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VSCode Codex doesn't respect sandbox_workspace_write.writable_roots in config.toml #8029
Description
What version of Codex is running?
codex-cli 0.72.0
What subscription do you have?
azure foundry
Which model were you using?
gpt-5.2
What platform is your computer?
No response
What issue are you seeing?
I think vscode-codex overwrites the sandbox_workspace_write.writable_roots with the current project dir so it doesn't respect the one in config.toml
What steps can reproduce the bug?
In vscode-codex extension (version 0.4.51), asking codex
> what's your sandbox_workspace_write.writable_roots value?
sandbox_workspace_write.writable_roots is:
- /path/to/the_current_project_opened_in_vscode
even if in config.toml, I set
[sandbox_workspace_write]
writable_roots = ["/path/to/my_other_project"]
If you run codex cli in the current project dir and ask them the same question, it responds
• writable_roots is:
- /path/to/my_other_project
What is the expected behavior?
vscode-codex should behave in the same way as codex cli.
Additional information
No response
Activity
gpeal commentedon Dec 16, 2025
This is correct, the extension users your open workspace folders as writable roots
yiteng-guo commentedon Dec 16, 2025
hi, I should add a bit more context here. I have git worktree setup such that
For any git operation I need to perform in
project-worktree1, it needs to modify the main git repo../project/.git/worktrees/project-worktree1/index. codex sandbox doesn't allow this so I have to whitelist.../project/.gitto get this work.This works in codex cli because cli includes both
sandbox_workspace_write.writable_rootsand the current working directory instead ofoverwritingit. However, this doesn't work in vscode-codex since it only includes the current working directory. I believe the cli behavior is correct where the current working directory should be appended towritable_rootsinstead of overridingwritable_roots.Fwiw, you also have this type of issue in non-git-worktree use case if you ever want to modify any file in a folder outside the workspace (e.g. a special tmp dir, some configuration dir, and etc)
Finally, I'd argue that the docs https://developers.openai.com/codex/local-config/ says additional writable roots so vscode-codex shouldn't override it. If you do still believe the current behavior is correct, I'd like to know how to handle the git worktree use case as I described above.
gpeal commentedon Dec 16, 2025
Thanks for the additional info, I'll take this back to the team for further discussion.
yiteng-guo commentedon Dec 16, 2025
nvm - I found this #5041. I was just under the impression that vscode-codex reads
~/.codex/config.tomlsimilar to many other users in that thread. The custom mode works for me. It would be nice if you can add that custom mode to the documentation here https://developers.openai.com/codex/ide