Windows CLI: completed goals cannot be cleared by the agent; add clear_goal or auto-clear on completion #24978

What variant of Codex are you using?

CLI (Windows)

What feature would you like to see?

Please expose an agent-facing clear_goal / delete_goal / reset_goal tool in the Windows Codex CLI, or otherwise make completed goals auto-clear from thread state so the agent can fully close the goal lifecycle.

Right now the lifecycle is incomplete from inside the agent:

1. get_goal can show no active goal.
2. create_goal can create a goal.
3. update_goal({"status":"complete"}) can mark it complete.
4. get_goal still returns that completed goal.
5. A fresh create_goal then fails because the thread still "already has a goal".

In the current tool surface there is no separate clear_goal, delete_goal, or reset_goal operation, and update_goal only supports complete and blocked. That means the agent can complete a goal but cannot actually remove it from the thread on its own.

Concrete repro from a Windows CLI session:

1. Start from a thread with no goal.
2. Call get_goal -> null.
3. Call create_goal with any throwaway objective.
4. Call update_goal({"status":"complete"}).
5. Call get_goal again -> the same goal is still present with status: "complete".
6. Call create_goal again -> it fails with:

cannot create a new goal because this thread already has a goal; use update_goal only when the existing goal is complete

That leaves the thread in a stuck state from the agent's perspective: the goal is achieved, but it is not cleared, and the agent cannot start a replacement goal.

Requested behavior, in order of preference:

1. Add an explicit clear_goal tool to the agent-visible tool surface.
2. If a separate tool is not desired, make update_goal({"status":"complete"}) unload/clear the goal from the thread.
3. At minimum, allow create_goal to succeed once the prior goal is already complete.

This would bring the CLI closer to the desktop-app behavior the user sees locally, where achieved goals auto-clear instead of lingering indefinitely in thread state.

Additional information

Environment captured on 2026-05-28 from the affected Windows CLI install:

• Codex CLI: codex-cli 0.133.0-alpha.1
• CLI executable: C:\Users\innad\AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\bin\3f4fb8cdd344abc7\codex.exe
• Product version / file version: 0.133.0-alpha.1
• Platform string: Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro, build 26200, WindowsBuildLabEx=26100.1.amd64fre.ge_release.240331-1435
• Shell: PowerShell 7.6.0 (PSEdition=Core)
• Terminal context: Zed integrated terminal
• Terminal env: TERM_PROGRAM=zed, TERM=xterm-256color, COLORTERM=truecolor
• Terminal version from codex doctor --json: 1.4.2+stable.292.ce85db149e4b1125769e8e4fc9f5f7f7c07ac7de
• Parent process for shell commands inside the session: codex.exe
• codex doctor --json reports:
  • goals=true
  • current executable = C:\Users\innad\AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\bin\3f4fb8cdd344abc7\codex.exe
  • install context = other
  • managed by npm = false
  • managed by bun = false
  • update action = manual or unknown
  • latest version = 0.135.0
  • app-server mode = ephemeral, background server not running

User context worth preserving:

• This CLI install is updated through the Windows desktop-app distribution path rather than npm/bun.
• On this user's Windows desktop app surface, achieved goals auto-clear; the request here is CLI parity so the agent can clear or replace a completed goal without outside intervention.

Related but not identical issues:

• v0.133.0: /goal sets active goal but get_goal/update_goal are not exposed to the model #24094 covers sessions where goal tools are not exposed at all.
• Codex App: Goal setting fails immediately, including /goal clear, likely due to thread resume parsing older rollout metadata #24423 covers app-side /goal clear failures.
• This request is narrower: in a Windows CLI session where goal tools are exposed and update_goal(status="complete") works, there is still no way for the agent to clear the completed goal from thread state.