Codex desktop task disappeared after app update even though complete local session JSONL still exists

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

26.707.61608

What subscription do you have?

Business

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Summary

A completed Codex desktop task disappeared from the Codex app immediately after I updated the app. The task no longer appears in the project task list, search results, or archived tasks, but its complete local session transcript still exists under ~/.codex/sessions.

The session appears to have completed normally before the update. This looks like the app lost or failed to migrate the task’s local index entry rather than the underlying session being deleted.

Environment

• Platform: macOS
• Project directory: /Users/chris/Documents/Development/forge
• Session ID: 019f5731-da4e-7e83-8431-8e96c37423e4
• Session source: vscode
• Session thread source: user
• Session file:

~/.codex/sessions/2026/07/12/rollout-2026-07-12T11-38-32-019f5731-da4e-7e83-8431-8e96c37423e4.jsonl

• Codex app version before update: [unknown]
• Codex app version after update: [add current version]
• macOS version: [add version]

What happened

1. I started a task in the Codex desktop app in the forge project.
2. The task ran for approximately one hour and completed successfully.
3. I updated the Codex desktop app.
4. After reopening the app, the completed task was missing.
5. The task does not appear in:

• The project task list
• Global task search
• Archived tasks
• Other task filters or sorting modes

Expected behavior

Completed tasks should remain visible and accessible in the Codex app after an app update.

If a session transcript still exists locally, the app should be able to recognize, index, and open it.

Actual behavior

The task is completely absent from the Codex app, even though the full session transcript remains on disk.

The JSONL metadata identifies it as a normal user-created Codex desktop session:

{
  "id": "019f5731-da4e-7e83-8431-8e96c37423e4",
  "cwd": "/Users/chris/Documents/Development/forge",
  "source": "vscode"
}

The transcript includes the original user request, agent activity, final response, and task completion event.

The session began at approximately 11:38 AM CDT on July 12, 2026 and completed at approximately 12:41 PM CDT.

Recovery attempts

I tried the following without success:

• Opened the original forge project in the Codex app
• Searched for distinctive text from the prompt
• Checked archived tasks
• Changed task filters and sorting
• Attempted to open the task directly using:

codex://threads/019f5731-da4e-7e83-8431-8e96c37423e4

• Verified that the session JSONL is complete and readable
• Verified that related JSONL files are internal subagent or Guardian sessions, while this file is the main user thread

The direct thread link did not restore or display the task in the app.

Additional detail

Several related session files were created shortly after the main task began. Their metadata identifies them as subagents or Guardian review sessions. The missing session itself is clearly marked as the primary user thread, not a subagent.

This suggests that the transcript survived but the Codex desktop app lost the corresponding task-index or project-association record during the update.

Requested improvement

Please investigate why valid local sessions can disappear from the desktop app after an update.

It would also be useful to provide one or more of the following:

• Automatic reindexing of valid sessions under ~/.codex/sessions
• A “Rebuild task index” option
• A way to import or restore a specific session JSONL
• A clear diagnostic message when a session exists but its app index record is missing

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: no-active-thread-019f59c2-c411-7d60-b2fd-cf3e6a936d9e

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_