Add configurable workspace layouts for chat, code, files, and browser panels

What variant of Codex are you using?

Codex App (Desktop) 26.707.31428

What feature would you like to see?

I would like Codex Desktop to support configurable workspace layouts for its main surfaces: the conversation, code and diff views, file tree, terminal, and in-app browser.

Today, the conversation remains the primary central surface while files, code, diffs, and browser content generally open in panels to the right. The file tree may then appear even farther to the right. This works for a delegation-first workflow, where a user gives Codex a task and reviews the result afterward, but it is less comfortable for sustained collaboration where the code or webpage is the primary object of attention.

Please add first-class layout modes, for example:

• Chat-first: keep the conversation central and show artifacts in secondary panels, similar to the current layout.
• Artifact-first: place code, diffs, files, or the browser in the main workspace, with the Codex conversation docked to the left or right.

Users should be able to:

• Move the Codex conversation between the left and right sides.
• Open code, diffs, and browser views in the central workspace rather than only in a right-side panel.
• Position the file tree on either side of the main artifact.
• Dock supported tool views to the left, right, bottom, or center.
• Detach or pop out the in-app browser when a normal browser-sized viewport is needed.
• Save layout preferences globally and, optionally, per project or activity.
• Switch layouts quickly without rebuilding the pane arrangement manually.

Why this matters

The best layout depends on who or what is leading the workflow.

In an IDE such as VS Code, project files are on the side and code occupies the center. The agent is an assistant around the primary artifact. In Codex Desktop, the task conversation is usually the center, while the artifact being inspected is moved into a narrower secondary panel.

That difference becomes important during:

• Long code-reading and review sessions.
• Human and agent pair-programming.
• Comparing multiple changed files.
• Browser-based research and testing.
• Responsive web testing, where a narrow browser panel changes the page breakpoint.
• Work on portrait, ultrawide, or multi-monitor setups.

Codex Desktop already has the capabilities needed for an agent-native workspace, but the current fixed hierarchy makes it feel more like a task inbox with attached previews than a flexible environment where the user and agent work around the same artifact.

Suggested design

A practical first version could provide a small set of presets:

1. Delegate - conversation centered, artifacts on the right.
2. Code - file tree on the left, code or diff centered, conversation on the right.
3. Browser - browser centered or detached, conversation on either side.
4. Review - changed-file tree on the left, diff centered, conversation and review notes on the right.

These presets could be built on top of movable, resizable, and persistent panes. Users who prefer the current experience would not need to change anything.

Additional information

This request is not to replace the current chat-first layout. The goal is to make it one supported mode among several, so Codex Desktop can serve both delegation-first and artifact-first workflows.

Related issues / non-duplicates

• #27857 requests configuration of the default panel for opened files and tool views, particularly side versus bottom. This proposal is broader: it also covers left/right placement, central artifact views, workspace presets, and the relationship between chat and artifacts.
• #24244 requests first-class file-tree support. This proposal includes that need as part of a configurable workspace rather than focusing only on the file tree.
• #20642 requests external or detachable Browser Use support. This proposal includes detachable browser placement as one part of a general layout model.
• #17464 asks to disable the right-side panel and open code in an external editor. This proposal keeps the in-app surfaces but makes their placement user-controlled.
• #20951 requests opening Codex sessions in the main VS Code editor area. It reflects the same underlying need for users to choose whether the agent or the artifact occupies the primary workspace, but applies to the IDE extension rather than Codex Desktop.