Codex VS Code extension renders file references as blue links, but clicking does not open files in the editor

Proposed issue: Codex VS Code extension renders file references as links but clicking does not open files

Suggested title

Codex VS Code extension renders file references as blue links, but clicking does not open files in the editor

Summary

In the Codex chat panel inside VS Code, file references in assistant messages are rendered as blue links, but clicking them does not open the referenced file in the editor.

In my setup this affects both:

• files inside the current workspace
• files outside the current workspace, such as VS Code user settings

The expected behavior is that clicking a rendered file reference should open the target file directly in VS Code, ideally at the referenced line/column if present.

Environment

• Codex VS Code extension: Codex - OpenAI's coding agent 26.313.41514
• VS Code: 1.111.0
• OS: macOS 26.3.1 (25D2128)
• Extension host: local desktop VS Code

Reproduction steps

1. Open the Codex chat panel in VS Code.
2. Ask Codex to reference a file in the current workspace, for example:

• /Users/thom/Desktop/Localsend X/README.md

1. Ask Codex to reference a file with a line number, for example:

• /Users/thom/Desktop/Localsend X/README.md#L1

1. Click the rendered blue link in the chat UI.
2. Repeat with a non-workspace file, for example:

• /Users/thom/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json#L15

Expected behavior

• Workspace file references should open directly in VS Code.
• If a line number is present, the editor should jump to that line.
• Non-workspace file references should either:
• open directly in VS Code, or
• fail with a clear message that only workspace files are supported.

Actual behavior

• The text renders as a blue link in the chat panel.
• Clicking the link does not open the file in the editor.
• In my case there is no successful navigation for either workspace or non-workspace paths.

Notes

• This appears to be separate from path formatting bugs such as Windows path escaping.
• I also tested a workspace file link to rule out "outside workspace only" behavior, and that still did not open.
• Because the link is styled as clickable, the current behavior is confusing: it looks supported but does nothing.

Why I suspect this is in the renderer / link handling layer

VS Code's extension API documents that clickable links inside webviews usually need to use command URIs, and that command URIs must be explicitly enabled for webviews. VS Code also documents that webviews do not directly access file: resources. That suggests the chat UI may need to generate command: links such as vscode.open instead of plain file-like hrefs, or otherwise bridge clicks to the extension host.

Related reports

• OpenAI Codex issue about VS Code path rendering bugs in the extension UI:
• https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/6142
• OpenAI Codex issue about VS Code extension file path handling in multi-root workspaces:
• https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/2909
• User report on Reddit describing non-working clickable file links in Codex on VS Code:
• https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1rn42co/is_it_just_me_or_codex_on_vscode_is_not_able_to/

Relevant VS Code API references

• Command URIs in extensions / webviews:
• https://code.visualstudio.com/api/extension-guides/command
• Webviews and local resource restrictions:
• https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_21

Optional extra detail to include

If useful, I can provide:

• a screen recording of the click doing nothing
• screenshots showing the same behavior for workspace and non-workspace files
• exact example strings that render as blue links but do not navigate