Codex App: add default parent folder setting for Start from scratch projects

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• #19909

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Please fix this embarrassing oversight openai. What the hell is Sam Altman and friends doing releasing an application that forces data into a user's documents folder with no option to configure otherwise. I watched a video and got super stoked for the New Codex release but then spent 2 hours thinking I was insane because I couldn't configure where the default save location setting was for "project from scratch", come to find out you guys didn't even program in this most basic of all basic functionalities. Pathetic. Great first experience. Fucking pissed off and crashing out.

Please fix this, its a nightmare that that is the first think I am searching in the app and its HARDCODED??? Really???

Please allow us to either set this in the Codex app UI or the config.toml as a global variable.

This is even more useful because without #11022 being fixed, moving them later is near-impossible.

I also cannot use "Start from scratch" feature because projects are created not where I keep all my projects, so I have to create folders manually first and use "Use existing folder".

This issue happened to me as well. I'd love to fix it if codex team allows me to (i.e. PRs are invite-only).

The lack of a configurable default parent directory is extremely user-hostile. Users have different repository layouts, volumes, backup policies, security requirements, and iCloud configurations; forcing new work into a hardcoded ~/Documents/Codex hierarchy is not an acceptable default without an override.

The situation is even more frustrating because Codex explicitly verifies that the projectless root is not a symbolic link. That means users cannot configure the directory in Settings or config.toml, and they are also prevented from using the normal Unix workaround to redirect it themselves. A hardcoded path plus deliberate symlink rejection leaves users with no clean escape route.

Please add a supported default-parent/projectless-workspace setting and persist it. At an absolute minimum, resolve symlinks and validate the real target instead of rejecting them outright. The current behavior disregards user ownership of the filesystem.

I can reproduce the same underlying behavior on Codex Desktop for Windows.

Environment:

• Codex Desktop package: 26.715.3651.0
• Windows 11
• Current result: creating a new local project from the Projects UI creates it directly under the Windows Documents known folder, for example C:\Users\<user>\Documents\<Project Name>.
• Desired parent in this workflow: C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Codex, but ideally the parent should be user-selectable.

A minimal implementation could be:

1. Add Settings → General → Projects → Default project folder with a native directory picker and a reset-to-default action.
2. Persist the selected absolute parent directory as a Desktop-owned setting.
3. Apply it only to newly created local projects / “Start from scratch”. Keep existing projects and projectless thread workspaces unchanged.
4. Preserve the current OS Documents folder as the default when no custom parent is configured.
5. If the configured directory is missing or not writable, show an actionable error and let the user reselect/reset it rather than silently creating the project elsewhere.
6. Reuse the existing unique-name behavior for same-named folders.

Local inspection of the shipped Desktop bundle indicates that the current creation path is selected in the Electron-side createDefaultWorkspaceRoot flow using the OS Documents path, while the creation dialog only asks for the project name. I could not find that Desktop-specific implementation or its persisted workspace-state keys in the public openai/codex source tree, so a Rust-only public-repo change would not appear sufficient.

I would be willing to implement and test this as a focused external contribution. Since the repository contribution policy is invitation-only, could a maintainer clarify:

• whether an external PR would be welcome for this issue;
• which repository/source tree owns the Desktop project-creation flow; and
• whether the preferred persistence surface is a Desktop setting or a documented config.toml key?

If invited, I would keep the change limited to the setting, validation/fallback behavior, project-creation path selection, and focused cross-platform tests.

Confirmed that this remains present in a newer Codex Desktop for Windows package.

Environment

• Codex Desktop package: 26.715.8383.0
• Windows x64 build: 22631.6199
• Desired default parent: D:\CodexWorking

Current behavior

The Projects → Add new project → Start from scratch flow provides no way to select or configure the parent directory. Settings search exposes no default-project-folder preference, and the user-level ~/.codex/config.toml / persisted workspace state does not provide an override for this flow.

Local inspection of the shipped Windows package confirms that the Electron-side creation path still does the equivalent of:

createDefaultWorkspaceRoot(projectName) {
  const sanitizedName = sanitizeDefaultProjectName(projectName);
  return findAvailableDefaultWorkspaceRoot(
    app.getPath("documents"),
    sanitizedName,
    undefined
  );
}

The creation dialog passes only projectName through electron-create-new-workspace-root-option, so the project is unconditionally rooted under the Windows Documents known folder.

Expected behavior

Please provide a supported Default project folder setting (or documented config key) specifically for newly created local Start from scratch projects. In this environment, selecting D:\CodexWorking should produce:

D:\CodexWorking\<Project Name>

Existing projects and projectless-chat storage should remain unchanged.

This matters especially on Windows because Documents may be OneDrive-backed, while development repositories may need to live on a separate local drive for performance, sandbox compatibility, storage policy, or organizational reasons. Redirecting the Windows Documents known folder globally or patching the signed app package are not safe substitutes for an app-owned preference.

Adding another concrete user report in support of this request.

I want all Codex projects to live under one common, user-configurable parent folder. In Codex App for macOS 26.727.40816, Projects → Start from scratch created:

~/Documents/Testing-a-new-project/

Meanwhile, projectless chats use a different convention under:

~/Documents/Codex/YYYY-MM-DD/<chat-name>/

That split is confusing and makes it difficult to keep Codex-created work organized. Please add a setting such as Settings → General → Projects → Default project folder, then create every new “Start from scratch” project at:

<configured-parent>/<Project Name>/

For example:

~/Documents/Codex Projects/Testing-a-new-project/

The setting should affect newly created projects without changing the registered paths of existing projects.