal context to the AI and requires user confirmation for inputs by default, though the demo used auto-approve. Past sessions showed Codex attempting to win by ascending but instead escaping or leaving the dungeon without playing.

read1 min views1 publishedJul 27, 2026

LIVE Streaming for 1 watching

I wrote Terminai, a fully transparent terminal wrapper, to put codex or claude in the backseat while I remain the driver, staying completely invisible until summoned with Ctrl-Space

. They have access to terminal context, content, and history, and can send input which, by default, requires user approval before being sent to the terminal.

Here it is in auto-approve mode letting Codex control a game of NetHack.

Prompt:

/goal Win the game by [ascending](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Ascension) in normal mode

Past sessions:

https://asciinema.org/a/92TaJIyC2OYLvb9Y(/goal Win the game in normal mode

── more in #ai-tools 4 stories · sorted by recency
── more on @terminai 3 stories trending now
sponsored brought to you by zahid.host 4,200+ EU-deployed projects
reading about agents? ship yours in a single git push.

Run your AI side-project on zahid.host

EU-based hosting, git-push deploys, automatic HTTPS, no cold starts. Free tier with a custom domain — perfect for shipping the agent you just read about.

$git push zahid main
Live at https://your-agent.zahid.host
Get free account → Pricing
from €0/mo · no card required
LIVE [news/show-hn-codex-plays-…] indexed:0 read:1min 2026-07-27 ·