Sub-agent `[[skills.config]]` in agent TOML is ignored for both disable and enable overrides

[ImJamesBarrett]

Summary

The Codex multi-agents docs say sub-agents can enable or disable skills in their TOML file. In practice, agent-local [[skills.config]] does not appear to be respected in either direction:

• disabling a skill for a specific agent does not remove it for that agent
• enabling a skill for a specific agent when it is disabled globally does not make it available to that agent

Docs referenced

• Codex Multi-agents
• Codex Skills

The Multi-agents docs include an example like:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/Users/me/.agents/skills/docs-editor/SKILL.md"
enabled = false

which implies per-agent skill scoping is supported.

Expected behaviour

Agent-local [[skills.config]] should allow sub-agents to override skill availability on a per-agent basis.

Two cases should work:

1. Disable a default-available skill for one agent:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/absolute/path/to/SKILL.md"
enabled = false

Expected result: that skill is not available to that sub-agent.

2. Enable a globally disabled skill for one agent:

Global ~/.codex/config.toml:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/absolute/path/to/SKILL.md"
enabled = false

Agent TOML:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/absolute/path/to/SKILL.md"
enabled = true

Expected result: that skill is available to that sub-agent only.

Actual behaviour

Neither direction appears to work:

• agent-local enabled = false does not disable the skill for that agent
• agent-local enabled = true does not re-enable a globally disabled skill for that agent

This makes the agent-local skills.config setting appear to have no effect.

Minimal repros

Case 1: disable per agent

1. Create exactly one skill under $HOME/.agents/skills/.../SKILL.md.
2. Do not define any global [[skills.config]] in ~/.codex/config.toml.
3. Define one custom sub-agent in an agent TOML with:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/absolute/path/to/the/skill/SKILL.md"
enabled = false

4. Spawn that sub-agent.

Result: the agent-local disable does not appear to be honoured.

Case 2: enable only for one agent

1. Create exactly one skill under $HOME/.agents/skills/.../SKILL.md.
2. Disable it globally in ~/.codex/config.toml:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/absolute/path/to/the/skill/SKILL.md"
enabled = false

3. Define one custom sub-agent in an agent TOML with:

[[skills.config]]
path = "/absolute/path/to/the/skill/SKILL.md"
enabled = true

4. Spawn that sub-agent.

Result: the agent-local enable does not appear to override the global disable.

What was verified

• The agent TOML parses correctly as valid TOML.
• [[skills.config]] is a top-level table and is not nested incorrectly.
• The skill path is correct.
• Both override directions were tested:
  • default available -> disabled per agent
  • disabled globally -> enabled per agent
• The observed behaviour still does not match the docs.

Environment

• Codex desktop
• Codex CLI

Impact

This breaks the expected role specialisation model for sub-agents. If agent-local skill enable/disable is ignored, skills cannot be scoped cleanly to only the agents that need them.

That defeats a core use case for specialised sub-agents:

• globally available skills cannot be excluded from agents that should not use them
• globally disabled skills cannot be selectively enabled for the agents that do need them