Newst VS Code extension just makes codex flash and blink

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

• #19097
• #19039
• #18816
• #18515

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Can you confirm that if you downgrade to the previous version, it works on your system? I just want to verify that it's a regression in the Codex extension rather than some configuration change that coincidentally happened around the same time on your machine.

<img width="1383" height="800" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/dec90e10-8f8d-44f1-890a-e54833dd93d1" />

Can you confirm that if you downgrade to the previous version, it works on your system? I just want to verify that it's a regression in the Codex extension rather than some configuration change that coincidentally happened around the same time on your machine.

yes, rolling back to version 26.5417.40842 restores normal functionality.

Environment:
VS Code with WSL (Ubuntu 24.04)

Broken versions:

26.5422.20832
26.5422.21459

Note:
The issue only occurs in WSL, it works normally on Windows.

I also got the same error on my mac (26.3.1 (25D2128) rolled back to version 26.5417.40842 then it works.
Later than that. It breaks.

I have the same on my mac OS 26.5 I had to rollback to 40842 same as previously mentioned.

I have the same on my mac OS 26.5 I had to rollback to 40842 same as previously mentioned.

Same here, opened my mac, updated, visually the codex extension is just refreshing onto it's self over and over totally unusable. Had to downgrade to the same version. Works fine now.

Unusable flicker using latest patched Windows 11, latest Nvidia display driver 5090, latest (not Insiders) version of VS Code, new Codex extension install. App has issues as well, new install, cannot make it past logo.

Edit: Oauth was causing the issue for me. A 5 day old version allowed me to get the status message:

"Your access token could not be refreshed because your refresh token was already used. Please log out and sign in again."

Fixed by by running in terminal/powershell:

codex logout
codex login
codex login status

The issue seems to be the same in both the Codex app and the VSCode extension. Deleting the ~/.codex/auth.json file forced a re-authentication in both the app and the extension and it fixed my issue (on mac).

~~Chiming in. W10.0.22631 / VSCode 1.117.0, every version of the Codex extension since 40842 (not including 40842) has caused sporadic flashing. Codex CLI/Codex app not installed. Reauthorizing the extension (deleting auth.json and signing in again) doesn't alleviate the issue. Doesn't flash during the sign in process, only once authorized and trying to load the chat history, seemingly.~~

VSCode 1.118.0, Codex 26.442.71525 seems to have resolved it for me.

Reproduction notes and proposed fix path

I took a pass at reducing this to an actionable code path before suggesting a fix.

Breakdown:

• I treated the report as reproducible enough to trace against the current code instead of asking for more information.
• Root cause: codex-rs/code-mode-host/src/lib.rs:566
• Impact: calibrated priority score 80.8

Proposed approach:

• Keep the patch scoped to the code path around codex-rs/code-mode-host/src/lib.rs:566, so the behavior changes where the regression is introduced rather than broadening the surface area.
• Validation plan: add or update focused regression coverage and run the affected package test target before proposing the branch
• I will not open an unsolicited PR; if this direction matches maintainer expectations, I can open the prepared branch for review.

Precedent: #29189 Codex Desktop 26.616.41845 node_repl fails: codex/sandbox-state-meta missing sandboxPolicy

How I shaped this comment from prior successful threads:

• Nearest successful examples considered: 3.
• The shared pattern was to show the repro/root-cause evidence first, state the smallest viable fix, defer to maintainers on direction, and disclose AI assistance.

This analysis was prepared with AI assistance.

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