Summary
Today Codex Desktop was very slow to use on macOS, and it also kept reconnecting to the local app-server.
The core problem I want to report is not just "general performance feels bad". The main symptom today was:
- access/use felt slow
- the desktop app repeatedly reconnected
I originally filed this too broadly, so this updated report is specifically about slow access together with repeated reconnect behavior.
Environment
- Codex Desktop
- macOS
15.7.4
- App-server version seen repeatedly in today's logs:
0.122.0-alpha.13
- Runtime bundle:
26.416.11627
What I observed
- Codex felt slow throughout today
- While using it, the app repeatedly appeared to disconnect and reconnect
- The issue felt like connection churn, not just a heavy thread rendering slowly once
Expected behavior
- Codex Desktop should stay responsive during normal use
- The local app-server connection should remain stable instead of repeatedly reconnecting
Actual behavior
- Access/use was slow today
- The app repeatedly went through reconnect-like connection cycles
Local evidence from today
For 2026-04-23:
29 codex-desktop-*.log files were generated- Today's logs contain about
15 cause=start_process state transitions
- Today's logs contain about
15 cause=stop_process state transitions
~/.codex/logs_2.sqlite is about 753 MB~/.codex/logs_2.sqlite currently contains about 151,652 log rows
Other signals that showed up while this was happening:
Received turn/started for unknown conversation: about 159 occurrencesNot a git repository: about 6,718 occurrencesunsupported feature enablement 'realtime_conversation': about 138 occurrences401 Unauthorized: about 2 occurrences
Example log snippets
Repeated connection start:
info [AppServerConnection] app_server_connection.state_changed cause=start_process ... next=connecting ... transport=stdio
Repeated connection stop:
info [AppServerConnection] app_server_connection.state_changed cause=stop_process ... next=disconnected ... transport=stdio
One stop event included this error context:
failed to refresh available models: timeout waiting for child process to exit
Another stop event included:
failed to warm featured plugin ids cache ... 401 Unauthorized
I also saw:
error [electron-message-handler] Received turn/started for unknown conversation conversationId=...
Notes
- The main reason I am filing this is the combination of slow access plus repeated reconnect behavior
- The extra log noise above may or may not be causal, but it was present during the same time window
- If useful, I can provide a narrower time window or more exact raw log excerpts around a reconnect event
Summary
Today Codex Desktop was very slow to use on macOS, and it also kept reconnecting to the local app-server.
The core problem I want to report is not just "general performance feels bad". The main symptom today was:
I originally filed this too broadly, so this updated report is specifically about slow access together with repeated reconnect behavior.
Environment
15.7.40.122.0-alpha.1326.416.11627What I observed
Expected behavior
Actual behavior
Local evidence from today
For
2026-04-23:29codex-desktop-*.logfiles were generated15cause=start_processstate transitions15cause=stop_processstate transitions~/.codex/logs_2.sqliteis about753 MB~/.codex/logs_2.sqlitecurrently contains about151,652log rowsOther signals that showed up while this was happening:
Received turn/started for unknown conversation: about159occurrencesNot a git repository: about6,718occurrencesunsupported feature enablement 'realtime_conversation': about138occurrences401 Unauthorized: about2occurrencesExample log snippets
Repeated connection start:
Repeated connection stop:
One stop event included this error context:
Another stop event included:
I also saw:
Notes