CLI status line regression: context meter removed precise at-a-glance visibility before auto compaction #17438

What version of Codex CLI is running?

codex-cli 0.120.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

Which model were you using?

gpt-5.4

What platform is your computer?

Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64 x86_64

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

VS Code integrated terminal on WSL2 (Ubuntu 22.04)

What issue are you seeing?

A recent CLI change replaced the footer's precise % left context indicator with a coarse visual meter (Context [.....]).

For long-running sessions, this is a regression. The old footer made it easy to monitor token pressure continuously and decide when to compact manually or pause before automatic compaction happened. The new meter removes that precision from the always-visible UI.

/status is not an adequate replacement because it is not ambient, interrupts the workflow, and has to be checked manually each time.

This matters because once automatic compaction happens, the pre-compaction conversational state is no longer recoverable in the same way. In practice, losing precise visibility before compaction reduces user control over long sessions.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Run Codex CLI 0.120.0.
2. Use the default footer or configure the footer to include the context item.
3. Start a long conversation and watch the footer as token usage grows.
4. Compare the current footer behavior to the previous % left display.

Previous behavior: precise percentage always visible.
Current behavior: coarse 5-cell meter only.

What is the expected behavior?

Please restore a precise, always-visible numeric context indicator in the footer, or provide an equivalent option in tui.status_line.

Examples of acceptable behavior:

• Restore the previous % left.
• Add an opt-in exact numeric mode such as context-remaining-percent.
• Show both the meter and a numeric value.

Additional information

This appears to be related to PR #17170 ("Render statusline context as a meter").

The issue is not that a meter exists; the issue is that the precise at-a-glance signal was removed from the footer entirely. For users managing long-running sessions, that is a usability regression.