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Windows app: existing ChatGPT conversations fail to load and project chats are missing, while web works #45912

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Windows app: existing ChatGPT conversations fail to load and project chats are missing, while web works#45912
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appIssues related to the Codex desktop appbugSomething isn't workingsessionIssues involving session (thread) management, resuming, forking, naming, archivingwindows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems

Description

@lacombapro
lacombapro
opened on Sep 16, 2026

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

OpenAI.Codex 26.908.9136.0 (last verified package version before reinstalling from Microsoft Store; post-reinstall version not yet verified).

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro 20x — Personal account workspace.

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro 25H2, OS build 26200.9457, x64.

What issue are you seeing?

Some existing ChatGPT conversations cannot be opened in the Windows desktop app, although they load and work correctly on the web.

Both clients show 14 projects, but many projects in the desktop app display no conversations. Opening the affected conversation displays its correct title, briefly shows a loading indicator, then fails with:

“No s'ha pogut carregar aquesta conversa de ChatGPT”
English translation: “Could not load this ChatGPT conversation.”

The issue is selective: another existing conversation loads and accepts messages in the app.

The account email and username have been checked against the web account. Signing in explicitly with that account and selecting the Personal account workspace did not resolve the problem.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: no-active-thread-01a0a988-6357-7662-bb55-116a59e02adf

What is the expected behavior?

Existing conversations accessible on the web should also load in the desktop app under the same account and workspace. Project conversation lists should consistently display the available conversations.

Additional information

Already tried without resolving the issue:

  • Checking for app updates.
  • Closing and reopening the app.
  • Uninstalling both OpenAI.ChatGPT-Desktop and OpenAI.Codex. A subsequent Get-AppxPackage OpenAI query returned no packages.
  • Reinstalling through the official Microsoft Store listing.
  • Explicitly signing out and signing back in with the verified account and Personal account workspace.
  • Opening the affected conversation through search instead of its pinned entry.

No manual deletion of app data or the .codex folder was performed.

Potentially related reports: #27577 and #26236. However, in #27577 search could open the missing conversations; in this case, opening the affected conversation through search also fails.

The problem remains reproducible after these steps. No conversation loss has been observed on the web.

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Activity

  1. lacombapro
    added
    appIssues related to the Codex desktop app
    on Sep 16, 2026
  2. github-actions
    added
    bugSomething isn't working
    windows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems
    sessionIssues involving session (thread) management, resuming, forking, naming, archiving
    on Sep 16, 2026

  3. fredy-martinez-jyf commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @fredy-martinez-jyf
    fredy-martinez-jyf
    on Oct 9, 2026

    [Windows][ChatGPT Desktop][Chat] Completed responses visible on Web but missing in Desktop | Conversation recovery and continuity regression

    Summary

    ChatGPT Desktop intermittently fails to display the latest completed assistant response, even though the same conversation and its final result are available through ChatGPT Web using the same account.

    This is a recurring product-level continuity defect affecting conversation rendering, state restoration and cross-client consistency.

    Severity requested: P1 assessment due to recurring professional workflow disruption.

    Observed: September to October 9, 2026.

    Environment

    • Operating system: Microsoft Windows.
    • Affected surface: ChatGPT Desktop, regular Chat conversations.
    • Comparison client: ChatGPT Web.
    • Account: Paid ChatGPT subscription.
    • Desktop application version: To be collected.
    • Network conditions: To be confirmed.
    • Diagnostic logs: Available through the in-app feedback mechanism.

    Steps to reproduce

    1. Open an existing conversation in ChatGPT Desktop.
    2. Submit a request and allow processing to complete.
    3. Observe that the latest assistant response is not displayed, or the conversation becomes stuck or inaccessible.
    4. Open the same conversation using ChatGPT Web with the same account.
    5. Confirm that the completed response is visible on Web.
    6. Return to Desktop and attempt to reload the affected conversation.
    7. Observe that retrying or restarting does not consistently restore the result.

    Expected behavior

    A completed response should be visible and recoverable across supported ChatGPT clients.

    Desktop should restore the latest committed conversation state, display the complete response and support uninterrupted continuation.

    Transient rendering or hydration failures should recover safely without losing access to persisted results.

    Actual behavior

    • Model requests may complete successfully.
    • ChatGPT Web displays the final assistant response.
    • ChatGPT Desktop does not consistently display that response.
    • Existing conversations may remain blocked or fail to load.
    • Restarting the client does not guarantee recovery.
    • Users must switch clients to retrieve completed work.
    • Previously available responses may appear missing in Desktop.

    Engineering investigation requested

    Please investigate:

    1. Conversation state hydration and restoration.
    2. Client-side response rendering and reconciliation.
    3. Server-to-client event delivery and completion acknowledgment.
    4. Persisted conversation state versus Desktop's displayed state.
    5. Cache invalidation, stale session state and client synchronization.
    6. Streaming completion, reconnect and recovery behavior.
    7. Regressions associated with recent Desktop application releases.
    8. Telemetry coverage for successfully completed responses that fail to render in Desktop.

    These are investigation targets, not confirmed root causes.

    Impact

    This issue disrupts long-running professional workflows, causes repeated verification, prevents reliable continuation and reduces the effective usability of a paid ChatGPT subscription.

    Successful backend processing alone is insufficient when the Desktop client cannot deliver the completed result to the user.

    Acceptance criteria

    • The latest completed assistant response is displayed consistently.
    • Previously blocked conversations can be reopened.
    • Desktop and Web show consistent final conversation content.
    • Reopening the client restores the correct state.
    • Failure recovery does not require repeating completed requests.
    • Regression tests cover cross-client state consistency and interrupted sessions.

    Related reports

    Requested outcome

    Please triage this as a recurring Desktop reliability defect, identify the underlying cause, implement a regression-tested correction and provide an issue reference for tracking.

    Billing or subscription compensation requests will be handled separately through official OpenAI Support.

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