VS Code extension: Codex panel blank unless VS Code is started with --disable-extension <anything>
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
Codex extension: 26.707.41301
What subscription do you have?
plus
What platform is your computer?
OS: Linux Mint VS Code: 1.128.0 Codex extension: 26.707.41301 Local workspace
What issue are you seeing?
Problem
The Codex activity icon appears, but the panel is completely blank after a normal VS Code launch.
What I tried
New VS Code profile
Cleared caches
Reinstalled extension
Disabled other extensions
Restored settings
Restarted Extension Host
None provided a permanent fix.
Important observation
Launching VS Code with any --disable-extension argument causes Codex to work.
Examples:
code --disable-extension an.extension.you-do-not-have
and
code --disable-extension pdc.vscode-print
both make Codex work.
The extension ID is irrelevant—even a nonexistent extension name works.
This suggests the command-line option changes startup timing or extension activation rather than disabling a conflicting extension.
Expected
Codex panel should load normally without requiring any command-line workaround.
Actual
Panel is blank unless VS Code is started with --disable-extension ....
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Start VS Code with codex agent extent.
What is the expected behavior?
Codex can be used is expected behavior but codex panel stays blank apart from logo.
Additional information
code --disable-extension pdc.vscode-anynamehere isn't a fix but it works and hints where problem is.
6 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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I’m experiencing the same issue, and incredibly, the exact command
code --disable-extension an.extension.you-do-not-haveworks!Without
--disable-extension, I get the same behavior: only a gray/white Codex icon loading indefinitely.Is there any set of logs from the extension, or from its interactions with other VS Code extensions, that we can check for more information?
For now, the only solution that has worked is launching it while disabling any nonexistent extension.
It's nothing to do with the extension disabled. I tried it first with the print extension and thought that was the problem, but then found that disabling even a non-existent extension let me use Codex again. I realise it's not a good solution but it does let me use Codex again and hopefully the developers can look into into this and get a real solution.
What fixed the issue for me, without even using
--disable-extension, is wiping my~/.codex/directory clean, installing the Codex CLI, uninstalling and reinstalling the Codex VS Code extension (the latest stable version, 26.707.41301), logging into my ChatGPT account with the Codex CLI, hard-closing VS Code, and then opening it back up, going to the Codex tab, and waiting a few minutes for it to finally finish loading. 🤷Confirmed on Kubuntu 24.04, VS Code 1.129.1, openai.chatgpt 26.715.31925. Normal launch intermittently produces a logo-only or completely grey Codex panel. Launching with:
code --disable-extension dummy.extension-that-does-not-exist .
consistently makes the panel render. Clearing VS Code webview caches and restarting the extension host did not provide a permanent fix.
Thanks man, it had been stuck for 3 hours now and nothing else worked except this.
Get-Process Code,codex -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force
code --disable-extension workaround.nonexistent