Deep links to archived threads (codex://threads/uid) fail silently instead of resolving or offering recovery #18216

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Version 26.415.20818 (1727)

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.3.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Deep links to Codex threads stop working once the thread has been archived. Opening a codex://threads/uid link for an archived thread results in a blank page with no indication of what happened or how to recover the thread. This breaks workflows that rely on stable deep links for traceability between external systems and Codex threads.

Context / Use Case
I use deep links to associate Codex threads with issues in an external issue tracker. This works well while threads are active. However, once I archive threads to keep the workspace manageable, those links effectively become dead. This creates a conflict between maintaining a clean workspace and preserving reliable references to past work.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Create or open a thread in Codex
2. Copy its deep link (codex://threads/uid)
3. Archive the thread
4. Open the deep link

Current Behavior

• Codex opens a blank page
• No error message or indication the thread is archived
• No way to access or recover the thread from that link

What is the expected behavior?

When opening a deep link to an archived thread, Codex should handle it explicitly. Possible approaches:

• Automatically unarchive the thread and open it
• Show a prompt indicating the thread is archived, with an option to unarchive
• Display a read-only preview of the archived thread, with an option to restore it

Any of these would preserve the usefulness of deep links as stable references.

Additional information

Impact

• Breaks traceability between Codex and external tools (issue trackers, notes, etc.)
• Makes archived threads effectively undiscoverable via their canonical links
• Forces a choice between not archiving threads or losing access to them
• Workarounds (manually searching .codex/sessions or navigating archived lists) are slow and unreliable

Additional Notes

• This issue becomes more pronounced when using multiple worktrees, where archiving is part of keeping things manageable
• The current behavior feels like a silent failure rather than an intentional UX decision

Suggestion
At minimum, detect archived-thread deep links and present a clear UI state rather than a blank page. Ideally, provide a one-click path to restore or view the archived thread so deep links remain durable over time.