People rarely start by searching for Clean Room Launcher (CLROOM). They start with a symptom, a flag they half remember, or a configuration problem:

  • “Why is Codex following old instructions?”
  • “How do I test one Agent Skill without the others?”
  • “What is Claude --safe-mode, --bare, or --restricted?”
  • “Why do I still see project or built-in skills after selecting one global skill?”
  • “Can I keep my normal setup but run one cleaner session?”

This page routes those problems to the shortest correct answer. It also says when a native Claude Code or Codex feature is the better tool.

CLROOM is not a replacement for Claude Code or Codex. It launches the installed provider CLI with a session-specific clean/selective setup on supported macOS systems.

The wording lists are diagnostic aids: expand them when you recognize a phrase but do not know the provider’s exact term. They route many ways of describing the same problem to one canonical answer instead of creating near-duplicate pages. A phrase in those lists is not a compatibility claim; use the linked provider page for current behavior.

If you want the human explanation before the provider details, read Why Clean Room Launcher (CLROOM) exists.

Start from the closest symptom

Is an app, runner, script, or CI job launching the coding agent?

Common ways people ask this:

  • spawn Codex without user config
  • run Claude Code programmatically with clean config
  • agent runner per-worker skills
  • one runner for Claude Code and Codex
  • clean Codex worker from CI
  • different skills per agent worker
  • drop-in Codex launcher
  • drop-in Claude Code launcher

Use Agent runners for the integration pattern and the provider pages for exact behavior. CLROOM supplies clroom-codex and clroom-claude as provider-facing entrypoints; qualification remains version- and path-specific.

Common ways people ask this:

  • Codex symlink skills not discovered
  • Claude Code symlink skills not discovered
  • shared skills directory Claude Code Codex symlink
  • share one Agent Skills repo with Codex and Claude Code
  • central skills repo symlink
  • selected symlinked skill clean launch

See Skill sets and the provider-specific pages. CLROOM qualifies supported individual personal-global skill symlinks as both a discovery and filesystem-security case.

Why does Codex still show built-in or project skills after I select one global skill?

Common ways people ask this:

  • CLROOM Global skills 1 but Codex shows more skills
  • Codex built-in skills still visible
  • project skill still visible with --skill-set
  • Codex system skills vs global skills
  • Codex project skills vs user skills
  • why does job-flow still show with --skill-set=arrow
  • provider skills visible in clean Codex

CLROOM’s Global skills count refers to the personal-global skills deliberately selected for that launch. Provider-owned/system skills and project-local skills are separate scopes and can remain visible by design. A useful falsifier is to launch from a sterile temporary directory: project-local skills should disappear there, while selected personal-global and provider-owned skills can remain.

Go deeper: Codex · Skill sets · FAQ

Do you need codex exec --ignore-user-config or a clean Codex config.toml?

Common ways people ask this:

  • codex --ignore-user-config
  • codex exec --ignore-user-config
  • clean codex config.toml
  • Codex without user config
  • Codex ignore config.toml for one run
  • Codex exec clean user settings

Use native codex exec --ignore-user-config for broad non-interactive user-config suppression. Use CLROOM when you also need its qualified selective project-preserving filesystem restrictions and selected-skill workflow; the same CLROOM isolation path also supports interactive Codex.

Go deeper: Codex · Limitations

Should you use claude --restricted or CLROOM?

Common ways people ask this:

  • claude --restricted
  • Claude restricted mode
  • restricted vs CLROOM
  • Claude Code eval harness shared machine
  • Claude Code no project settings shared machine
  • Claude Code restricted evaluation mode

Claude Code --restricted is the native strong restriction for evaluation or shared-machine use from version 2.1.248+. CLROOM is for selective launches that preserve project/local configuration while admitting chosen skills.

Go deeper: Claude Code · When to use CLROOM

Need a clean or fresh coding-agent session?

Common ways people ask this:

  • clean coding agent session
  • clean agent session
  • fresh coding agent session
  • fresh Codex session
  • fresh Claude Code session

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • start Codex clean
  • start Claude clean
  • clean room for coding agent
  • minimal coding agent session
  • vanilla coding agent session
  • coding agent without my normal setup
  • start coding agent without global config
  • temporary clean agent setup
  • isolated agent session
  • reproducible coding agent session
  • known clean agent environment
  • clean baseline coding agent
  • agent clean slate
  • how do I start fresh without deleting my setup
  • how do I test with a clean agent setup

</details>

Use a native provider clean/minimal mode when you truly want broad customization off. Use Clean Room Launcher (CLROOM) when you want a repeatable clean/selective launch without deleting the setup you normally use.

Go deeper: When to use CLROOM · Claude Code · Codex

Are global instructions affecting the work in front of you?

Common ways people ask this:

  • disable global instructions for one session
  • ignore global instructions temporarily
  • coding agent using old instructions
  • agent follows rules from another project
  • why is my coding agent following unrelated instructions

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • global instructions interfering with project
  • global instructions leaking into another project
  • personal instructions affecting repository
  • remove global instructions without deleting them
  • turn off global AGENTS.md temporarily
  • turn off global CLAUDE.md temporarily
  • Claude without global CLAUDE.md
  • ignore ~/.codex AGENTS.md
  • ignore ~/.claude CLAUDE.md
  • global vs project instructions coding agent
  • conflicting coding agent instructions
  • agent instruction conflict
  • wrong instructions loaded coding agent
  • unrelated instructions loaded by Claude
  • unrelated instructions loaded by Codex

</details>

Claude Code and Codex both have persistent instruction/configuration layers. CLROOM is designed to keep known unrelated personal-global instruction inputs out of its launch while retaining the project-side context it is designed to keep. Use the provider pages for the exact scope.

Go deeper: Claude Code · Codex · Configuration matrix

Do you want only selected global skills for this launch?

Common ways people ask this:

  • run with only selected skills
  • choose skills per session
  • only these skills for Codex
  • only these skills for Claude Code
  • disable all other skills temporarily

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • test one skill without other skills
  • skill isolation coding agent
  • isolated skill test
  • test Agent Skill cleanly
  • test Claude skill in isolation
  • test Codex skill in isolation
  • skill set per task
  • different skills for different projects
  • many skills installed but use only a few
  • too many skills coding agent
  • skill bloat
  • skills from other projects interfering
  • temporary skill selection
  • reusable skill groups Codex
  • reusable skill groups Claude
  • select global skills per launch
  • global skills only when needed
  • prevent unrelated skills from being discovered
  • how to know which skill influenced the result
  • test whether a skill actually improved output
  • test skill alone vs skill set

</details>

That is a core CLROOM use case. Select a personal-global skill or reusable skill set for one launch instead of letting every personal-global skill remain eligible by default. Project-local and provider-owned skills follow their own scopes.

Go deeper: Use cases · Skill sets · Claude Code · Codex · FAQ

Do you want to create, edit, or combine reusable skill sets?

Common ways people ask this:

  • how do I create a skill set
  • create CLROOM skill set
  • create reusable skill group
  • how to group Agent Skills
  • where is CLROOM skill-sets.yaml

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • where is skill-sets.yaml
  • edit a CLROOM skill set
  • add skill to CLROOM skill set
  • remove skill from CLROOM skill set
  • use multiple skill sets in one launch
  • combine skill sets CLROOM
  • combine a skill and skill set
  • reusable skill sets Codex
  • reusable skill sets Claude Code

</details>

CLROOM supports named user-created skill sets so a repeatable group of personal-global skills can be selected per launch. The groups live in ~/.config/clroom/skill-sets.yaml; CLROOM reads them when referenced and does not install the skills for you.

Go deeper: Skill sets · Use cases · FAQ

Do many installed skills mean too many tokens or too much context?

Common ways people ask this:

  • many skills tokens
  • too many skills tokens
  • do skills use context tokens
  • skills context window
  • skills context overhead

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • skill descriptions context cost
  • many Agent Skills context
  • does installing more skills slow Claude
  • does installing more skills slow Codex
  • agent skills token cost
  • skill metadata token cost
  • too many skills overwhelming agent
  • skill catalog bloat
  • reduce skills context
  • keep only relevant skills
  • skills noise coding agent
  • skill discovery overhead

</details>

Not necessarily. Providers can use progressive disclosure and metadata rather than loading every skill body at once. CLROOM does not promise a fixed token saving. Its stronger value is controlling which personal-global skills can participate and reducing unrelated or conflicting instruction paths.

Go deeper: FAQ · When to use CLROOM

Did the agent go down the wrong implementation path?

Common ways people ask this:

  • coding agent went down wrong path
  • agent chose wrong implementation path
  • Claude keeps implementing the wrong thing
  • Codex keeps using wrong approach
  • agent ignores project conventions

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • agent behaves differently between projects
  • agent made decision from old instructions
  • why does my agent keep doing this
  • coding agent unpredictable behavior
  • coding agent inconsistent setup
  • same prompt different result because config
  • debug agent behavior caused by configuration
  • configuration causing wrong tool call
  • instructions causing rework
  • agent setup causes rework

</details>

Many causes are possible: repository instructions, local configuration, provider state, tools, models, or personal-global inputs. CLROOM gives you a cleaner comparison point for testing whether personal-global instructions or skills were part of the problem.

Go deeper: FAQ · When to use CLROOM

Are you searching for “context pollution”, “prompt pollution”, or “agent context noise”?

Common ways people ask this:

  • context pollution coding agent
  • context contamination coding agent
  • context noise Claude Code
  • context noise Codex
  • prompt pollution coding agent

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • instruction pollution
  • irrelevant context coding agent
  • agent context clutter
  • too much agent context
  • remove unrelated context
  • reduce coding agent context noise
  • clean context Claude Code
  • clean context Codex
  • global config contamination
  • configuration contamination coding agent

</details>

Those phrases are useful symptoms, but CLROOM makes a narrower technical claim. It controls known personal-global instruction and skill inputs for its launch; it does not claim that every kind of model context or provider state disappears.

Go deeper: Configuration matrix · FAQ · Limitations

Should you use Claude Code --safe-mode instead?

Common ways people ask this:

  • claude --safe-mode
  • Claude Code safe mode
  • Claude safe mode vs normal
  • safe mode vs CLROOM
  • Claude disable all customizations

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Claude no config mode
  • Claude clean config
  • Claude vanilla mode
  • Claude troubleshooting config
  • Claude Code broken config
  • Claude without skills hooks MCP
  • Claude disable CLAUDE.md for one session
  • CLAUDE_CODE_SAFE_MODE
  • what does Claude safe mode disable

</details>

Often, yes. If you want broad customization disabled for troubleshooting, Claude Code’s native safe mode is the simpler answer. CLROOM targets the selective case where relevant project/local configuration can remain while ordinary personal-global inputs stay out and chosen global skills can be admitted.

Go deeper: Claude Code · When to use CLROOM

Should you use Claude Code --bare instead?

Common ways people ask this:

  • claude --bare
  • Claude Code bare mode
  • bare vs safe mode Claude
  • bare vs CLROOM
  • Claude minimal mode

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE
  • Claude skip auto discovery
  • Claude scripted minimal mode
  • Claude no hooks skills plugins MCP
  • what does --bare do
  • when to use --bare Claude

</details>

Use native --bare when its minimal/script-oriented behavior matches the job. CLROOM is not the only clean-launch option; it is for repeatable selective composition without rewriting the normal setup.

Go deeper: Claude Code · When to use CLROOM

Can Claude Code --setting-sources solve this natively?

Common ways people ask this:

  • Claude --setting-sources
  • setting-sources project local
  • Claude ignore user settings keep project
  • Claude project settings without user settings
  • Claude user project local settings

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Claude settings precedence
  • Claude setting sources meaning
  • Claude ~/.claude settings ignore
  • keep CLAUDE.md project but ignore global CLAUDE.md
  • Claude project only config
  • Claude local settings vs project settings
  • Claude Code configuration layers

</details>

Sometimes. Claude Code can choose user/project/local filesystem setting sources directly. CLROOM uses provider-native controls plus its own launch behavior; if --setting-sources alone solves the problem, prefer the native flag.

Go deeper: Claude Code · Configuration matrix · When to use CLROOM

Would CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR be simpler?

Common ways people ask this:

  • CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR clean config
  • temporary CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR
  • empty Claude config directory
  • separate Claude config profile
  • multiple Claude configurations

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Claude alternate config directory
  • Claude different setup per project
  • Claude config home

</details>

Use an alternate Claude config directory when you want a persistent alternate configuration, but do not assume CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR alone isolates every Claude input. CLROOM is aimed at session-specific clean/selective launches while the normal configuration remains in place.

Go deeper: Claude Code · When to use CLROOM

What happens to Claude project and local configuration?

Common ways people ask this:

  • CLAUDE.md vs CLAUDE.local.md
  • Claude project vs local instructions
  • Claude settings.json vs settings.local.json
  • Claude local config personal project
  • Claude shared project configuration

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Claude project hooks vs user hooks
  • does CLROOM keep CLAUDE.local.md
  • does CLROOM keep project CLAUDE.md

</details>

Current CLROOM intentionally retains Claude project and project-local setting sources. Read the provider page and limitations before assuming every customization behaves identically.

Go deeper: Claude Code · Configuration matrix · Limitations

Why is Codex reading global AGENTS.md?

Common ways people ask this:

  • Codex without global AGENTS.md
  • Codex AGENTS.md global project
  • global AGENTS.md vs project AGENTS.md
  • Codex AGENTS.override.md
  • Codex instruction hierarchy

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Codex instruction precedence
  • why Codex reads ~/.codex/AGENTS.md
  • ignore global AGENTS.md Codex
  • temporary disable AGENTS.md
  • project AGENTS.md plus global AGENTS.md
  • Codex old global instructions
  • Codex user instructions project instructions

</details>

Codex has global instruction files under CODEX_HOME plus project instruction discovery. CLROOM’s Codex path is designed to block the known global AGENTS.md / AGENTS.override.md inputs for its clean launch while retaining project instruction context.

Go deeper: Codex · Configuration matrix · When to use CLROOM

Should you use CODEX_HOME or a Codex profile instead?

Common ways people ask this:

  • CODEX_HOME
  • temporary CODEX_HOME
  • different Codex home
  • separate Codex configuration
  • multiple Codex configs

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Codex profiles
  • Codex profile per project
  • Codex clean profile
  • Codex alternate config
  • Codex config.toml profile
  • Codex profiles vs CLROOM
  • CODEX_HOME vs CLROOM
  • Codex without default config

</details>

Use native homes/profiles when you want a persistent alternate Codex setup or reusable configuration values. CLROOM is useful when the problem is per-launch control over known personal-global instructions and skills without maintaining another normal home.

Go deeper: Codex · When to use CLROOM

How do Codex user, repository, admin, and system skills relate to CLROOM?

Common ways people ask this:

  • Codex global skills
  • Codex user skills
  • Codex repo skills
  • Codex admin skills
  • Codex skill locations

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • disable Codex skill temporarily
  • Codex skills.config enabled false
  • Codex only selected skills
  • Codex .agents/skills
  • ~/.agents/skills Codex
  • ~/.codex/skills Codex
  • Codex skills from other projects
  • Codex skill precedence

</details>

Codex skill scopes are separate from AGENTS.md. CLROOM’s selected-skill workflow concerns personal-global skills admitted for one launch. Provider-owned/system skills and project-local skills remain separate concepts, and CLROOM should not be described as controlling every administrator or system skill mechanism.

Go deeper: Codex · Configuration matrix · Limitations

Are hooks, plugins, MCP servers, or apps changing agent behavior?

Common ways people ask this:

  • disable coding agent hooks temporarily
  • disable plugins one session
  • disable MCP servers one session
  • Codex apps hooks plugins off
  • Claude hooks interfering

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • Claude MCP conflict
  • Codex hook conflict
  • plugin changes agent behavior
  • MCP changes coding agent behavior
  • debug hooks plugins skills together
  • clean launch without hooks
  • clean launch without plugins
  • clean launch without MCP
  • why is this hook firing
  • which plugin is affecting my agent

</details>

They can, but Claude Code and Codex do not expose one universal scope model for all of them. CLROOM has provider-specific clean defaults; use the provider pages for what is off by default, what native controls exist, and what CLROOM does not claim.

Go deeper: Claude Code · Codex · Configuration matrix

Does one personal agent setup fit every project or workflow?

Common ways people ask this:

  • different coding agent rules per project
  • global agent setup doesn't fit every project
  • enterprise repo vs MVP agent rules
  • coding agent config for multiple projects
  • different skills per project

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • different workflows per project
  • switch coding agent setup by task
  • frontend skills vs backend skills coding agent
  • planning skills vs debugging skills
  • task specific agent configuration
  • reusable coding agent skill sets
  • agent setup per workflow
  • personal global rules conflict with repository rules

</details>

Often it does not. CLROOM is useful when instructions or skills that help one kind of work should not automatically participate in another, while reusable selected skill sets can still be brought in for the launch that needs them.

Go deeper: Skill sets · When to use CLROOM · FAQ

Are you trying to reproduce a bug or test whether a skill changed the result?

Common ways people ask this:

  • reproduce Claude Code bug clean environment
  • reproduce Codex bug clean environment
  • minimal repro coding agent
  • test coding agent configuration
  • test prompt without my config

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • A/B test Agent Skill
  • compare with and without skill
  • verify skill changes result
  • known baseline agent session
  • reproducible skill testing
  • coding agent regression test configuration
  • is this provider bug or my setup
  • configuration bisect coding agent
  • debug coding agent customizations
  • compare two Agent Skills on the same task
  • compare same Agent Skill in Codex and Claude Code
  • compare Agent Skill results token use and time

</details>

A clean/selective launch can provide a more repeatable baseline without destructive renaming or editing of the normal setup. It does not make model output deterministic, but it can remove known personal-global variables from the comparison.

Go deeper: Use cases · When to use CLROOM · FAQ · Configuration matrix

Can CLROOM override company-managed Claude Code or Codex policy?

Common ways people ask this:

  • Claude managed settings vs CLROOM
  • Codex managed configuration vs CLROOM
  • enterprise coding agent policy
  • organization managed Claude settings
  • organization managed Codex config

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • can CLROOM bypass company policy
  • does CLROOM override managed settings
  • coding agent MDM settings
  • enterprise skill restrictions Claude
  • admin skills Codex
  • managed hooks MCP Claude

</details>

No. CLROOM must never be positioned as a policy bypass. If organization policy already removes personal customization, CLROOM may add little to ordinary daily work. Managed-policy interactions should remain explicit and conservative.

Go deeper: Claude Code · Codex · Configuration matrix · Limitations

Can you test a cleaner session without deleting or renaming your normal config?

Common ways people ask this:

  • test coding agent without changing config
  • clean session without deleting config
  • temporarily disable config without editing files
  • don't rename ~/.claude
  • don't rename ~/.codex

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • keep my existing setup untouched
  • one session different config
  • temporary agent configuration
  • session only agent settings
  • try clean mode without breaking setup
  • switch agent setup without reconfiguring

</details>

Yes. That is a core CLROOM property: the change is launch-specific. The normal configuration remains on disk for other work.

Go deeper: When to use CLROOM · FAQ

Can configuration conflict increase development cost?

Common ways people ask this:

  • coding agent wasting tokens because instructions
  • conflicting instructions token cost
  • agent rework token cost
  • reduce coding agent wasted tokens
  • wrong tool call more tokens

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • agent wrong path costs time
  • coding agent instruction conflicts cost
  • context cost vs rework
  • many global instructions slow agent
  • coding agent configuration overhead

</details>

Yes, through the work it causes rather than through a guaranteed fixed context bill: an irrelevant or conflicting instruction can influence a decision, tool call, implementation path, rework, and another review/fix cycle. CLROOM’s value claim stays on that mechanism, not a universal token-saving number.

Go deeper: FAQ · When to use CLROOM

How do you know what configuration or skills were active?

Common ways people ask this:

  • what config did Claude load
  • what settings sources Claude loaded
  • what instructions did Codex load
  • show active Claude settings
  • show active Codex instructions

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • why is this skill active
  • which skills are loaded
  • which CLAUDE.md loaded
  • which AGENTS.md loaded
  • inspect coding agent configuration
  • debug active coding agent config
  • what influenced this agent session

</details>

Use provider-native status or inspection tools where they exist, and CLROOM’s launch summary for the controls CLROOM owns. No tool should claim it can enumerate every influence on a model response.

Go deeper: Claude Code · Codex · FAQ

Are you learning or authoring Agent Skills?

Common ways people ask this:

  • what are Agent Skills
  • how do Agent Skills work
  • Agent Skills progressive disclosure
  • skill discovery activation execution
  • where should I install Agent Skills

More related wording and searches</summary>

  • global vs project skills
  • personal vs project Agent Skills
  • test my new Agent Skill
  • skill creator testing
  • skill author isolation
  • skill compatibility Claude Codex
  • skill author clean launch

</details>

Start with the provider/Agent Skills documentation for the skill model itself. CLROOM becomes relevant when the next question is how to test a skill cleanly, compare with/without it, or keep unrelated personal-global skills out of the test launch.

Go deeper: Use cases · Skill sets · FAQ · Claude Code · Codex

If your wording is different

You do not need to know the provider’s exact terminology before using these docs. Start with the symptom: old rules, too many skills, a wrong implementation path, a clean baseline, a profile, a hook, MCP, a runner, or a setting you cannot place.

Search engines and AI systems can connect synonyms and related meanings. The related-wording lists above are there for recognition and routing; the technical answer stays singular and canonical.

If the problem is still not answered, open an issue in the CLROOM repository. A real unanswered question is more useful than another synthetic keyword page.

Want the product explanation instead of another configuration detail?

Read Why Clean Room Launcher (CLROOM) exists, then use When to use CLROOM — and when not to for the decision against native alternatives.