Context window usage / compact indicator is no longer clearly visible in the Codex app prompt bar
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.521.10419
What subscription do you have?
Pro x5 ($100 tier)
What platform is your computer?
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200 64-bit
What issue are you seeing?
The Codex app prompt bar used to show a clear context-window usage / compact indicator near the input area. After the recent UI change, that indicator is now either missing, collapsed into a tiny unlabeled circle, or visually too subtle to notice.
This makes it much harder to monitor context usage during long-running Codex sessions. The only remaining visual cue is a very small circle near the model selector area, and it is not obvious that this represents context usage or compact status.
I attached side-by-side screenshots showing the previous, clearer context indicator versus the current tiny/unclear indicator.
This matters because context usage is operationally important in Codex. Users need to know when a thread is getting full so they can compact, create a handoff, or start a new session before losing continuity.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Open Codex app.
- Start or resume a long-running coding session.
- Observe the prompt/input bar area.
- Compare the current UI to the previous UI where the context-window usage / compact indicator was clearly visible near the input.
- Notice that the current context indicator is now very small, easy to miss, and not clearly identifiable as context usage.
What is the expected behavior?
Codex should show context-window usage / compact status clearly in the prompt bar.
Expected options:
- Restore the previous visible context usage circle/indicator.
- Show a clearer context percentage or progress indicator.
- Keep the compact affordance discoverable without requiring the user to notice a tiny unlabeled icon.
- Make the current context status readable enough that users can act before the thread reaches a dangerous context state.
Additional information
This appears related to context visibility / context management UX, but this report is specifically about the app UI indicator becoming too small or unclear.
Related context-management reports exist, but this issue is about the visibility/discoverability regression in the Codex app UI rather than a specific compact failure.
Screenshots attached:
- Previous UI: clear context-window / compact indicator visible near the input area.
- Current UI: tiny unclear circle near the model selector / prompt bar.
<img width="369" height="51" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fc818bbb-4446-4f90-af6f-cac4f007baa4" />
<img width="214" height="30" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cd4716b9-2212-416a-aae7-8e19759d2a9a" />
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