VSCode extension, custom mode gone in 0.5.69
Resolved 💬 9 comments Opened Feb 2, 2026 by JohnnyBill Closed Feb 3, 2026
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (etraut-openai, contributor)
responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.
What version of Codex is running?
0.94.0
What subscription do you have?
Pro
Which model were you using?
_No response_
What platform is your computer?
Ubuntu 24.04
What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?
_No response_
What issue are you seeing?
In the latest 0.5.69 vscode extension, custom mode is gone, extension can't use the config.toml anymore. I can only switch between sandbox mode and full auto. Is this intentional?
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Install vscode extension 0.5.69 and check if custom mode is available.
What is the expected behavior?
_No response_
Additional information
_No response_
9 Comments
Thanks for reporting. Yes, this was an intentional change. We've received a lot of user feedback about sandbox modes. Our current model is quite complex and confusing. We're planning to simplify the existing control knobs and make them more configurable at the same time. Once we do that, we'll be able to expose those controls in the GUI.
@etraut-openai
Ok, that’s a real pity.
You’re basically taking the extension away from power users. I use a mix of the CLI and the extension. The extension’s Include IDE Context feature is extremely useful to me, but I need the extension to respect the settings I’ve configured in .codex/config.toml for it to be usable.
I need to be able to configure things like writeable_roots, enable network requests, and experiment with new features.
Please reconsider removing the custom mode altogether. Maybe make it a VS Code setting instead, like "chatgpt.useCustomConfig" or something along those lines.
If this is a show-stopper for you, you can pin to the previous version while we work on our simplification and redesign. I don't have a precise timeline, but it's a priority for us, so you shouldn't have to remain pinned for very long.
Ok, thanks for the quick response. I will do that. Looking forward to the upcoming versions.
Thanks for responding to my feedback, very appreciated :)
I am having the same issue. I used to have two different config.toml files which are used in different ways.
Now there is just one GUI option which is set kinda globally and makes it very dangerous to use, because I'm switching my IDEs between devcontainer and local development. I don't want to work locally forgetting to enable sandbox.
There should be a way to have either separate config.toml files or VSCode settings that might have different settings based user/workspace/devcontainer.
Absolutory the worst change possible. I was unable to revert the plugin version I would of stopped using this and switched to cursor. No sane developer wants to allow AI to do changes without reviewing them first.
@NorbertasL
0.5.70 was just released, custom mode is back
terrible change i cant even articulate how disastrous this is, i am 1 stupid update short of ditching codex alltogether.
So now I have to wait 10 mins him to change 2 files when previously it took me 1 minute to copypaste it. Great job :(