Codex Desktop stops prematurely after context/task handoff instead of continuing work

Summary

Codex Desktop can stop prematurely after a context or task handoff, responding as though it is waiting for a new request instead of continuing the active one. The user must then send another message to make the agent resume work that was already in progress.

Environment

• Product: Codex Desktop app
• Date observed: 2026-07-15
• Frequency: Intermittent

Actual behavior

During a long-running, multi-step task, a context transition or task handoff occurred. After the transition, the assistant returned a generic readiness response and ended its turn even though the original request was still active and there was enough summarized context to continue.

The task resumed only after the user sent an additional message.

Expected behavior

After context compaction, handoff, or resume, Codex Desktop should continue the active task from the available context. If it cannot continue, it should identify a specific blocker. It should not behave as though it is starting a new conversation while unfinished work remains.

Steps to reproduce

1. Start a long-running, multi-step task in Codex Desktop.
2. Continue until a context compaction, task handoff, or resume occurs.
3. Observe whether the assistant continues the pending work or instead ends with a generic readiness prompt.

Impact

This makes long-running tasks unreliable and requires unnecessary supervision. Users may need to repeatedly re-prompt the agent to continue work it was already instructed to complete.