/agent no longer allows agent thread switching

What version of Codex CLI is running?

0.144.4

What subscription do you have?

Pro

Which model were you using?

gpt-5.6-sol

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 24.6.0 arm64 arm | Linux 6.17.0-35-generic x86_64 x86_64

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

tmux + Ghostty

Codex doctor report

What issue are you seeing?

Description

In Codex CLI 0.144.4, /agent does not open the agent-thread picker while one or more background agents are actively running.

Instead, it prints/displays the current agent status and returns to the main conversation. This prevents selecting and inspecting an individual agent thread at the point
when thread switching is most useful.

When no background agent is active, /agent opens the thread picker and behaves as expected.

### Environment

• Codex CLI: 0.144.4
• Reproduced on:
• macOS
• Linux
• Multi-agent support enabled

### Steps to reproduce

1. Start an interactive Codex CLI session.
2. Ask Codex to spawn one or more background agents.
3. While at least one background agent is still running, enter /agent.
4. Observe that Codex displays agent status but does not open the thread picker.
5. Repeat /agent when no background agent is actively running.
6. Observe that the thread picker opens normally.

### Expected behavior

/agent should always open the agent-thread picker, including while background agents are running, so the user can switch between the main thread and individual agent
threads.

Agent status could still be shown inside or alongside the picker, but it should not replace thread selection.

### Actual behavior

While background agents are active, /agent shows their status and exits without opening the thread picker.

### Additional notes

The behavior is consistent on both macOS and Linux. The command works normally when no background agent is active, so it appears specifically tied to the active-
background-agent state.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Uploaded thread: 019f6941-b45e-7001-aac6-10e327f838c6

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_