VS Code extension high CPU in non-git workspace due to stable-metadata retry loop #19642

What version of the IDE extension are you using?

openai.chatgpt@26.5422.30944

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT plan subscription (exact plan not relevant to local repro)

Which IDE are you using?

VS Code 1.117.0

What platform is your computer?

macOS 26.4.1 on Apple Silicon / arm64

What issue are you seeing?

Opening the Codex sidebar in a workspace folder that is not a git repository appears to trigger an unbounded git metadata retry loop. VS Code renderer CPU jumps sharply, and the Codex extension log fills rapidly with repeated messages:

worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git

During the observed session:

• The workspace was $HOME/Desktop/interview and initially had no .git directory.
• Opening Codex spawned openai.chatgpt's codex app-server.
• A VS Code renderer process reached about 109% CPU; another renderer was around 60% CPU.
• The Codex log grew to roughly 37,000 repeated warning lines in about two minutes.
• Sampling showed hot work in the Electron/V8 renderer main thread.
• The Codex backend process itself was not the primary CPU consumer.

This may be related to #18515, but this report has a narrower reproduction condition: non-git workspace root.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open VS Code to a folder that is not a git repository.
2. Open the Codex sidebar/panel.
3. Observe VS Code Code Helper renderer CPU and the Codex extension log.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex should handle non-git folders gracefully. It should either skip git stable metadata collection, return a single non-fatal “not a git repository” state, or show a user-facing message. It should not retry in a tight loop or drive renderer CPU usage.

What is the actual behavior?

The extension repeatedly requests/handles stable-metadata from workerId=git, logs thousands of warnings, and causes high renderer CPU.

Workaround / confirmation

Running git init in the workspace stopped the stable-metadata retry flood.

Before git init:

• Codex log grew to ~37k repeated warning lines.
• Renderer CPU reached ~109%.

After git init:

• The repeated stable-metadata warning flood stopped.
• Renderer CPU dropped to roughly 15-18% and later settled far lower.

Additional information

Relevant local log path from the affected run:

$HOME/Library/Application Support/Code/logs/20260426T152522/window1/exthost/openai.chatgpt/Codex.log

Representative warning:

2026-04-26 15:27:52.052 [warning] worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git

The extension package metadata did not declare a public issue URL, so filing here because existing VS Code extension issues are tracked in openai/codex with the extension label.