Chrome side panel: allow selecting a local Codex project for new chats
What variant of Codex are you using?
ChatGPT Chrome extension: 1.2.27203.26575, Codex Desktop bundle: 26.707.51957
What feature would you like to see?
What variant of Codex are you using?
ChatGPT Chrome extension side panel connected to Codex Desktop on macOS.
Observed versions:
- ChatGPT Chrome extension: 1.2.27203.26575
- Codex Desktop bundle: 26.707.51957
What feature would you like to see?
The ChatGPT Chrome side panel should allow users to select an existing local Codex project or workspace when starting a new chat.
Currently, a chat started from the Chrome side panel is assigned a generated projectless workspace under a path such as ~/Documents/Codex/<date>/<thread-slug>.
The extension does not provide a project selector, folder picker, or another visible way to associate the conversation with an existing local repository.
I verified that a Chrome-side-panel session can already read and modify an existing local Git repository when its absolute path is supplied in the prompt. The missing piece therefore appears to be a supported project-selection and session-initialization flow, rather than underlying filesystem capability.
Proposed experience
When starting a new chat from the Chrome side panel, provide a workspace control that can:
- List trusted projects registered with Codex Desktop.
- Offer a “Choose folder” action.
- Display the selected project name or path before the first prompt.
- Start the thread with that project as its working directory and writable workspace.
- Apply the normal Codex trust, sandbox, and filesystem-permission checks.
- Optionally remember recently used projects.
The generated projectless workspace can remain the default when no project is selected.
Motivation
The Chrome extension is especially useful when browser context and local code are part of the same task, including:
- Implementing something described in online documentation.
- Fixing code while following a browser-based tutorial.
- Translating a GitHub issue into changes in a local checkout.
- Comparing a deployed application with its local source.
- Using an authenticated website while modifying the corresponding repository.
Without a project selector, users must know and repeatedly provide the repository’s absolute path. The thread also continues to appear projectless even while the agent is operating on a real repository, making the active workspace unclear.
Related issues
This is related to, but distinct from:
- #24222 — Clarify new-thread context and support moving threads between General and Projects
- #22875 — Allow configuring the default directory for projectless thread workspaces
- #28977 — Show the current project, cwd, and Git branch in the thread UI
- #24734 — Make the default working directory for non-project conversations configurable
Those issues concern Codex Desktop project selection, workspace visibility, or generated projectless directories. This request specifically concerns selecting an existing local project from the ChatGPT Chrome side panel.
Additional information
_No response_
2 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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+1. I’m seeing the same problem. I’d like to emphasize that this is not only about where the chat is organized or displayed.
A thread created from the Chrome side panel is initialized as a generated projectless workspace. As a result, it can start without the selected project’s:
Providing an absolute repository path in a later prompt only partially compensates for this. Moving or reclassifying the thread afterward also cannot retroactively restore the context that was missing when the first prompt was interpreted.
Expected behavior: before the first prompt, the side panel should allow selecting an existing Codex project (or explicitly choosing a temporary/projectless chat), visibly show that choice, and initialize the thread exactly as if it had been created inside that project in Codex Desktop.