Windows app update hides existing CLI session from sidebar while transcript remains in CODEX_HOME sessions #31095

What happened?

After updating Codex on Windows, an existing long-running Codex session no longer appears in the Codex desktop app sidebar/search, even though the CLI/session transcript still exists under $CODEX_HOME/sessions.

The user had a nearly-complete documentation task in a local repository. The session completed local commits and a push, but after the app update the corresponding chat/thread was not visible in the desktop app. A new app thread for the same repository is visible, and other older app threads are visible, but this CLI session is not surfaced by the app thread list/search.

Environment

• OS: Windows
• Codex CLI shown in transcript: OpenAI Codex v0.142.5
• Workspace type: local Windows project
• Session transcript location: $CODEX_HOME/sessions/YYYY/MM/DD/rollout-*.jsonl
• Desktop app and CLI appear to be using the same Windows %USERPROFILE%\.codex home directory

Observed behavior

• CLI/session transcript exists in $CODEX_HOME/sessions.
• Desktop app sidebar/search does not show the corresponding session/thread.
• Creating/using a new thread in the same project works, but the previous session is not recoverable from the app UI.
• This creates a costly recovery path: the user must manually locate the JSONL transcript and paste or summarize it into a new thread, consuming additional context/usage.

Expected behavior

• Existing local CLI sessions should remain discoverable in the desktop app after update, or the app should provide a clear import/recovery path for $CODEX_HOME/sessions transcripts.
• If CLI sessions are intentionally separate from desktop app threads, the UI should make that separation explicit and avoid suggesting that the chat is lost.
• There should be a documented way to recover or continue from a local session transcript without manually re-consuming a large amount of context.

Recovery already attempted

• Checked recent desktop app threads for the affected project and related keywords.
• Checked that the session transcript exists under $CODEX_HOME/sessions.
• Confirmed the repository work itself was preserved in Git and pushed successfully.

Impact

This is particularly painful for long coding sessions near completion: the actual work may be preserved in Git, but the conversation state disappears from the app, and reconstructing it manually can consume extra usage/context.