Codex Desktop imagegen repeatedly fails with TooManyRequests and no clear recovery path

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.601.21317

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.19041.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

I am using the Codex desktop app and asked Codex to generate product packaging concept images using the imagegen skill / built-in image generation tool.

The request was a normal visual design task: generate English universal color box packaging concepts for a HiFi audio brand, using uploaded logo and competitor packaging references.

The image generation tool repeatedly failed with a TooManyRequests error. This did not appear to be a safety refusal or prompt/content issue. The assistant attempted image generation multiple times, but every attempt was rate limited.

I do not have a local OPENAI_API_KEY configured because I am using the Codex desktop app. The assistant checked and confirmed that OPENAI_API_KEY was missing locally, so the CLI/API fallback path was not available.

The problem is that Codex Desktop users may reasonably expect the built-in image generation capability to work without requiring a local API key. When the built-in imagegen tool is rate limited, there is no clear user-facing explanation, reset time, retry guidance, or alternate recovery path.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: 019e96c7-74fa-7101-b6cc-bdd622a84c14

1. Open Codex Desktop.
2. Start a conversation with image references and a product logo.
3. Ask Codex to generate packaging concept images, for example:

"Use the imagegen skill to generate several English universal color box packaging concepts for a HiFi audio brand."

1. Codex invokes the imagegen skill / built-in image generation tool.
2. The tool repeatedly returns TooManyRequests.
3. Codex cannot continue with image generation unless the built-in rate limit clears or a local OPENAI_API_KEY is configured.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex Desktop should either:

1. Successfully generate the requested images using the built-in image generation capability, without requiring the user to configure a local OPENAI_API_KEY; or

1. If the imagegen tool is temporarily rate limited, show a clear user-facing message explaining:

• that image generation is currently rate limited,
• whether this is account quota, service load, or temporary cooldown,
• when the user can retry,
• whether there is any supported fallback path in Codex Desktop.

The assistant should not be left with only a raw TooManyRequests failure and no actionable recovery path.

Additional information

This issue occurred during a normal packaging design workflow, not a coding task.

The user wanted Codex to generate visual packaging concepts directly. The assistant first tried other approaches, then attempted the imagegen skill / built-in image generation tool several times. All image generation attempts failed with TooManyRequests.

The user is using Codex Desktop and does not have a local OPENAI_API_KEY configured. Requiring a local API key as the only fallback is confusing for desktop users who expect built-in tools to work through the Codex app.

Please improve either the imagegen availability for Codex Desktop or the error handling/retry messaging when the built-in generation service is rate limited.