Codex Desktop blocks projectless chat creation when default workspace path is a valid symlink

Summary

Codex Desktop can no longer create a chat without selecting a project folder when the default projectless workspace path is a symlink to a real, writable directory.

The app rejects task creation with:

Error creating task
Projectless thread directory must be a real directory

Starting chats without folders is a core Codex Desktop workflow and was previously available. A valid filesystem indirection should not make the entire projectless-chat flow unavailable.

Environment

• Codex Desktop: 26.707.31428 (build 5059)
• macOS: 26.5.2 (build 25F84)
• Architecture: Apple Silicon (arm64)
• Default projectless path: ~/Documents/Codex
• The path is a symlink to /Users/<user>/Codex
• The symlink target exists, resolves as a directory, and is writable

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a real writable directory outside ~/Documents:

``sh
mkdir -p ~/Codex
``

1. Make the default projectless path point to it:

``sh
ln -s ~/Codex ~/Documents/Codex
``

1. Open Codex Desktop.
2. Start a new chat without selecting a project folder.
3. Observe that task creation fails.

Actual behavior

The new task is not created. Codex shows:

Projectless thread directory must be a real directory

This makes chats without folders unavailable.

Expected behavior

Codex should create the projectless chat successfully when the configured/default path resolves to a real writable directory.

At minimum, Codex should resolve and validate the symlink target. Longer term, a supported configurable projectless workspace directory would avoid forcing users into the default ~/Documents/Codex path.

Why this is a bug rather than only a feature request

The immediate failure is not merely that the storage location is non-configurable. A previously supported user workflow—starting a chat without choosing a folder—is completely blocked even though the destination is a valid writable directory.

Related issues

• #24534 tracks configurable storage for projectless workspaces.
• #24734 reported the same error while requesting configuration support, but was closed as a duplicate.
• This report isolates the current user-visible regression: valid projectless chat creation fails entirely.

Additional information

A screenshot of the error toast was captured and can be provided if needed.