1. Check that Pentect can find your client.

   pentect doctor

2. Launch the client through Pentect.

   pentect codex
   # or
   pentect claude

3. Work normally.

   Ask the agent to read a local configuration file or perform a task that requires a credential. Protected values appear to the model as handles such as <<DATABASE_URL_4ce8a3b0a6f64e12>>.

4. Watch local protection events when needed.

   pentect log

Launch through Pentect by default

Add these functions to your shell profile, then restart the terminal. Existing Codex and Claude arguments continue to work normally.

PowerShell · $PROFILE

function codex { & pentect codex @args }
function claude { & pentect claude @args }

Bash · ~/.bashrc or Zsh · ~/.zshrc

codex() { command pentect codex "$@"; }
claude() { command pentect claude "$@"; }

Fish · ~/.config/fish/config.fish

function codex
    command pentect codex $argv
end

function claude
    command pentect claude $argv
end

After that, launch either client as usual:

codex exec --full-auto
claude --model sonnet

Try masking without an agent

cat .env | pentect mask
cat terraform.tfvars | pentect mask

PowerShell:

Get-Content .env -Raw | pentect mask

The output contains reusable handles. Plaintext is not printed back to the terminal.

TIP

These functions affect only that shell. Pentect protects each client process launched through them; it does not create a system-wide proxy.