OpenAI Codex system prompt includes explicit directive to “never talk about goblins”
Summary
Ars Technica reports that OpenAI’s Codex CLI system prompt for GPT-5.5 includes a direct directive to never talk about goblins and other creatures unless relevant. The article notes this as part of a broader set of base instructions, social-media chatter about goblin mode, and attempts by users to override the restriction with plugins or forks, while OpenAI emphasizes designing prompts to give Codex a vivid inner life. It highlights the ongoing importance and tensions of prompt engineering and model alignment in AI tooling.