[macOS] Tasks and projects disappear from sidebar after update, but Search can still open them #33727

Activity

1. 286771784-code

   added

   appIssues related to the Codex desktop appIssues related to the Codex desktop app

   on Jul 17, 2026
2. github-actions

   added

   bugSomething isn't workingSomething isn't working

   sessionIssues involving session (thread) management, resuming, forking, naming, archivingIssues involving session (thread) management, resuming, forking, naming, archiving

   on Jul 17, 2026
3. github-actions commented on Jul 17, 2026

   

   github-actionsbot

   on Jul 17, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

   Contributor

   More actions

   Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

   • Codex Desktop hides a searchable recent pinned local task from default and pinned task lists #33579
   • Codex Windows app intermittently hides existing local tasks from the project task list #33508
   • Project sidebar loses existing chat threads after restart despite sessions remaining in session_index.jsonl #33652
   • Codex projects disappeared after updating ChatGPT Desktop to 26.707.72221 on Windows #33057

   Powered by Codex Action
4. carlosoliv commented on Jul 17, 2026

   

   carlosoliv

   on Jul 17, 2026

   More actions

   +1

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by gpd-jplumb
5. jmTFK commented on Jul 20, 2026

   

   jmTFK

   on Jul 20, 2026

   More actions

   +1. I am seeing what appears to be the same issue on macOS, although in my case the affected conversations also disappear from the normal recent-task and title search.

   Environment:

   • ChatGPT/Codex Mac app (latest)
   • macOS 26.5.2
   • Apple Silicon
   • Local-folder Codex project
   • OpenAI support case 11611136

   This has now happened multiple times, including after a normal reboot with no app update.

   Diagnostic results for one workspace:

   • 33 total conversations
   • 27 normally discoverable
   • 6 missing from normal sidebar/recent/title discovery

   All 6 missing conversations:

   • still existed locally
   • retained their complete history
   • remained associated with the correct workspace
   • opened successfully by exact thread ID
   • could be pinned, but pinning did not restore normal discovery

   All 6 also had blank preview metadata (preview_length=0) and no indexed user-event preview.

   One affected conversation had never been renamed, so renaming does not appear to be required.

   The conversations remain intact and directly openable by exact thread ID, but the sidebar/recent/title index does not return them. This looks like a local sidebar/index synchronization issue rather than conversation loss.
6. hzxpeaceandlove-sudo commented on Jul 29, 2026

   

   hzxpeaceandlove-sudo

   on Jul 29, 2026 – with ChatGPT Codex Connector

   More actions

   Supplemental reproduction on a newer macOS build: core project invisible for at least two days

   This is the same high-impact sidebar/project visibility failure reported here, reproduced on a newer desktop build. I am also recording a second, distinct preview-integrity incident from the same Codex workflow. The two symptoms are grouped for escalation, but I am not claiming that they share a root cause.

   Environment

   • Codex Desktop: 26.721.41059 (bundle build 5848)
   • Bundled Codex CLI: 0.146.0-alpha.3.1
   • Platform: macOS 26.5.1 (25F80), Apple Silicon / arm64
   • Reconfirmed: 2026-07-29, Asia/Shanghai

   Incident A — core project and its tasks remain invisible

   My core long-running project has been practically unavailable from the sidebar for at least two days. If this remains unresolved, the same incident simply continues into day 3, day 4, and day 5; repeated use of Codex has not restored normal discoverability.

   The underlying project and conversations are not deleted:

   • Codex's project-listing backend returns the ChatGPT project successfully.
   • Direct reads of the original local task return its full history.
   • The original task can be pinned, unpinned, renamed, and opened by exact ID.
   • A fresh same-directory fork was created from the complete original history.
   • The fresh fork can also be read and opened by exact ID.
   • A new chat was created inside the existing ChatGPT project.
   • Backend thread listings report the affected task as pinned.

   Despite those successful backend operations, the user still cannot see the project or the recovered task in the actual left sidebar.

   Recovery attempts that did not restore visibility

   1. Opened the existing project conversation directly.
   2. Pinned the original local task.
   3. Unpinned and re-pinned the original task.
   4. Renamed the original task to a short, distinctive title.
   5. Created a new chat inside the existing ChatGPT project.
   6. Forked the full original task into a fresh task in the same directory.
   7. Pinned, renamed, activated, and directly opened the fresh task.
   8. Unpinned the old task to prevent duplicate-display interference.
   9. Repeatedly refreshed backend thread listings and confirmed pinned state.

   The user-visible result remained unchanged. Two separate assistant claims that the issue had been repaired were therefore incorrect; they verified backend state, not actual sidebar rendering.

   Read-only diagnostic evidence

   • Local state contains active, unarchived threads for the affected project directory.
   • The global state reports pinned thread IDs and thread-to-project assignments, while the local-project list and project-order structures are empty in the same snapshot.
   • During the final visibility-recovery attempt, the desktop log recorded repeated renderer errors:

   ResizeObserver loop completed with undelivered notifications.
   

   This timing is relevant diagnostic evidence, but it does not prove that ResizeObserver is the root cause.

   Expected behavior

   • A project returned by the Projects backend should appear in the Projects view.
   • An active, unarchived task that is explicitly pinned should become visible in the sidebar.
   • Direct navigation, pinning, or a fresh same-directory fork should not produce a backend-success/UI-invisible split.
   • The app should provide a safe "reindex / repair sidebar" action when persisted conversations exist but the UI inventory is stale.
   • A successful mutation should not be reported as a completed repair unless the visible sidebar has actually updated.

   Impact

   This is not a cosmetic ordering problem. The missing item is the user's core project and contains long-running architecture, research, and product history. The data appears recoverable by exact identifiers, but normal product navigation has been broken for at least two days. This creates a practical loss-of-access experience, repeated recovery work, duplicate tasks, and reduced trust in Codex as a durable workspace.

   Incident B — separate image-preview integrity conflict

   An earlier PDF acceptance workflow exposed a second reliability problem. The same local PNG path with the same SHA-256 was historically presented inconsistently by the image-viewing chain: an early observation showed a missing header and rule, while later inspection showed them correctly. Independent Poppler and PyMuPDF renders, file hashes, automated checks, and native Preview supported the complete rendering.

   The contradictory preview contributed to a false third-failure classification and stopped a PDF subtask. The confirmed fact is only a preview evidence conflict. It is not yet possible to attribute the cause to view_image, caching, path mapping, object selection, session state, or another component. No stable minimal reproduction is currently available.

   Privacy and evidence availability

   Raw local logs, exact thread identifiers, project identifiers, usernames, and private paths are intentionally omitted. A redacted evidence index and immutable SHA-256 records are preserved locally. Exact diagnostic excerpts can be provided privately to OpenAI maintainers if needed.

   Requested action

   1. Investigate the macOS sidebar/project hydration path on build 26.721.41059.
   2. Compare the Projects backend inventory, pinned-thread inventory, project assignments, workspace hints, and the renderer's visible sidebar model.
   3. Add a supported, non-destructive reindex/repair command.
   4. Prevent successful pin/open/fork operations from remaining invisible in the sidebar.
   5. Add object identity and source diagnostics to preview tooling so a visual acceptance decision cannot be based on an opaque or stale representation.

   Related: #25084 and #33396.