Codex shows Thinking while an approved command is still running

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 9, 2026 by martinmclee

### What issue are you seeing?

When Codex is waiting for a command to execute (an already approved shell/tool command is still running), the UI can stay in Thinking with no clear running status. This makes the turn look stuck even though work is in progress.

The intended status should be “command running” (or equivalent) while command/tool output is pending, and only Thinking should not be used as a generic long-run state for blocked execution.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Approve and run a non-trivial local command/tool action that takes time.
  2. Let it run for around 1–2 minutes (or longer).
  3. The UI shows only generic Thinking while the command is still executing.
  4. Output appears only after completion, and the command exits with non-zero / failure summary.

What is the expected behavior?

  • When waiting on an in-flight command, show an explicit status indicating command execution is in progress.
  • Do not show plain Thinking as the only signal during that period.
  • Preserve user confidence that the assistant is actively waiting for command completion (not frozen).

What is the difference from existing duplicates?

This issue is for desktop command-runner state visibility (running command vs generic Thinking).

It is distinct from #27006, where the report is about mobile showing Thinking while desktop is waiting for user approval (cross-client state sync mismatch).

Additional notes

  • I did not include any private paths or machine-specific IDs in the report.

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