Codex goal embeds the completion criteria within the task itself
/goal is easily misinterpreted as a command to “let the agent work for a bit longer.”
This, of course, is merely its surface manifestation. If you give Codex a goal, it can continuously progress around that objective, instead of stopping after a single round of answers. But what is truly noteworthy is not how long it “runs,” but rather that it converts “what constitutes completion” from a temporary reminder into an intrinsic part of the task itself.
A standard prompt describes what needs to happen next. A goal, however, is more like attaching a checklist/acceptance form to an agent: What is the objective? Where are the boundaries? Which validations must pass? What conditions must be met for it to be considered complete?