Queued messages disappear or remain stuck, and tasks stay in thinking state without starting

What version of the IDE extension are you using?

26.602.40724

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

Which IDE are you using?

VS Code

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

1. Queued messages disappear or are not acted on

When Codex is already working on a task and I send an additional message, the follow up is not handled reliably.

Observed behaviour:

• Sometimes the message disappears after being sent.
• Sometimes the message appears in the queue/cube, but Codex does not automatically continue with it after the current task finishes.
• The queued message can remain visible in the UI but is not acted on.

2. Codex shows a thinking state but never starts the task

Sometimes Codex only shows the thinking state and no task actually begins.

Observed behaviour:

• I send a message.
• Codex displays that it is thinking.
• No task or mission starts.
• No useful response is returned.
• No clear error message is shown.
• The only reliable recovery is restarting Codex.

This is misleading because the UI suggests Codex is working, but in practice no progress is made.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

I cannot reproduce this with a single deterministic code snippet because it appears to be an extension and runtime issue. However, I have reproduced it repeatedly with this workflow:

1. Open a repository in VS Code.
2. Start a Codex task.
3. While Codex is working, send an additional message as follow up guidance.
4. Observe that the message may disappear, remain stuck in the queue/cube, or not auto start after the current task finishes.
5. In some cases, send a new message and observe that Codex shows the thinking state but never actually starts a task.
6. Restart Codex to recover.

The issue has occurred across five different internet connections in five different physical locations, so it does not appear to be caused by local network instability.

What is the expected behavior?

• Follow up messages sent while Codex is working should not disappear.
• Queued messages should remain visible and should be acted on after the current task finishes.
• If a queued message is intended as guidance for the active task, Codex should incorporate it as soon as possible.
• If Codex cannot start a task, it should show a clear error message.
• Codex should not remain indefinitely in a thinking state without starting a task or returning a response.
• Restarting the entire Codex extension should not be required to recover from this state.

Additional information

Approximate start of issue: 3rd June 2026