Codex VS Code extension stuck on logo / blank grey webview with overlapping app-servers after extension update (Linux)

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

Updated extension: 26.715.31925

What subscription do you have?

Superman ProMax

What platform is your computer?

openSUSE Leap 15.6, Linux x86_64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex VS Code extension stuck on logo / blank grey webview with overlapping app-servers after extension update (Linux)

Environment

• Reporter: METIS INTELLIGENCE
• Date observed: 2026-07-18 (Europe/Athens)
• OS: openSUSE Leap 15.6, Linux x86_64
• VS Code: 1.129.1 (8a7abeba6e03ea3af87bfbce9a1b7e48fed567b8)
• Extension: openai.chatgpt
• Updated extension: 26.715.31925
• Previous extension: 26.5715.31925
• Bundled Codex CLI in the updated extension: 0.145.0-alpha.18
• Authentication: ChatGPT login

Issue

After the Codex VS Code extension updated, its sidebar remained indefinitely on the Codex logo. After reinstalling or rolling back the extension, the sidebar became a blank grey webview.

The extension host log showed activation and app-server initialization without a fatal error:

Activating Codex extension
[CodexMcpConnection] Spawning codex app-server
[CodexMcpConnection] Initialize received id=1

Authentication was valid (codex login status reported Logged in using ChatGPT). Despite successful backend initialization, the webview never reached its usable UI.

Host process inspection revealed two Codex app-servers running simultaneously from different extension versions:

.../openai.chatgpt-26.715.31925-linux-x64/bin/linux-x86_64/codex ... app-server
.../openai.chatgpt-26.5715.31925/bin/linux-x86_64/codex ... app-server

This occurred because VS Code windows and extension hosts from the earlier version remained alive while another window loaded the replacement version.

Recovery that worked

1. Terminated the complete native VS Code process tree, which stopped both Codex app-servers.
2. Preserved and removed these active VS Code renderer caches so VS Code would rebuild them:

• Cache
• Code Cache
• GPUCache
• Service Worker
• WebStorage

1. Installed and pinned the locally cached previous extension build, 26.5715.31925.
2. Started one clean native VS Code window.

The Codex sidebar then loaded normally. Login state, conversations, settings, and projects did not need to be reset.

Expected behavior

• Updating or replacing the extension should stop app-server processes owned by superseded extension hosts.
• The new extension version should not coexist with an app-server launched from an older extension directory.
• Stale service-worker/webview state should be invalidated or detected after an extension update.
• If the frontend cannot complete startup, the sidebar should show a diagnostic/recovery action instead of remaining on the logo or a blank grey panel.

Related reports

• #8197: grey/blank extension panel
• #15975: extension stuck on the loading/logo screen after an update
• #24601: blank sidebar after an extension update; rollback fixes it

Reported by METIS INTELLIGENCE.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

The Codex sidebar then loaded normally. Login state, conversations, settings, and projects did not need to be reset.

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_