Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions

Files appear in the side panel that Codex didn’t edit

If your project is inside a Git repository, the review panel automatically shows changes based on your project’s Git state, including changes that Codex didn’t make.

In the review pane, you can switch between staged changes and changes not yet staged, and compare your branch with main.

If you want to see only the changes of your last Codex turn, switch the diff pane to the Last turn view.

Learn more about how to use the review pane.

Remove a project from the sidebar

To remove a project from the sidebar, hover over the name of your project, select the three dots, and choose Remove. To restore it, re-add the project using the Add new project button next to Chats or using

Cmd+O.

Find archived chats

Archived chats can be found in Settings. When you unarchive a chat, it reappears in its original sidebar location.

A Work conversation does not appear on another device

• Confirm that you are signed in with ChatGPT to the same account and workspace on each device.
• Ask your workspace owner to check that Work Cloud and Allow local computer access are enabled. If enforce_residency is enabled in any cloud policy, Allow local computer access is disabled for both Work and dots. This safeguard does not configure workspace residency or, by itself, disable Work Cloud or dots.
• Check when the task was created. Sync applies to new tasks created after it is enabled. Existing tasks, including tasks in projects, are not migrated and keep their original local-only or cloud-without-local-files behavior.

For enterprises, the in-app Local/Cloud toggle and its default remain unchanged at launch. A particular toggle or default mode does not by itself confirm whether a conversation can sync. Keep Codex history separate when looking for a Work conversation. See Local computer access for Work Cloud and dots for setup and the Work admin FAQ for common questions.

A synced task cannot use the computer’s files or tools

Keep the computer online and connected. If it’s unavailable when a new turn starts, an eligible synced task can continue in a cloud container without access to the computer’s files or tools. A running turn doesn’t automatically move from the computer to the cloud.

A turn stopped after Local computer access with Work Cloud was turned off

Turning off Local computer access with Work Cloud interrupts running turns. If you still have Work access, send a new message to start another turn. In an existing cloud conversation, that turn automatically uses Work Cloud without access to local files.

Automated policy updates are missing

Use the policy API to manage Global settings. To manage Local or Codex Cloud settings, use the Agent Security UI. Existing Global API workflows remain available after migration. Test your scripts and Terraform integrations, and confirm that policy assignments and ordering are unchanged.

Only some chats appear in the sidebar

The sidebar lets you filter chats based on the state of a project. If you’re missing chats, select the filter icon next to Chats, then select Chronological. If you still don’t see the chat, open Settings and check Archived chats.

Code doesn’t run on a worktree

Worktrees are created in a different directory and inherit files checked into Git by default. Depending on how you manage dependencies and tooling for your project, you might have to run setup scripts on your worktree using a local environment or copy ignored setup files with .worktreeinclude. You can also check out the changes in your regular local project. See the worktrees documentation to learn more.

App doesn’t pick up a teammate’s shared local environment

The local environment configuration must be inside the .codex folder at the root of your project. If you are working in a monorepo with more than one project, make sure you open the project in the directory that contains the .codex folder.

Codex asks to access Apple Music

Depending on your task, Codex may need to navigate the file system. Certain directories on macOS, including Music, Downloads, or Desktop, require additional approval from the user. If Codex needs to read your home directory, macOS prompts you to approve access to those folders.

Scheduled tasks create many worktrees

Frequent scheduled tasks can create many worktrees over time. Archive scheduled runs you no longer need and avoid pinning runs unless you intend to keep their worktrees.

Recover a prompt after selecting the wrong target

If you started a chat with the wrong target (Local, Worktree, or Cloud) by accident, you can cancel the current run and recover your previous prompt by pressing the up arrow key in the composer.

Feature is working in the Codex CLI but not in the ChatGPT desktop app

The ChatGPT desktop app and Codex CLI can include different Codex versions, so features may reach one surface before the other. Experimental features might also land in Codex CLI first.

To get the version of the Codex CLI on your system run:

codex --version

To get the version of Codex bundled with your ChatGPT desktop app, use the retained Codex.app compatibility bundle path:

/Applications/Codex.app/Contents/Resources/codex --version

Feedback and logs

Type / into the message composer to provide feedback for the team. If you trigger feedback in an existing chat, you can choose to share the existing session along with your feedback. After submitting your feedback, you’ll receive a session ID that you can share with the team.

To report an issue:

1. Find existing issues on the Codex GitHub repo.
2. Open a new GitHub issue

More logs are available in the following locations:

• App logs (macOS): ~/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex/YYYY/MM/DD
• Session transcripts: $CODEX_HOME/sessions (default: ~/.codex/sessions)
• Archived sessions: $CODEX_HOME/archived_sessions (default: ~/.codex/archived_sessions)

If you share logs, review them first to confirm they don’t contain sensitive information.

Stuck states and recovery patterns

If a chat appears stuck:

1. Check whether Codex is waiting for an approval.
2. Open the terminal and run a basic command like git status.
3. Start a new chat with a smaller, more focused prompt.

If you cancel worktree creation by mistake and lose your prompt, press the up arrow key in the composer to recover it.

Terminal issues

Terminal appears stuck

1. Close the terminal panel.
2. Reopen it with Ctrl+`.
3. Re-run a basic command like pwd or git status.

If commands behave differently than expected, check the current directory and branch in the terminal first.

If it continues to be stuck, wait until your active chats are complete and restart the app.

Fonts aren’t rendering correctly

Codex uses the same font for the review pane, integrated terminal and any other code displayed inside the app. You can configure the font inside the Settings pane as Code font.

An environment allows network access but the action is blocked

Check policy priority before comparing individual settings. A higher-priority policy wins over a lower-priority policy, even if the lower-priority policy is more specific. Within one policy, OS-specific environment overrides take priority over all-OS environment overrides, followed by Global.

Some network requirements have field-specific merge rules and runtime limits. Managed HTTP/SOCKS listener ports and non-loopback proxy listeners are unsupported by the cloud runtime; socket-rule support depends on the execution path. Local-execution merge behavior is separate.

Compare the effective policies and test the intended allowed and blocked actions. See Managed configuration for the detailed cases. Do not broaden the global baseline to work around a failed test.