Windows Desktop: clicking a running task can make the entire sidebar non-interactive

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

Windows Store package OpenAI.Codex 26.707.8168.0.

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro.

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro x64, version 10.0.26200 (build 26200).

What issue are you seeing?

A brief click on a task row in the left sidebar while that task was running or transitioning to completion caused the row to become dimmed and the entire left sidebar to stop accepting navigation clicks.

The rest of the application remained responsive:

• the main task surface continued working;
• the File menu still opened;
• the backend thread continued, completed successfully, and became idle;
• all Codex processes remained responsive.

This was observed twice on the same installation. The precise pointer timing may be race-sensitive.

Read-only diagnostics indicate this was not saved-project corruption and not the oversized thread-metadata problem reported in #32371:

• saved-project state validation passed (shape, saved roots, project order, pinned tasks, and desired state);
• state_5.sqlite contained 119 thread rows;
• maximum title length was 3,880 characters and maximum preview length was 4,544;
• zero rows had title or preview longer than 5,000 characters;
• the affected row had an 8-character title and 8-character preview;
• after the turn completed, the dimmed task remained visually present but was absent from the accessibility tree;
• neighboring task and project entries remained visible, but clicks on them produced no navigation or collapse;
• menu interaction outside the sidebar still worked.

This looks like the sidebar interaction/hit-testing layer becoming detached while application and backend state remain healthy.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. On Codex Desktop for Windows, start a task that runs long enough to show an active state in the sidebar.
2. While the task is running or completing, briefly click the task row in the left sidebar.
3. Observe that the task row may become dimmed.
4. Click another task or project in the sidebar.
5. Observe that sidebar navigation no longer responds.
6. Let the original task finish.
7. Observe that backend completion does not restore sidebar interaction.

The trigger is intermittent and may depend on clicking during a running-to-completed UI transition.

What is the expected behavior?

• Clicking a running task should safely select it or do nothing explicit.
• Only the active row may show a busy/disabled state; other tasks and projects must remain clickable.
• When the task completes, its row must remain in the accessibility tree and return to its normal interactive state.
• Sidebar interaction should remain synchronized with backend thread state.

What is the actual behavior?

• The clicked task becomes dimmed.
• The sidebar stops responding to task and project clicks.
• The affected row can disappear from the accessibility tree while still being rendered.
• Main-view, menu, process, and backend state remain healthy.
• Task completion does not recover the sidebar.

Impact

The user cannot switch projects or tasks and may reasonably suspect that project state or chat data was damaged, even though the backend completed normally. Recovery interrupts active work.

Workaround

Wait for active tasks to finish, then perform a clean application restart. A restart restored sidebar interaction after an earlier occurrence, but it is disruptive and should not be required.

Related but not exact reports

• #17322 reports a Windows sidebar hit-testing problem limited to “New Chat”.
• #32371 reports a progressive sidebar freeze caused by oversized title/preview metadata; that condition was not present here.
• #24287 reports UI/backend active-turn desynchronization on macOS.

No private task text, local paths, account details, screenshots, or database contents are included.