Token usage draining ~10% per prompt since May 10, 2026

What version of Codex CLI is running?

0.122.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Free

Which model were you using?

gpt-5.4 reasoning effort: medium

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.19045.0 x64

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

command prompt

Codex doctor report

not available (0.122.0 does not support codex doctor)

What issue are you seeing?

Token usage draining approximately 10% per prompt regardless
of task complexity since May 10, 2026.

Observed drain pattern in one session:

• Before prompt 1: 97%
• After prompt 1: 89% (-8%)
• After prompt 2: 79% (-10%)
• After prompt 3: 67% (-12%)

This did not happen with gpt-5.2 on older versions.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open fresh Codex session
2. Send any prompt (even simple file edit)
3. Check token usage percentage
4. Send second prompt
5. Token drops ~10% each time regardless of task size

What is the expected behavior?

Token usage should be proportional to actual task complexity.
Simple file edits should consume 1-2% not 8-10% per prompt.

Additional information

• MCP servers: disabled
• multi_agent: disabled
• memories: disabled
• sandbox_mode: danger-full-access
• Related issues: #22157, #14119, #20796
• Issue started specifically around May 10, 2026