Codex Desktop: archived automation threads remain visible in sidebar

Open 💬 0 comments Opened May 18, 2026 by bennettroller

What happened?

Recurring Codex Desktop automation threads that end with an archive directive remain visible in the chat sidebar.

The final assistant message was exactly:

::archive{reason="Support email intake automation completed"}

The archive appears to partially succeed:

  • The thread row in state_5.sqlite has archived = 1.
  • Many rollout files are moved into ~/.codex/archived_sessions.
  • But ~/.codex/session_index.jsonl still contains the archived thread entries.
  • The Codex Desktop sidebar continues to show those archived automation threads.

Expected behavior

Threads marked archived by ::archive{...} should disappear from the normal chat/sidebar list.

Actual behavior

Archived automation threads still appear in the chat list, causing recurring automation runs to fill the sidebar.

Environment

  • Codex Desktop on macOS
  • Originator in rollout metadata: Codex Desktop
  • CLI version observed in rollout metadata: 0.131.0-alpha.9

Local evidence

Example archived automation thread:

  • Final message: ::archive{reason="Support email intake automation completed"}
  • SQLite: threads.archived = 1
  • Corresponding entry remains in ~/.codex/session_index.jsonl

Notes

This looks like a sync/indexing bug between state_5.sqlite, session_index.jsonl, rollout file location, and the sidebar thread list.

A similar history/sidebar issue may be related: https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/21076

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