diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4db0ba5..da75483 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -347,6 +347,8 @@ Level progress shows on the status card:
 
 ### 🖥️ Statusline Integration
 
+Buddy has optional statusline integrations. The core MCP server does not depend on any HUD.
+
 For Claude Code users, Buddy renders in your statusline alongside the HUD:
 
 ![Nuzzlecap Statusline](demo/screenshots/statusline.png)
@@ -368,6 +370,22 @@ Add the statusline wrapper to your Claude Code settings:
 }
 ```
 
+Experimental and disabled by default: for patched Codex builds that expose `tui.status_line_command`, Buddy can render a compact footer block without depending on `codex-hud` itself:
+
+```toml
+[tui]
+status_line_command = "node /path/to/buddy/dist/codex-statusline.js"
+```
+
+Or, if Buddy is installed as a package and the bin is on `PATH`:
+
+```toml
+[tui]
+status_line_command = "buddy-codex-statusline"
+```
+
+This Codex integration is optional, experimental, and only works in Codex builds that already support `status_line_command`. The main Buddy install does not patch or rebuild Codex.
+
 ### 💬 Speech Bubbles
 
 Buddy reactions render as speech bubbles next to your companion's ASCII art:
@@ -417,7 +435,7 @@ git clone https://github.com/fiorastudio/buddy.git
 cd buddy
 npm install
 npm run build
-npm test           # 243 tests
+npm test           # 246 tests
 npm start          # runs the MCP server on stdio
 ```
 
@@ -433,7 +451,7 @@ npm start          # runs the MCP server on stdio
 | **Species** | 21 | 18 |
 | **Install** | One-liner (curl/PowerShell) | git clone + npm |
 | **Windows** | ✅ | ❌ |
-| **Tests** | 243 | 140 |
+| **Tests** | 246 | 140 |
 
 **save-buddy** is a faithful preservation of the original Claude Code buddy experience. It's great for purists who want the exact original.
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e764980..f40c4a6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
   "description": "Persistent AI coding companion - MCP server with 21 species, personality stats, and code feedback",
   "main": "dist/server/index.js",
   "bin": {
-    "buddy-statusline": "dist/statusline-wrapper.js"
+    "buddy-statusline": "dist/statusline-wrapper.js",
+    "buddy-codex-statusline": "dist/codex-statusline.js"
   },
   "files": [
     "dist",
diff --git a/src/__tests__/codex-statusline.test.ts b/src/__tests__/codex-statusline.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b57027b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/codex-statusline.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { renderCodexStatusline, type CodexBuddyStatus } from '../lib/codex-statusline.js';
+
+const baseStatus: CodexBuddyStatus = {
+  name: 'Rustbot',
+  species: 'Goose',
+  level: 3,
+  xp: 42,
+  mood: 'happy',
+  rarity: 'rare',
+};
+
+describe('renderCodexStatusline', () => {
+  it('renders two footer-safe lines', () => {
+    const lines = renderCodexStatusline(baseStatus, 0);
+    expect(lines).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(lines[0]).toContain('Rustbot');
+    expect(lines[0]).toContain('Goose');
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('happy');
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('XP:42');
+  });
+
+  it('shows active reaction text when present', () => {
+    const lines = renderCodexStatusline({
+      ...baseStatus,
+      reaction_indicator: '♥',
+      reaction_text: '*tolerates petting with dignity*',
+      reaction_expires: 10_000,
+    }, 5_000);
+    expect(lines[0]).toContain('Rustbot');
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('♥');
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('tolerates petting');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to XP progress when reaction is expired', () => {
+    const lines = renderCodexStatusline({
+      ...baseStatus,
+      reaction_text: 'old reaction',
+      reaction_expires: 10,
+    }, 20);
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('XP:42');
+    expect(lines[1]).not.toContain('old reaction');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/codex-statusline.ts b/src/codex-statusline.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..623a6de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/codex-statusline.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+import Database from 'better-sqlite3';
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { homedir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import { renderCodexStatusline, type CodexBuddyStatus } from './lib/codex-statusline.js';
+
+const BUDDY_STATUS_PATH = join(homedir(), '.claude', 'buddy-status.json');
+const BUDDY_DB_PATH = join(homedir(), '.buddy', 'buddy.db');
+
+type DbRow = {
+  name: string;
+  species: string;
+  level: number;
+  xp: number;
+  mood: string;
+};
+
+function loadStatusFile(): CodexBuddyStatus | null {
+  try {
+    if (!existsSync(BUDDY_STATUS_PATH)) return null;
+    return JSON.parse(readFileSync(BUDDY_STATUS_PATH, 'utf-8')) as CodexBuddyStatus;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+function loadFromDb(): CodexBuddyStatus | null {
+  let db: Database.Database | null = null;
+  try {
+    if (!existsSync(BUDDY_DB_PATH)) return null;
+    db = new Database(BUDDY_DB_PATH, { readonly: true });
+    const row = db.prepare(
+      'SELECT name, species, level, xp, mood FROM companions ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 1'
+    ).get() as DbRow | undefined;
+    if (!row) return null;
+    return row;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  } finally {
+    db?.close();
+  }
+}
+
+function main(): void {
+  const status = loadStatusFile() || loadFromDb();
+  if (!status || !status.name) return;
+
+  for (const line of renderCodexStatusline(status)) {
+    if (line.trim()) {
+      console.log(line);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+main();
diff --git a/src/lib/codex-statusline.ts b/src/lib/codex-statusline.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..550e120
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/codex-statusline.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+import { levelProgress } from './leveling.js';
+import { RARITY_STARS, type Rarity } from './types.js';
+
+export type CodexBuddyStatus = {
+  name: string;
+  species: string;
+  level: number;
+  xp: number;
+  mood?: string;
+  rarity?: Rarity;
+  rarity_stars?: string;
+  is_shiny?: boolean;
+  reaction_text?: string;
+  reaction_indicator?: string;
+  reaction_expires?: number;
+};
+
+const MINI_ICONS: Record<string, string> = {
+  'Void Cat': `|\\---/|`,
+  'Rust Hound': `/\\_/\\\\`,
+  'Data Drake': `/\\^/\\\\`,
+  'Log Golem': `[::::]`,
+  'Cache Crow': `\\v/`,
+  'Shell Turtle': `(___)`,
+  'Duck': `--`,
+  'Goose': `(·>`,
+  'Blob': `(~~)`,
+  'Octopus': `\\(o.o)/`,
+  'Owl': `(o,o)`,
+  'Penguin': `.---.`,
+  'Snail': `@_/'`,
+  'Ghost': `,_,`,
+  'Axolotl': `(:>`,
+  'Capybara': `(===)`,
+  'Cactus': `[++]`,
+  'Robot': `[::]`,
+  'Rabbit': `()/)`,
+  'Mushroom': `.-o-OO-o-.`,
+  'Chonk': `(____)`,
+};
+
+const MINI_BODIES: Record<string, string> = {
+  'Void Cat': `| o o |`,
+  'Rust Hound': `|| ||`,
+  'Data Drake': `\\\\_//`,
+  'Log Golem': `[____]`,
+  'Cache Crow': `\\__/`,
+  'Shell Turtle': `(_^_)`,
+  'Duck': `<(·)___`,
+  'Goose': `_(__)_`,
+  'Blob': `(___)`,
+  'Octopus': ` /|\\\\ `,
+  'Owl': `/)__)`,
+  'Penguin': `(·>·)`,
+  'Snail': `(___)`,
+  'Ghost': `(   )`,
+  'Axolotl': `(:::)`,
+  'Capybara': `(____)`,
+  'Cactus': `| || |`,
+  'Robot': `[__]`,
+  'Rabbit': `('')`,
+  'Mushroom': `(__________)`,
+  'Chonk': `|____|`,
+};
+
+const AMBIENT_TEXT: Record<string, string[]> = {
+  'Void Cat': ['judging your code', 'staring into void', 'plotting silently'],
+  'Rust Hound': ['sniffing for bugs', 'guarding the repo', 'chasing a pointer'],
+  'Data Drake': ['hoarding abstractions', 'sorting interfaces', 'guarding the architecture'],
+  'Log Golem': ['processing stack traces', 'reciting status codes', 'holding the line'],
+  'Cache Crow': ['stealing good patterns', 'watching cache hits', 'hoarding snippets'],
+  'Shell Turtle': ['reviewing carefully', 'moving slow, shipping safe', 'triple-checking deploys'],
+  'Duck': ['rubber ducking', 'waddling in place', 'quacking softly'],
+  'Goose': ['eyeing your code', 'standing guard', 'scheming'],
+  'Blob': ['adapting quietly', 'squishing through modules', 'absorbing the framework'],
+  'Octopus': ['untangling dependencies', 'multi-tasking aggressively', 'wrapping around the problem'],
+  'Owl': ['reviewing after midnight', 'watching the patterns', 'judging your docs'],
+  'Penguin': ['enforcing interfaces', 'keeping it structured', 'refusing to use any'],
+  'Snail': ['reading every line', 'taking geological time', 'leaving review trails'],
+  'Ghost': ['haunting your logs', 'flickering softly', 'phasing through code'],
+  'Axolotl': ['regrowing morale', 'recovering from rollback', 'wiggling optimistically'],
+  'Capybara': ['keeping things calm', 'de-escalating incidents', 'bringing peaceful vibes'],
+  'Cactus': ['delivering tough love', 'flowering under pressure', 'growing through critique'],
+  'Robot': ['processing...', 'scanning code', 'quantifying the damage'],
+  'Rabbit': ['ready to critique', 'thumping softly', 'moving too fast'],
+  'Mushroom': ['decomposing problems', 'spreading spores', 'growing quietly'],
+  'Chonk': ['taking up space', 'sitting on the keyboard', 'owning the room'],
+};
+
+function isReactionActive(status: CodexBuddyStatus, now: number): boolean {
+  return typeof status.reaction_expires === 'number' && status.reaction_expires > now;
+}
+
+function rarityStars(status: CodexBuddyStatus): string {
+  if (status.rarity_stars) return status.rarity_stars;
+  if (status.rarity) return RARITY_STARS[status.rarity];
+  return '';
+}
+
+function miniIcon(species: string): string {
+  return MINI_ICONS[species] || '(-)';
+}
+
+function miniBody(species: string): string {
+  return MINI_BODIES[species] || '(___)';
+}
+
+function truncate(text: string, maxLength: number): string {
+  if (text.length <= maxLength) return text;
+  if (maxLength <= 1) return text.slice(0, maxLength);
+  return `${text.slice(0, maxLength - 1)}…`;
+}
+
+function ambientText(species: string, xp: number): string {
+  const pool = AMBIENT_TEXT[species] || ['watching your cursor', 'vibing quietly', 'counting semicolons'];
+  return pool[Math.abs(xp) % pool.length];
+}
+
+export function renderCodexStatusline(status: CodexBuddyStatus, now = Date.now()): string[] {
+  const stars = rarityStars(status);
+  const shiny = status.is_shiny ? ' ✨' : '';
+  const levelLabel = Number.isFinite(status.level) ? `Lv.${status.level}` : 'Lv.?';
+  const reactionActive = isReactionActive(status, now);
+  const progress = levelProgress(Math.max(0, status.xp || 0));
+  const xpLabel = progress.level >= 50 ? 'MAX' : `${progress.currentXp}/${progress.neededXp} XP`;
+  const line1 = [
+    miniIcon(status.species),
+    status.name,
+    `(${status.species})`,
+    levelLabel,
+  ].filter(Boolean).join(' ');
+
+  if (reactionActive && status.reaction_text) {
+    const line2 = [
+      miniBody(status.species),
+      truncate(`${status.reaction_indicator || '·'} ${status.reaction_text}`, 42),
+    ].join('  ');
+    return [line1, line2];
+  }
+
+  const line2 = [
+    miniBody(status.species),
+    status.mood || 'present',
+    `XP:${status.xp || 0}`,
+    `${stars}${shiny}`.trim(),
+    `· ${ambientText(status.species, status.xp || 0)}`,
+  ].filter(Boolean).join(' ');
+  return [line1, line2];
+}