ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.707 regression: per-thread relative timestamps disappeared from sidebar

Open 💬 3 comments Opened Jul 10, 2026 by KachurPro

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

ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.707.31428 (build 5059)

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT subscription (plan claim: prolite)

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

After updating to the integrated ChatGPT/Codex Desktop app, the sidebar no longer shows the relative last-activity time for individual tasks/threads.

Before this update, each row exposed useful recency information such as minutes, hours, or days since the thread was last active. In the current build, rows show only the title plus the host/status indicator. The relative timestamp is completely absent.

This makes navigation substantially worse when many tasks are open or pinned: it is no longer possible to tell at a glance which session was used recently, which one is stale, or where work was last performed.

This appears to be a UI regression rather than missing timestamp data. The public app-server contract already provides dedicated thread recency metadata through recencyAt / the recency_at sort key (#27910).

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Update to ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.707.31428 on macOS.
Open the Projects/sidebar view with several pinned or project tasks that have different last-activity times.
Inspect the task/thread rows.
Observe that no row shows a relative age such as 5m, 2h, or 3d; only the title and host/status indicator remain.

The reported screenshot shows the regression in a pinned list containing SSH-managed remote tasks. The original screenshot is not attached publicly because it contains private task titles; a redacted copy can be provided if needed.

What is the expected behavior?

Restore the per-thread relative last-activity timestamp in the sidebar.

Preferred behavior:

Show the age of each task/thread using recencyAt, with updatedAt as a compatibility fallback.
Refresh the visible value when a new turn starts.
Preserve the timestamp for both local and SSH-managed remote threads.
Keep the value visible alongside the host/status indicator, or use a second line/tooltip if horizontal space is constrained.

If the denser row design is intentional, add a setting such as Show last activity time in sidebar, enabled by default for existing users.

Additional information

This is a regression from previously shipped Desktop behavior. Issue #26180, filed on June 3, explicitly documents relative task timestamps being visible in the Desktop sidebar and requests the same metadata on mobile.

The backend work for product recency was already merged in #27910 and was paired with an internal Codex Apps change. The current problem is therefore in the Desktop presentation layer, whose source is not available in the public openai/codex repository for an external UI PR.

For users managing many concurrent tasks, the timestamp is not decorative metadata; it is a primary navigation signal for recovering recent work.

View original on GitHub ↗

3 Comments

DavidDieguezCodex · 1 month ago

Confirmed on Windows with the Microsoft Store package OpenAI.Codex 26.707.8479.0.

In the integrated ChatGPT/Codex desktop sidebar, project thread rows show their titles and host/status indicator, but no relative last-activity values at all. This reproduces across the visible project/task list and makes it difficult to distinguish recently used threads from older ones.

The official launch announcement for the integrated desktop app shows relative values such as 4h, 8h, and 2h at the right edge of sidebar rows, matching the previously shipped behavior: https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-for-your-most-ambitious-work/

I could not find an exposed setting or preference to restore the timestamps. This therefore appears to be the same cross-platform 26.707 UI regression, not a macOS-only issue.

fibsion-Pm · 1 month ago

I also think thread timing is very important to me, because I have so many threads that I often have to switch back and forth between them.
I don't have this thread time right now; I feel like I'm wasting a third of my time just looking for threads. So I think this is a very serious bug.
It seems like not enough people have reported this bug, so OAI hasn't taken it seriously at all. I'll report it myself in a bit.

finebyme99 · 1 month ago

Confirming this regression on macOS with ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.715.31925 (build 5551).

I manage many conversations simultaneously and rely on the per-thread relative last-activity timestamps to identify recent conversations that need follow-up. “Last updated” sorting or the chronological list is not an adequate substitute, because I need to see recency at a glance across pinned and project-grouped threads.

Please either restore the timestamps by default or add a “Show last activity time in sidebar” setting, preferably enabled by default for existing users.