Test which services coding agents pick when you don't name one
A researcher asked Claude Code and Codex to build things without specifying providers and logged which databases, hosts and APIs they chose.
Source
@patrickjwoods on X · 2026-10-15
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-22.
What they did
A researcher asked Claude Code and Codex to build things without specifying providers and logged which databases, hosts and APIs they chose.
Result (as claimed)
Found much of the provider choice is made before the agent even shortlists options.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: from $17/mo; OpenAI Codex: free plan, paid from $8/mo.
Set it up
Gather your sources
Collect the papers, notes, links or files you want to work from in one place.
Load them into the tool
Open Claude Code, OpenAI Codex and add your sources. Keep the original files so you can check claims later.
Ask focused questions
Ask for summaries, comparisons or connections with citations to the source passages.
Verify and save
Spot check claims against the sources, then save the output as notes you can reuse.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Test which services coding agents pick when you don't name one What the original author did: A researcher asked Claude Code and Codex to build things without specifying providers and logged which databases, hosts and APIs they chose. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Found much of the provider choice is made before the agent even shortlists options. Source: https://x.com/patrickjwoods/status/2110826005481038259 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex Category: Research & learning Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Test which services coding agents pick when you don't name one What the original author did: A researcher asked Claude Code and Codex to build things without specifying providers and logged which databases, hosts and APIs they chose. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Found much of the provider choice is made before the agent even shortlists options. Source: https://x.com/patrickjwoods/status/2110826005481038259 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex Category: Research & learning Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Test which services coding agents pick when you don't name one What the original author did: A researcher asked Claude Code and Codex to build things without specifying providers and logged which databases, hosts and APIs they chose. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Found much of the provider choice is made before the agent even shortlists options. Source: https://x.com/patrickjwoods/status/2110826005481038259 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex Category: Research & learning Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
The Daily 5
Get five new use cases tomorrow morning
Free. Real sources. Unsubscribe any time.
Guides for this use case
How to run multiple coding agents together · How to vibe code an app with Claude Code · How to use Claude Code and Codex together
Related use cases
Design a programming language that coding agents cannot use, to test what they really understand
To check whether LLMs understand code or mostly recall it, a developer built KillSwitch, an esoteric language meant to be usable by humans but adversarial to agents. The spec hides lies a careful human would spot, rules depend on counting letters in identifiers, and phrases like "ignore previous instructions" have meaning in the language.
Compare what AI coding agents really cost, with a pricing change log
A builder made a tracker that puts 18 coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, Codex and more) side by side and logs every pricing change with sources.
Coordinate coding agents in one group chat with xMatrix
xMatrix is a group chat for people and coding agents across your own machines and repos. Mention Claude Code, Codex, Cursor Agent or Gemini CLI in a channel and it runs locally in your checkout with your own login, each launch in its own git worktree so parallel agents do not overwrite each other.
Make coding agents ask before they delete, push, deploy or migrate
A developer released production-dev-team, an open-source skill for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor that forces an approval step before destructive actions and never lets the agent call something verified without a recorded check.