Turn Off Codex CLI Sparks with whimsy = false

Turn off Codex sparks in the terminal with whimsy = false

TL;DR: To disable Codex sparks, the faint sparkling CLI input background, set whimsy = false under [tui] in ~/.codex/config.toml, save, and restart Codex. Minimal configuration:

[tui]
whimsy = false

For a plain input background, use the tested setting below. Edit just one configuration value.

• Observed environment: macOS with Codex CLI 0.154.0.

The before, configuration, and after screenshots document the user’s tested fix.

Before: red arrows mark the faint starry input background.

Open the Codex configuration in Vi

1. Open a separate terminal window or tab. Use the shell prompt; do not type shell or editor commands into the Codex prompt.

2. Run the following command and press Enter. It opens the configuration file in Vi:

   vi ~/.codex/config.toml

3. Press i to enter insert mode for editing.

   Use the arrow keys to find an existing [tui] heading. Avoid typing over existing text while moving through the file.

OpenAI’s configuration reference confirms the user configuration location and describes TUI options. It does not currently document whimsy; the user’s observed result here supports this fix.

Set Codex whimsy = false inside [tui]

Settings belong to the section identified by the heading above them. Put whimsy = false on its own line within [tui], before the next [section] heading.

• If [tui] exists, add the setting there, preserving its other keys.
• If whimsy already exists within [tui], set it to false without duplicating it.
• If [tui] does not exist, append the minimal two-line block above. Do not create a second [tui] section.

Configuration: whimsy = false appears under [tui], before [tui.model_availability_nux].

Only whimsy is required. The visible pet = "disabled" entry and [tui.model_availability_nux] section are existing settings shown in the screenshot, not instructions to copy. Leave other settings unchanged.

Save and restart Codex to remove the sparks

1. Press Esc to leave insert mode.

2. Type a colon (:). On a US keyboard, hold Shift and press semicolon (;). Then type wq and press Enter. The complete command is :wq: w writes the file, and q quits Vi.

3. Close the existing Codex session normally. At the shell prompt, run:

   codex

The restarted session should show the input background without sparks, as observed below.

After: the configuration change and restart removed the sparkling background.

If Codex terminal sparkles remain

Check these details before making another change:

Item	What to check	Why it matters
Restart	Close the existing session and rerun codex.	The observed fix includes a restart.
Section	Place the setting under [tui], before [tui.model_availability_nux] or another heading.	A later heading starts a different section.
Value	Use whimsy = false, with unquoted false.	TOML needs a boolean value here.
Saved file	Reopen ~/.codex/config.toml and confirm the line remains.	Unsaved edits cannot affect the next launch.

Check that the setting is correctly placed and the file is saved. Once those details match the example, restart Codex and compare the input box with the final screenshot.

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