Expose interactive user-question tool outside Plan Mode in Codex Desktop.

Open 💬 3 comments Opened Jun 26, 2026 by smoverkill-arch

💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

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

0.142.2

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows

What issue are you seeing?

Feature request: expose interactive user-question tool outside Plan Mode in Codex Desktop.

In my Codex Desktop environment, request_user_input is only available in Plan Mode. In Default mode the agent can only ask plain text questions, even when project instructions require “ask before acting” for ambiguous tasks.

Request:

Make request_user_input available in Default mode, or
Provide a documented setting/admin permission to enable it, or
Document clearly that this tool is intentionally Plan-Mode-only.

Why it matters:
Project governance often requires structured user confirmation before edits, architecture choices, destructive actions, or ambiguous implementation. Plain text questions are weaker and easier for agents to bypass.

Environment:
Codex Desktop on Windows.
CLI version: 0.142.2.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: 019f0142-4823-7820-83ff-b5c64fe22c8c

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_

View original on GitHub ↗

3 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

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

#29104

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liting0216 · 1 month ago

Adding a concrete migration/use-case signal from Codex Desktop on macOS.

When an agent needs a bounded decision in Default mode, it can only render options as plain numbered chat text. In Plan mode, request_user_input produces the much better native choice UI with descriptions and a free-form Other input.

This is not only a planning concern. Structured questions are useful mid-execution for:

choosing between valid implementation approaches discovered after inspection;
deciding whether to expand scope after a test failure;
resolving conflicts with existing user changes;
confirming dependency or architecture choices without turning the whole task into Plan mode.

For users migrating from Claude Code and other agent harnesses, this is a noticeable UX regression and makes normal conversational collaboration less efficient.

Please expose request_user_input in Default mode across Desktop and CLI, while preserving a plain-text fallback for noninteractive clients. Related CLI request: #29104.

Aure-MandyP · 1 month ago

Additional reproduction on the Codex VS Code extension:

In Default mode, request_user_input is exposed in the session tool catalog but cannot be invoked; the visible tool restriction says: “This tool is only available in Plan mode.”
The agent therefore has to ask in ordinary prose or continue by assumption instead of showing a structured question with selectable options.
The reporter remembers structured option popups working previously and observed this as a possible regression following an extension update within the last 3–4 days.

Expected behavior:

Allow structured user questions with clear selectable options in Default mode when user input is genuinely required; or
provide an equivalent supported question UI in Default mode; or
clearly document that interactive questions are intentionally restricted to Plan mode.

Why this matters: questions buried in prose are easy to miss, especially during long agent runs. Clear options make it obvious that Codex is waiting for a decision and reduce accidental assumptions.

This is specifically about the structured request_user_input UI, not shell/sandbox escalation approval.

No workspace details, repository information, paths, logs, or source code are included.