Codex for Linear creates delegate/session and GitHub linkback but no Codex cloud task result

Open 💬 3 comments Opened Jun 7, 2026 by omarpinarecords

What version of Codex is running?

Not sure. This is observed through the Codex for Linear / Codex cloud integration path rather than a local CLI-only run.

Which model were you using?

Not applicable / not visible from the integration surface.

What platform is your computer?

Not platform-specific from the user side. The issue appears in the cloud integration path between Linear, GitHub, and Codex cloud.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Configure Codex for Linear for a GitHub-backed repository that has previously been usable from Codex cloud.
In Linear, mention @Codex or use Delegate > Codex on an issue that points to that GitHub-backed repository.
Observe that Linear can reach the Codex delegate path and creates integration artifacts such as an agent/session thread.
Observe that a synced GitHub issue/linkback can also be created for the Linear issue.
Wait for the normal pickup window.
Check the Linear issue and the synced GitHub issue/thread.

What is the expected behavior?

Once Linear delegation reaches Codex and the GitHub issue/linkback exists, Codex should either:

start a Codex cloud task for the intended GitHub repository and post a task/progress/result link back to Linear or GitHub, or
post a clear blocker explaining the missing repository/environment/account binding and the exact user/admin action needed before retrying.

What do you see instead?

The Linear delegation path appears to partially work, but no Codex cloud task result appears.

Observed pattern:

Linear can delegate or mention Codex.
A Codex agent/session artifact can be created.
A synced GitHub issue/linkback can be created.
No Codex cloud task link appears.
No progress/result reply appears.
No completed task artifact appears.
No branch or PR appears.
No explicit blocker is posted after the pickup window.

This looks similar to the environment/repository association failure family described in prior public reports such as openai/codex#3932, where cloud task creation can fail when no associated environment is available, and related Codex Cloud repository context issues such as openai/codex#12498.

The confusing part is that the integration is not failing at the first step. Linear can reach Codex and GitHub sync can occur, but the actual GitHub-backed Codex cloud task handoff/result never becomes visible.

Additional information

Public support/community signals that seem related:

openai/codex#3932: cloud task creation failure when no associated environment is available.
openai/codex#12498: Codex Cloud losing GitHub remote/repository context.
A public Linear community thread about Codex Agent frequent errors includes guidance that this type of error is usually tied to missing Codex environment setup for the user.

This issue intentionally does not include private repo names, Linear workspace names, account identifiers, screenshots, logs, local file paths, legal/source material, or internal workflow details.

Requested improvement:

Please make the Codex for Linear path return a visible, actionable blocker when delegation/session/GitHub-linkback succeeds but no Codex cloud task can be started. Ideally the reply should identify whether the problem is:

no associated Codex cloud environment,
wrong GitHub repository mapping,
environment owned by a different account/workspace,
missing GitHub repository access,
Linear account/workspace binding mismatch, or
a backend Codex-for-Linear resolver issue.

View original on GitHub ↗

3 Comments

tyfuji · 1 month ago

I think the codex agent just takes too long to set up its environment before it can respond. Linear seems to have a timeout on the response back from Codex and it gives up before Codex can answer.

kamal-samireddi · 13 days ago

Hitting this same path. Adding a datapoint that may narrow the resolver question, plus what I ruled out.

Symptom

Delegating a Linear issue to Codex creates the delegate and the GitHub linkback, then the Linear card shows Codex failed to start with a Retry button. Retry reproduces it every time. The Codex Cloud Environment shows No. of tasks: 0 — nothing has ever reached it.

Possibly relevant: the branch selector is empty on entry

In the Codex web UI, starting a task against the same repo leaves the branch field unselected until I pick master by hand. Once selected manually, the task starts and runs fine.

The repo's GitHub default branch is master, so there is a default to resolve — it just isn't being resolved. Given Linear's docs say the agent "checks out the target repository's default branch", I suspect the Linear path hits the same unresolved-branch state but has no UI to correct it, and surfaces as failed to start. Same resolver, one surface can recover manually and the other can't.

Ruled out

| Checked | Result |
|---|---|
| Setup script (cd project && npm ci) | npm ci --dry-run resolves cleanly, no lockfile drift |
| Default branch exists | Yes, master, confirmed via GitHub API |
| Linear's suggested branch (<user>/<issue-id>-<slug>) | Does not exist on the remote — correct, since it's meant to be created by the agent, but worth confirming nothing tries to check it out |
| Repo connection | Disconnected and reconnected |
| Post-setup cache | Reset |
| Environment variables | Present |
| Env created by same account connected to Linear | Yes |

Repo is private, personal ChatGPT plan, environment image universal.

Supporting the original ask

+1 to surfacing an actionable blocker here. As it stands the only signal is Codex failed to start, with the delegate and linkback both succeeding — so there is nothing to distinguish a missing environment from a repo-mapping problem from an unresolved branch. I worked through the whole list above by elimination and still can't tell which it is.

Even the failing resolver's input would be enough, e.g. "no environment matched repository X" or "could not resolve base branch for X".

omarpinarecords · 11 days ago

@linear-code @a-doyle any feedback?