Desktop app always starts in Work mode and provides no way to switch to Chat
Open 💬 4 comments Opened Jul 12, 2026 by burguesa98
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor)
responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.707.31428
What subscription do you have?
plus
What platform is your computer?
Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64
What issue are you seeing?
After updating to the latest Windows desktop app, the application always starts in the Work experience.
There is no visible option to switch to the standard Chat interface.
This only happens in the desktop app. The same Plus account works normally on chatgpt.com and in ChatGPT Classic.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Install the latest ChatGPT desktop app for Windows.
- Sign in with a ChatGPT Plus account.
- Launch the application.
Observed behavior:
- The main window always opens in ChatGPT Work.
- There is no option to switch to the standard Chat interface.
- Any new task immediately uses Work/Codex quota.
- The only way to access Chat is through Quick Chat (Ctrl+Alt+N), which opens as a small floating window.
- ChatGPT Classic correctly displays both Chat and Work tabs.
no-active-thread-019f546b-fcbb-7040-91e5-98194ffe5115
What is the expected behavior?
The app should allow access to the normal Chat experience or provide a way to switch between Chat and Work.
The app should either:
- open the normal Chat interface by default, or
- provide a visible way to switch between Chat and Work, similar to ChatGPT Classic.
Additional information
- Windows 11
- Desktop app version: 26.707.3748.0
- ChatGPT Plus subscription
The same account works normally on chatgpt.com.
Logging out and back in did not resolve the issue.
Restarting the app did not resolve the issue.
Reinstalling the application did not change the behavior.
4 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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The app has now been updated and the old Chat interface is now mostly intact, but this Ctrl+N only opens work mode is still there any is a huge regression comparing to what the Classic app can do. I second this request and have it fixed.
The new experience aggressively tries to punt you to work mode too, and then when you hit usage everything grinds to a complete halt because the normal chats lost features, namely the ability to have project folders without connecting to codex.
The user experience is terrible for non-technical users and they end up just burning through their usage because they dont even realize theyve switched to a usage-metered chat/task.
same issue, want to have user to set the default mode for new chat.