Bug report: Codex Desktop hides Open / quick actions in non-Git workspaces

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Apr 14, 2026 by AdrianPonceDR
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

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

41.2.0

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windos

What issue are you seeing?

Hello,

I would like to report what appears to be a regression in Codex Desktop on Windows.

In Codex Desktop 41.2.0, several workspace controls disappeared for one of my local projects while the folder was not a Git repository. The missing controls included:

  • the “Open” button
  • the quick action / quick command dropdown
  • Git-related workspace controls

At first I suspected a broken local project configuration, but that does not seem to be the case. The workspace was still trusted, local actions were still defined in .codex/environments/environment.toml, Codex still remembered the folder as the active workspace, and I did not find parse errors in the logs.

I then tested the same folder by running git init and reopening the workspace in Codex. Immediately after that, the missing controls reappeared, including:

  • the “Open” button
  • the quick action dropdown
  • Git workspace indicators/controls

This strongly suggests that these UI controls are currently being gated by Git workspace detection. In practice, when the folder is not recognized as a Git workspace, the entire control block appears to be hidden.

Why this seems incorrect:
At least some of these controls, especially “Open” and configured local quick actions, are still relevant for trusted local workspaces even when the folder is not a Git repository. Git-specific controls being disabled would make sense, but hiding the whole workspace action area does not.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Open a trusted local workspace that is not a Git repository.
  2. Ensure .codex/environments/environment.toml exists and defines valid local actions.
  3. Open the workspace in Codex Desktop 41.2.0.
  4. Observe that “Open”, quick actions, and Git-related controls are missing.
  5. Run git init in the same folder.
  6. Reopen the same workspace in Codex.
  7. Observe that the missing controls reappear.

What is the expected behavior?

  • “Open” and configured local quick actions should remain available in trusted local workspaces, even if the folder is not a Git repository.
  • Git-specific controls may be disabled, hidden, or replaced with an “Initialize Git” action, but the whole control area should not disappear.

Actual behavior:

  • the full action/control block appears to be hidden when the workspace is not detected as Git
  • the same controls reappear immediately after git init

This looks like a UI regression or an overly strict condition tied to Git workspace classification.

Additional information

_No response_

View original on GitHub ↗

2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 4 months ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • #17324
  • #17474

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AdrianPonceDR · 4 months ago

Quick follow-up: this still appears to be unresolved after several Codex Desktop updates.

I also looked for similar public reports, and this does not seem isolated anymore. There are multiple other Codex Desktop issues describing UI controls disappearing in different scenarios, including:

  • #17324: “Open in Cursor” disappears after the first message
  • #17914: launcher dropdown disappears after selecting a thread
  • #17929: thread UI missing elements like Terminal / Open in Editor
  • #18171: local environment start button disappeared

That makes this look less like a project-specific configuration problem and more like a broader Desktop UI/state issue affecting workspace controls.

In my case, the behavior is still specifically tied to non-Git workspaces:

  • when the folder is not a Git repo, the “Open” button / quick actions / related controls disappear
  • after git init, they reappear

So at this point, it seems there may be at least two related classes of UI problems:

  1. controls disappearing in non-Git workspaces
  2. controls disappearing after opening/selecting a thread or after the first interaction

Either way, these controls still seem to be unintentionally disappearing rather than intentionally removed.

If it helps, I can provide updated screenshots and retest against any specific build or experimental fix.