diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1e44875f21..ab1bc58605 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,60 +1,26 @@
-<p align="center"><code>npm i -g @openai/codex</code><br />or <code>brew install --cask codex</code></p>
-<p align="center"><strong>Codex CLI</strong> is a coding agent from OpenAI that runs locally on your computer.
-<p align="center">
-  <img src="https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/.github/codex-cli-splash.png" alt="Codex CLI splash" width="80%" />
-</p>
-</br>
-If you want Codex in your code editor (VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf), <a href="https://developers.openai.com/codex/ide">install in your IDE.</a>
-</br>If you want the desktop app experience, run <code>codex app</code> or visit <a href="https://chatgpt.com/codex?app-landing-page=true">the Codex App page</a>.
-</br>If you are looking for the <em>cloud-based agent</em> from OpenAI, <strong>Codex Web</strong>, go to <a href="https://chatgpt.com/codex">chatgpt.com/codex</a>.</p>
+# Backup of older version of `main` branch
 
----
+As explained on https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/14324, the following PR added a number of large binaries to a commit on the `main` branch that should not have gone in:
 
-## Quickstart
+https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/13953
 
-### Installing and running Codex CLI
+This PR reverted it:
 
-Install globally with your preferred package manager:
+https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/14232
 
-```shell
-# Install using npm
-npm install -g @openai/codex
-```
+But keeping this mistake in the history of `main` would forever add a material cost to doing `git clone https://github.com/openai/codex`.
 
-```shell
-# Install using Homebrew
-brew install --cask codex
-```
+We caught this shortly after more PRs were landed on `main` beyond #14232.
 
-Then simply run `codex` to get started.
+To ameliorate the situation, we went to https://github.com/openai/codex/commit/402ca6cc54141f145c42213e87c4e7b41e40d442 on `main` and pushed it to this branch to ensure all existing commits would be preserved:
 
-<details>
-<summary>You can also go to the <a href="https://github.com/openai/codex/releases/latest">latest GitHub Release</a> and download the appropriate binary for your platform.</summary>
+https://github.com/openai/codex/tree/main-with-prs-13953-and-14232
 
-Each GitHub Release contains many executables, but in practice, you likely want one of these:
+We then took `main`, excised these commits from history:
 
-- macOS
-  - Apple Silicon/arm64: `codex-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz`
-  - x86_64 (older Mac hardware): `codex-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz`
-- Linux
-  - x86_64: `codex-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz`
-  - arm64: `codex-aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz`
+- https://github.com/openai/codex/commit/6baeec68bd1bdc11284885a6d00fa4db4e1327b6
+- https://github.com/openai/codex/commit/9b3332e62ffb4c10bfa8c7ac47184d8e6df92c49
 
-Each archive contains a single entry with the platform baked into the name (e.g., `codex-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl`), so you likely want to rename it to `codex` after extracting it.
+and force-pushed the result to `main`, admittedly rewriting history.
 
-</details>
-
-### Using Codex with your ChatGPT plan
-
-Run `codex` and select **Sign in with ChatGPT**. We recommend signing into your ChatGPT account to use Codex as part of your Plus, Pro, Team, Edu, or Enterprise plan. [Learn more about what's included in your ChatGPT plan](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11369540-codex-in-chatgpt).
-
-You can also use Codex with an API key, but this requires [additional setup](https://developers.openai.com/codex/auth#sign-in-with-an-api-key).
-
-## Docs
-
-- [**Codex Documentation**](https://developers.openai.com/codex)
-- [**Contributing**](./docs/contributing.md)
-- [**Installing & building**](./docs/install.md)
-- [**Open source fund**](./docs/open-source-fund.md)
-
-This repository is licensed under the [Apache-2.0 License](LICENSE).
+If you see any unexpected results when updating your local copy of the Codex repo, this is likely why.