Codex shows Thinking while an approved command is still running

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 9, 2026 by martinmclee
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

### 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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2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • #27006

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martinmclee · 2 months ago

Not a duplicate of #27006. That issue is a mobile/desktop state-sync mismatch (mobile shows Thinking while desktop is waiting for user approval). This report is about desktop-only UI behavior where an already-approved long-running command remains in the thread as generic Thinking with no in-flight command progress until completion. Different failure modes and reproduction. Please keep open as separate bug report.