Renamed project display name is inconsistently applied across Codex UI

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Apr 26, 2026 by gscodes01

When creating a Codex project from an existing folder, I renamed the project to a friendly display name. The sidebar correctly shows the renamed project name, but other user-facing parts of the UI continue to use the underlying folder name / workspace slug.

This makes the rename feel incomplete and creates two competing project identities in the UI.

Example:

Folder path: /Users/garyl/Projects/EventManagement
Underlying folder/workspace name: EventManagement
Project display name I set: Event Management System

Observed behavior:

Sidebar project list shows: Event Management System
Other project UI surfaces still show: EventManagement
The empty-chat prompt shows: What should we build in EventManagement?

Expected behavior:

Once a project is renamed, user-facing UI should consistently use the project display name:

Event Management System

The folder basename/path can still be shown as secondary metadata where relevant, but it should not replace the user-chosen project name in prominent UI.

Actual behavior:

Codex appears to use both names interchangeably:

Event Management System as the sidebar display name
EventManagement as the workspace/project name in other UI surfaces

Why this matters:

The rename UI implies that the friendly display name is the project’s user-facing identity. Continuing to show the folder slug after rename makes it look like the rename did not fully apply.

Renaming the underlying directory is not a practical workaround because local paths may be referenced by scripts, tools, bookmarks, terminal sessions, other apps, or existing workflows.

Suggested fix:

Use the renamed project display name consistently across all user-facing project UI, including:

Empty-chat welcome prompt
Chat headers / project selector
Breadcrumbs or workspace labels
Search/sidebar grouping labels
Any other prominent project identity surfaces

Keep the folder path or basename visible only as secondary technical metadata where it is useful.

View original on GitHub ↗

2 Comments

rubicoul · 3 months ago

Adding a Windows / Start from scratch reproduction for this issue.

I can reproduce this on Windows with projects created via Start from scratch.

This looks like the same class of issue, but the stale name is the autogenerated scratch-project name (New project N) rather than an imported folder basename.

Codex App version: 26.429.30905
Platform: Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

Steps to reproduce:

Open the Codex Windows app.
Create a new project using Start from scratch.
The app creates it with an autogenerated name such as New project 2 or New project 3.
Rename the project in the sidebar, for example to олег or Transcriber.
Start a new chat in that renamed project.

Observed behavior:

The project selector row correctly shows the renamed project name.
The empty-chat prompt still says What should we build in New project 2? / What should we build in New project 3?.
In the project sidebar, the grey secondary text next to the renamed project still shows the old autogenerated New project... name.
This makes it look like the project has two different names in the UI.

Expected behavior:
After renaming a project, all user-facing project identity surfaces should use the renamed display name.

The old autogenerated New project N name should not appear in the empty-chat prompt or as the grey project subtitle unless it is intentionally shown as secondary technical metadata.

Screenshot attached.

iveelane-fdatracker · 3 months ago

lol and then if you rename the folder itself (as Codex suggested and did) it says the project folder was deleted or moved. what is this nonsense?