Remote-control Desktop projects missing from Mac sidebar, but remote threads are visible
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.623.141536 (4753)
What subscription do you have?
Pro 200$
What platform is your computer?
Darwin 25.4.0 arm64 arm
What issue are you seeing?
Codex Desktop on one computer can see and open Remote Control threads from another connected desktop host, but the left sidebar/project picker only shows projects from the controller/local computer. Projects from the connected remote host are absent.
Remote Control itself is working. The problem appears to be project/sidebar hydration: remote threads are available, but project enumeration only exposes local projects.
Observed:
- Thread enumeration returns remote-control threads from the connected host.
- Opening a remote thread by id works.
- Project enumeration returns only local projects from the controller computer.
- Projects that exist on the remote host are not listed in the sidebar/project picker.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- On computer A, enable Codex Remote Control and use Codex normally with local projects/threads.
- On computer B using the same account, connect to computer A through Remote Control.
- Confirm computer B can see remote threads from computer A.
- Open one of the remote threads; it opens successfully.
- Open the main Codex sidebar/project picker on computer B.
- Observe that only computer B's local projects are shown.
- Project enumeration returns only local projects, while thread enumeration returns remote-control threads.
What is the expected behavior?
The sidebar/project picker should show projects from connected Remote Control hosts, not only projects from the controller/local computer.
Ideally the UI should support grouping like:
Connection -> Project -> Thread
Alternatively, "Sort by Projects" should include remote host projects with a visible host label.
It sometimes work sometimes doesn't.
Additional information
This does not appear to be a Remote Control connection/auth issue, because remote threads are visible and openable from the controller computer.
The missing piece appears to be that the sidebar/project picker does not hydrate project inventory for connected Remote Control hosts.
Related issues:
- #26640
- #24295
- #25092
- #27284
- #18640
- #27314
3 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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I’m seeing a closely related issue with ChatGPT Remote on iOS controlling a Mac mini host.
My setup differs slightly: the controller is the ChatGPT iOS app, and the connected host is a Mac mini. In iOS Remote, I can see an older thread:
ExampleProject · ExampleProjectTest app on iPhoneBut on the Mac mini desktop app, the visible
ExampleProjectproject does not show that thread. Global search on the Mac for “Test app on iPhone” also returns no result.After starting a new chat on the Mac mini in the visible ExampleProject project, iOS Remote began showing a second entry with the same project name but a different secondary label:
ExampleProject · xcodeRead REMOTE_HANDOFF.mdThe original thread remains visible only in iOS Remote under the older project entry. The Mac mini sidebar shows only one ExampleProject project, containing only the new thread.
The repository had only one path at the time. This looks consistent with a project/sidebar hydration or project-identity mismatch: Remote can enumerate and open the original thread, but the desktop project sidebar no longer associates it with the visible project.
Environment:
I’m seeing what appears to be the same issue with Remote Control between two Macs.
Setup:
Behavior on iPhone/iPad:
Remote tasks from the iMac are displayed correctly and grouped by their respective projects.
Behavior on MacBook:
All remote tasks from the iMac are accessible, but they only appear under Recents. The Projects section does not show any of the projects from the remote iMac.
Interestingly, the MacBook clearly receives the project metadata: when I hover over an individual remote task, it shows the correct project name that the task belongs to. So the task-to-project relationship is available, but the macOS desktop UI does not use it to populate/group the remote projects.
I have already tried:
The behavior remains unchanged.
Subscription Pro 20x
The same iMac and the same remote tasks/projects display correctly on both iPhone and iPad, which suggests that the Remote Control connection and project metadata are working correctly and that this may be specific to project discovery/grouping in the macOS desktop client.