Codex Desktop: show archived chats in the normal chat list as greyed-out rows
What feature would you like to see?
In Codex Desktop, please add an option to show archived chats in the regular project/sidebar chat list, rendered as muted/greyed-out rows instead of hiding them only under Settings → Archived Threads.
Problem
For users with many Codex conversations per project, archiving is not the same as deleting. Archived chats are often completed work or old context that should stay discoverable in the project history, but they should not visually compete with active chats.
Right now, once a chat is archived it effectively disappears from the normal project/chat list. To find it again, the user has to go to Settings → Archived Threads or rely on search. This makes archive feel like a separate storage area rather than a natural part of the project timeline.
Proposed UX
- Add a setting/filter such as Show archived chats in all chats or a view toggle like Active / Archived / All.
- When archived chats are visible in the normal sidebar list, render them as muted grey rows, ideally with a small archive icon.
- Keep active chats visually primary; archived chats should be clearly secondary.
- The row context menu should still allow Unarchive.
- Search results should include archived chats and mark them as archived.
- Project/grouped views should show archived chats under their original project when the user chooses the All view.
Why this helps
This would let users scan project history without manually unarchiving old chats, while still keeping the active working set clean. It also makes archive a safer and more useful workflow tool: “done but preserved” instead of “hidden away.”
Related but different from
There are existing issues around archived or local sessions being hidden, lost, or failing to resume. This request is not about data loss; it is a UX request for a unified list view where archived chats remain visible but visually de-emphasized.
8 Comments
multiple good requests in this issue. for me personally the biggest paper cut is no easy ability to searched archived chats. if this issue is worked on and is broken apart into multiple issues, that's what I'd like to see prioritized
💯 % the need to be able to search archived chats!!
FYI, there are several cool utility apps out there that can search your Codex Archive:
| Project | Focus | First commit |
|---|---|---|
| ccmanager | Multi-tool session manager (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot CLI, Gemini, Codex, Cline…) | Jun 5, 2025 |
| agent-sessions | macOS GUI: browse + search sessions across 7+ tools | Sep 10, 2025 |
| CASS | CLI/TUI: lexical + semantic search across 11+ providers | Nov 20, 2025 |
| lore | Sessions linked to git commits, full-text search, MCP server | Dec 22, 2025 |
| session-graph | Sessions as a W3C knowledge graph (SPARQL queryable) | Feb 14, 2026 |
| Claudoscope | macOS menu-bar app, Claude Code-specific | Mar 14, 2026 |
There are probably lots of others.
I even tried to make one...
https://github.com/LookAtWhatAiCanDo/CodexSearch
I have no good idea why they don't make this easy.
I have several bad ideas why they don't make this easy.
archive is just a flag on the thread, not a separate store. the greyed-row view is one filter over the same list.
See also:
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Also a deep dive into the Desktop app's thread search mechanisms, and workarounds to find archived threads in the meantime in this comment:
This is very needed
Anyone for windows??
Searched 1 hours my archived chat, thanks found it under settings and unarchived it back because its to hidden! Need this PR Feature!