Codex Prompts Ban Goblins: OpenAI’s No-Creatures Policy Surfaces in GitHub Doc

A GitHub document from OpenAI, part of Codex CLI open-sourcing, appears to reveal a system prompt for GPT-5.5 that enforces a strict no-creatures policy—specifically banning goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, and similar beings unless absolutely relevant to the query. The rule emphasizes providing high-signal context and avoids generic platitudes. The policy sparked memes about “Goblin Mode,” but Codex staff say it isn’t a marketing gimmick, and observers note the chatter around goblin usage may relate to prompt-injection monitoring.