[Windows/Android Remote] Stale project list persists across two phones; new chats cannot be created #41197

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.820.9563.0

Bundled Codex CLI/app-server: 0.150.0-alpha.8

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT account with Codex access (subscription tier not re-confirmed for this report).

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

Remote clients: ChatGPT Android on two different phones (exact mobile build not captured).

A Mac connected with the same ChatGPT account was used as a control host and works correctly.

What issue are you seeing?

ChatGPT Android Remote connected to the Windows host displays a stale project inventory instead of the four projects currently saved in Codex Desktop.

The stale inventory is stable across two independently paired Android phones:

• newly saved Windows projects do not appear;
• removed projects remain visible;
• removing and re-adding a project on Windows updates Desktop but not Android;
• creating and later removing an unrelated test project updates Desktop but never reconciles the Android list.

Existing Windows-host chats can still be opened and continued. New chats cannot be created, either projectless/from the general feed or inside a project.

The same account and mobile workflow connected to a Mac host displays that Mac’s current projects correctly. This isolates the stale inventory to the Windows host’s Remote registration/project projection rather than the Android app or account globally.

The Remote documentation says the mobile client should use the connected host’s projects and support starting new chats in those projects:
https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/remote-connections

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Save four local projects in Codex Desktop on Windows and confirm Desktop lists them correctly.
2. Pair ChatGPT Android with that Windows host and open Remote.
3. Observe a different, older project list.
4. Remove and re-add one existing project on Windows; confirm Desktop creates a new current project record.
5. Refresh/reopen Android Remote; observe that its list does not change.
6. Create a new unrelated local project on Windows; confirm it appears on Desktop.
7. Check Android Remote; the project is absent.
8. Remove the test project on Desktop; Android still retains the same stale inventory.
9. Clear Android cache and app data, sign in again, revoke Remote, and pair again; the same stale list returns.
10. Pair a second Android phone; it receives the same stale list.
11. Pair/use a Mac host with the same account; its current project list appears correctly on mobile.
12. On the Windows host, attempt a new projectless chat and a new project-scoped chat; both fail before thread/start, while existing chats remain resumable.

What is the expected behavior?

Each Remote host should expose its current saved-project inventory.

For the selected Windows host:

• all four current Desktop projects should appear;
• removed projects should disappear;
• newly added/re-added projects should appear;
• a fresh pairing or second phone should not restore an obsolete inventory;
• projectless and project-scoped chats should be creatable.

Additional information

Diagnostics performed:

• Desktop app/server handshake succeeds.
• codex doctor --json reports the desktop app running and local state database integrity OK.
• Desktop Remote operations such as enable, revoke, pairing/start, and client/list complete with errorCode=null.
• The current local Desktop project registry and its backup contain only the four current projects; the obsolete Android entries are absent.
• The Windows Remote installation/environment identifiers persist across re-pairing (raw identifiers intentionally omitted).
• Failed new-chat attempts do not reach thread/start.
• Trusted project entries use lowercase drive letters while current saved projects use uppercase drive letters. This may contribute to the new-chat trust failure described in Android Remote fails to verify trusted Windows projects due to case-sensitive path lookup #40002, but it does not explain why two phones receive an obsolete project inventory.

I searched the public issue tracker before filing. Related reports exist, but none reproduces this exact Windows-host combination:

• iOS Remote Project List is not synchronized with Codex Desktop (Projects are not using Desktop as the source of truth) #36454 — stale/non-synchronized project list, but iOS/macOS.
• Regression: iOS Remote only lists projects with recent chats #36040 — mobile project visibility tied to recent chats, but iOS/macOS and different behavior.
• Android Remote fails to verify trusted Windows projects due to case-sensitive path lookup #40002 — Windows/Android new-chat trust failure, but not stale host inventory across phones with a working Mac control.
• [Windows][Desktop 26.810.7004.0] Historical local projects disappear after update while tasks remain intact and newer projects work #39121 — historical project metadata divergence, but the Desktop/mobile direction differs.

Privacy note: project names, local paths, project IDs, host names, account identifiers, and Remote installation/environment IDs are intentionally omitted.