›_ Codex Issues
Codex Issues / #30484

Codex Desktop no longer shows file tree, review pane, or branch UI despite Git being detected

Open 💬 9 comments Opened Jun 28, 2026 by Aleopazo
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

Summary

Codex Desktop stopped showing the file tree / review pane entry points / current branch UI for local Git projects. This appears to be a Desktop UI regression: Git, GitHub auth, the Codex CLI, and the Codex app backend all still detect the repositories correctly.

The issue started recently, within the last couple of days. It affects all Codex Desktop projects on this machine, not just one repository.

Environment

  • Codex Desktop: 26.623.42026
  • Build: 4514
  • Bundled Codex CLI: 0.142.3
  • macOS: 15.7.4, arm64
  • Git: 2.53.0
  • GitHub CLI: 2.95.0
  • Account has GitHub CLI auth and Codex GitHub connector access

Expected behavior

For projects inside a Git repository, Codex Desktop should expose the file tree / Git branch context / review pane so changes can be inspected in the UI.

This matches the Codex app docs: the review pane works for projects inside a Git repository and reflects the Git repo state.

Actual behavior

The Desktop UI does not show:

  • file tree / project tree
  • review pane option
  • current branch / Git repo indicator

This happens even though the same project is a valid Git repo and Codex backend state includes branch/origin metadata.

Diagnostics already performed

Local Git and repo state are healthy:

git status --short --branch
## master...origin/master

HEAD == master == origin/master

GitHub / gh auth are healthy:

gh auth status -h github.com
✓ Logged in to github.com account <redacted>
Token scopes: gist, read:org, repo, workflow

Codex doctor is clean:

Codex Doctor v0.142.3 · macos-aarch64
17 ok · 1 idle · 1 notes · 0 warn · 0 fail ok

The Codex state DB still has Git metadata for the active thread:

thread cwd=<local git repo>
git_branch=master
git_origin_url=<github origin redacted>
git_sha=<sha present>

The Desktop config does not appear to disable Git/review. It includes:

[desktop]
git-show-sidebar-pr-icons = true

After a full profile reset, logs still show Git watchers running and origins being detected:

info [git-repo-watcher] Starting git repo watcher
info [git] [git-origins] worker-complete ... originCount=...

Recovery attempts already tried

  • Restarted Codex Desktop normally
  • Found multiple stale Codex Desktop processes and terminated them
  • Reset persisted UI state under ~/.codex/.codex-global-state.json with backup
  • Reset Codex Desktop Electron profile by moving ~/Library/Application Support/Codex to a timestamped backup
  • Cleared Codex Desktop session storage as part of the profile reset
  • Reopened Codex Desktop cleanly with only one main Codex process running
  • Confirmed ~/.codex state, memories, sessions, and SQLite DB integrity remained OK
  • Confirmed GitHub CLI and GitHub connector access remained OK

Despite all of the above, the UI still does not show tree/review/branch controls.

Notes

This does not appear to be a repository issue, GitHub permission issue, or CLI issue. It looks isolated to Codex Desktop UI rendering/feature exposure after a recent update.

View original on GitHub ↗

9 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

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

  • #30175

Powered by Codex Action

Aleopazo · 2 months ago

Additional context from related issues:

  • #30175 looks related. The initial report focused on missing git_sha / git_origin_url, but later comments there say that even after Git metadata is populated, Codex Desktop still renders only Sources and hides Environment Info / Git controls across projects and new threads.
  • #30336 reports missing branch/worktree controls in the new UI.
  • #30344 reports Git action cards no longer rendering from Git directives.

This macOS case appears to be in the same regression cluster, but it is not explained by missing thread Git metadata: in this case state_5.sqlite has git_branch, git_sha, and git_origin_url populated for the affected thread, and codex doctor reports 0 fail. The remaining symptom is Desktop UI/feature-surface rendering: file tree / review / branch controls stay hidden despite valid Git metadata and a clean profile reset.

harshavardhan194 · 1 month ago

Hi, I would like to work on this issue

AkioKoneko · 1 month ago

I filed a Windows reproduction here: #31137

The symptoms look very similar: local git works and Codex logs show git origins/watchers, but the Desktop Git/review/diff UI surface does not appear. My case additionally involved abrupt reboot/BSOD state corruption and recovery from .codex-global-state.json backups.

In-app feedback session ID with logs:
019f2f4d-aa42-7b91-9699-fa80ba171150

hassahflere0714 · 1 month ago

Additional Confirmation: macOS Git UI Regression Across 26.623.42026 → 26.623.70822

I can confirm this regression on macOS with the same version. My diagnostics add bundle-level evidence that this is a UI exposure / command-mapping regression, not a Git detection or metadata problem.

Environment

  • macOS (ARM64)
  • Codex App: 26.623.70822 (build 4559), previously 26.623.42026 (build 4514) — no behavioral change between versions
  • Codex CLI: 0.142.2
  • Target repo: valid Git worktree, main, ahead 39 of origin/main

Thread Git Metadata Is Fully Populated

From ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite threads table:

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| cwd | valid Git repo path |
| git_sha | ✅ populated |
| git_branch | main |
| git_origin_url | ✅ populated |

All four fields are present, ruling out the null-metadata backfill scenario.

View Menu — After Update to 26.623.70822

AppleScript: menu items of View menu
→ Toggle Sidebar, Toggle Bottom Panel, Toggle Pinned Summary, Open Terminal,
  Toggle File Tree, Open Browser Tab, Focus Browser Address Bar, Reload Browser Page,
  Toggle Side Panel, Find, Previous Chat, Next Chat, Back, Forward,
  Zoom In, Zoom Out, Actual Size

Missing: Toggle Diff Panel, Toggle Review Panel. Cmd+Option+B maps to Toggle Side Panel, not Diff Panel.

Bundle Evidence

After the update, app.asar still contains:

  • toggle-diff-panel (5 occurrences, including action registry: dispatchHostMessage({type:'toggle-diff-panel'}))
  • show-diff
  • worktree-init-v2-page
  • new-thread-panel-page

→ The code ships. The regression is in the UI exposure layer (menu registration, shortcut mapping, panel visibility logic).

What Works

  • Ctrl+Shift+G opens a Review panel that correctly shows the target repo's Git state — this is currently the only reliable entry point.

Related

This evidence aligns with #30484 (same macOS version, same symptoms, Git metadata intact) and #30175 (the follow-up finding that metadata backfill alone does not restore UI on Windows matches our macOS observations).

SergeyPomelov · 1 month ago

Confirming the same regression on Windows after the July unified ChatGPT/Codex Desktop update.

Environment

  • Windows 10 x64
  • Microsoft Store package: OpenAI.Codex_26.721.4979.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
  • Active UI executable: app\ChatGPT.exe

Actual behavior

The native Git UI has disappeared globally:

  • no Review changes / file-diff panel...

Local repositories remain valid and Git operations work normally. In the current reproduction, tracked files were modified and git diff showed the changes, but Codex Desktop exposed no native review panel.

Expected behavior

When a local project is a valid Git repository, Codex Desktop should expose its native Changes/review/branch/commit/push UI. The unified app migration should not remove these core coding controls.

ttrias · 23 days ago

Additional confirmation on current macOS unified app

I can reproduce this on a newer ChatGPT/Codex Desktop build.

Environment

  • ChatGPT/Codex Desktop: 26.727.51351
  • Build: 6119
  • macOS: 26.5.2, arm64
  • Git: 2.55.0
  • Valid local Git worktree with unstaged changes

Reproduction

  1. Open a Codex task attached to a local Git repository.
  2. The toolbar exposes pinned summary, terminal, and side-panel controls, but no Changes/Review control.
  3. Open the side panel. Its launcher contains only Browser, Files, and Side chat.
  4. Choose Files and open a tracked repository file.
  5. The file opens successfully, but no Review tab or changed-files/diff surface appears beside it.

Expected

The Codex UI should expose the repository Review/Changes surface so unstaged changes can be inspected and commented on before commit.

Actual

Git and file access work, but the native Review/Changes entry point is absent. Opening a file does not reveal it. The only available review path is an external editor or terminal Git tooling.

This confirms the UI exposure regression remains present after the unified app update and on a substantially newer build than the original report.

ttrias · 23 days ago

Follow-up: Ctrl+Shift+G successfully opens the hidden Review/Changes panel on ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.727.51351 (build 6119) on macOS. The panel remains functional; the visible toolbar/menu entry point is what is missing.

jensen-yan · 15 days ago

I’m also facing the same issue. On macOS, I can only open it by using Ctrl+Shift+G.