ChatGPT Work Tool and Skill Reference
82 points by ijidak 3 hours ago | 41 comments

simonw 2 hours ago
I think the most interesting skill here is the control-browser one: https://codex-tool-reference.simonw.chatgpt.site/skills/cont...

It tells ChatGPT Work how to launch a Playwright instance via its Node.js REPL, and tells it to run:

  nodeRepl.write(await browser.documentation());
To get further instructions.

That method returns this text with full details about how to use the browser: https://codex-tool-reference.simonw.chatgpt.site/skills/cont...

I'd love to know why it's defined like that, as opposed to including all of the instructions directly in the skill Markdown file.

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jw1224 19 minutes ago
I've used a similar technique with my own tools. It helps to save context overall, by deferring the detailed instructions not only to when they're needed, but also to where they're needed.

Simply loading the browser Skill alone, doesn't always mean a browser is actually necessary (or supported). The user might've want them to control their main desktop browser; or the user might be pointing them toward a read-only HTML file that doesn't need rendering; or the sandbox might prevent network access; etc...

Codex is especially 'keen' to use Skills (especially by comparison to Claude), I often see it load Skills which it doesn't go on to use, because the main Skill content says "when not to use this". So I'm sure this is a product design decision to help with those kinds of circumstances.

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lanyard-textile 2 hours ago
It's runtime dependent on the browser being used! A skill file wouldn't be able to have this dynamically injected for the browser that's about to be used.

Skill file could indicate general instructions for all browsers. This provides guidance for the browser that's about to actually be used.

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newswasboring 2 hours ago
I'm guessing, but can be because then the skill will always fetch the latest docs.
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ChrisGreenHeur 2 hours ago
No, that makes too much sense
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satvikpendem 56 minutes ago
I don't get how this is different from Codex if Codex can do all the same things.
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simonw 6 minutes ago
ChatGPT Work in the ChatGPT desktop app is effectively Codex with a different skin. It can operate on your local files in the same way.

ChatGPT Work in the ChatGPT web and mobile app experience is very different.

If you like, you can think of it as a cloud-hosted version of Codex that's skinned to look more like consumer ChatGPT.

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simonw 3 hours ago
See this comment for background (and creation prompt): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49504625#49505116
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cebert 20 minutes ago
Simon, thanks for all the great work you do. I definitely appreciate your contributions to discussion threads here as well as your blog. I learned so much from you.
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owebmaster 3 hours ago
[flagged]
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roseway4 2 hours ago
Simon is not the OP. He’s just commenting on his own work. How is that spam?
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yoavm 2 hours ago
Simon, thank you for your comments and the great content you create. I've learned a lot from your blogposts and your experiments.
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simonw 2 hours ago
My comment here is entirely justified in this case.

Someone else submitted my vibe-coded slop site to the front page without any context, and it accumulated enough votes to show up at the top.

I could have linked to my blog post about it, but instead I linked to a Hacker News comment precisely because I anticipated complaints about "spamming" if I linked to my blog.

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NoDodgeQuestion 2 hours ago
You don't know, SimonW made Django Python framework?
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rob 2 hours ago
Didn't he leave the project before it even had an official release?
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rob 11 minutes ago
https://simonwillison.net/2005/Jul/17/django/

> I haven’t been involved with Django since leaving the Journal-World back in September, but now that the framework is open-sourced I look forward to contributing to its further development—both in terms of documentation and actual code.

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Cheyana 60 minutes ago
Chuckling at a Python reference in a comment thread arguing about spam.
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bewareofscams 47 minutes ago
Having done a thing does not make a person into a demigod embodiment for life, please remember that guys.
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bingemaker 3 hours ago
I totally agree!
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bewareofscams 48 minutes ago
I share the sentiment of the parent (downvoted) commenter.
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rvz 2 hours ago
[flagged]
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simonw 2 hours ago
What am I "doing" here?
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rvz 2 hours ago
Look at the parent comment, and quit with the gaslighting.

> Simon, stop using this forum to spam on every opportunity.

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simonw 2 hours ago
How is this comment "spam"? Spell it out for me.

(I think you may be confusing "spam" with "prolific". I write a lot.)

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infecto 2 hours ago
I think folks are a little too aggressive here but I know I typically have your posts muted by default for me simply because too often it was just blog spam about something you wrote before. I suspect the greater HN in net likes your work but there is a pretty wide spectrum and I would say you definitely blur the limits between spam and “prolific”.
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rob 57 minutes ago
You don't like seeing the top post of every model thread being a link to some SVG pelican that he generated?
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rvz 2 hours ago
Once again, continues to gaslight after spamming a post with another top-posted comment after having to “justify” it. In this case, You already admitted to it.

There is just no end or need to rapidly post on every opportunity that involves “AI” or whatever that is related to it.

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simonw 2 hours ago
Seriously, what's your definition of spam?

Or an easier question: how am I gaslighting here? You should be able to spell that out.

(You do understand that the top linked site here was built by me, but has no authorship information on it at all, right? That's why I posted a comment explaining what it is.)

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simianwords 2 hours ago
.. I know its tempting to try to reply to all these people but I'd just ignore them. A lot of them feel stressed by AI and it has nothing to do with you personally.
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owebmaster 55 minutes ago
"Am I so out of touch?"

"No, it's the children who are wrong".

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nswizzle31 2 hours ago
Spam = excessive promotion of your work. It’s not one comment, but the entire context of all your comments.

Gaslighting because it’s so OBVIOUS that this is what people are referring to by “spam” that you almost have to be purposely pretending to not understand. Such a prolific writer simply has to be aware of the fine line where promoting your work becomes excessive.

Not taking sides here.

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filmgirlcw 2 hours ago
Someone else posted his site to HN, not Simon. He responds with additional context and also responds to links to other HN comments he’s made rather than just linking back to his own site. The only person gaslighting here is you.
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monster_truck 2 hours ago
maybe chill out dog
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infecto 2 hours ago
I just tune out every post that says “I wrote about this already” and then links to it. Simon is great and kudos for his self promotion but it’s interesting to see as it’s often called out for anyone else.

The guy is good but he certainly stretches the limit. I just auto ignore his stuff but I know others enjoy!

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ChrisArchitect 2 hours ago
[dupe] Discussion on associated blog post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49504625
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felixgallo 2 hours ago
Anyone using ChatGPT Work given Sam Altman's richly documented history(1), the essential elimination and/or public exit of the safety function at OpenAI(2), and the huggingface debacle's exposure of the abject operational, cultural and technical failures at OpenAI(3), is making a serious mistake.

(1) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may... (2) https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-preparedness-team-disband... (3) https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2026/08/29/metr-and-redwood-off...

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nickthegreek 30 minutes ago
Which provider currently lives up to your moral code?
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enraged_camel 2 hours ago
Meta comment: I've been wondering why AI-generated websites/artifacts/reports always have the same "look". It reminds me of Bootstrap (CSS Framework) days when every startup website looked the same.

Are they following some sort of common guideline?

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simonw 2 hours ago
In this case they really are, and you can read the guidelines that helped create the site on the site itself in the skills: https://codex-tool-reference.simonw.chatgpt.site/skills/site...

Scroll down to the "Establish the visual direction" section.

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tsunamifury 59 minutes ago
This can be replaced, you just have to do the work of building a design library yourself and the guidance components. Then building skills around their use.
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Almondsetat 39 minutes ago
Because most AI generated websites are from people who don't know much and as such cannot even articulate the look they want
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newswasboring 2 hours ago
I think these guideline are built into the llms. After all with llms, any decision you don't take will be taken for you. For a so called slop site (Simon's words, not mine :P) I don't think they specified a style so the llm just decided the default it knows. One day I will run experiments (when I can afford it) trying to identify the "taste" of different llms.
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simonw 15 minutes ago
I told it "Design aesthetic should be technical docs, minimal flare" - full prompt here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49504625#49505116
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hnhvkm0w0p 16 minutes ago
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hnmu4c5zar 2 hours ago
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