Android Codex shows stale local project threads despite connected desktop until remote-control enrollment reset #24749

Summary

ChatGPT Android Codex can show a green/connected local desktop target while rendering a stale project thread list. In this case, clearing Android app cache/data, uninstalling/reinstalling ChatGPT, logging back in, and reconnecting did not fix it. Resetting the desktop Codex remote-control enrollment forced a new desktop remote-control environment, after which Android showed the current project threads again.

Environment

• Codex Desktop: 26.519.41501
• Bundled codex-cli/app-server: 0.133.0-alpha.1
• ChatGPT Android: 1.2026.125
• Android: Android 16, Samsung device
• Feature area: ChatGPT mobile app > Codex > local desktop remote-control connection

Symptoms

• Android showed the local desktop as connected.
• A project page under that desktop showed only an old thread from the date the remote-control enrollment was originally created.
• Newer threads for the same project/cwd did not appear.
• "Load older threads" did not change the list.
• Clearing Android cache/data and fully reinstalling ChatGPT did not change the stale list.
• The phone briefly attempted to load a newer/current thread, then it disappeared before loading finished.

Local Evidence

• Desktop SQLite state contained all expected current project threads.
• The missing threads were unarchived user threads with the same cwd as the visible old thread.
• Direct local app-server thread/list for that cwd returned all expected current threads in the correct updated order.
• Desktop logs showed successful thread/list responses.
• Android logcat did not show a relevant crash.
• Before the workaround, the desktop remote_control_enrollments row still had the original older remote-control server/environment identity.

Workaround That Fixed It

1. Backed up:
   • ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite
   • ~/.codex/.codex-global-state.json
2. Cleared only local remote-control identity/enrollment state:
   • SQLite table: remote_control_enrollments
   • global-state keys:
     • electron-local-remote-control-environment-id
     • electron-local-remote-control-installation-id
     • electron-remote-control-client-enrollments
     • codex-mobile-has-connected-device
     • added-remote-control-env-ids
3. Restarted Codex Desktop.
4. Desktop registered a new remote-control environment/server.
5. Android briefly showed two desktop entries with the same display name, then reconciled to one.
6. Android Codex then showed the current project threads correctly.

Expected Behavior

If the Android app shows a local desktop as connected, project thread lists should reflect the current desktop app-server/thread database, or the UI should detect and recover from a stale remote-control environment.

Actual Behavior

The Android app stayed connected to a valid but stale remote-control environment/index. The connection indicator was green, but the project thread list was stuck on old data until the desktop remote-control identity was reset.

Hypothesis

There may be a backend/mobile reconciliation bug where an older remote-control environment remains valid and connected but serves stale project/thread indexing. Reinstalling the Android app reconnects to the same stale remote-control identity, so phone-side cache clearing does not help.

Privacy Note

I have omitted hostnames, usernames, account IDs, environment/server IDs, project names, local paths, screenshots, thread IDs, and prompt contents. I can provide more detailed logs privately if needed.