[Windows][26.721.3404.0] App freezes on startup while restoring SSH remote threads
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.721.3404.0, installed through the Microsoft Store.
What subscription do you have?
Pro Lite
What platform is your computer?
Windows 11 x64
What issue are you seeing?
### Problem
This regression began immediately after the Microsoft Store updated Codex to the unified ChatGPT/Codex app build 26.721.3404.0.
Codex is configured to automatically connect to SSH hosts at startup. Auto-connect is required for my workflow and must remain enabled.
The SSH connection starts successfully, but the Windows app freezes while restoring/loading previous remote threads. The window becomes completely
unresponsive and Windows may show “Not Responding.”
This is not an SSH authentication or connectivity failure. The problem occurs after connection, during remote thread/session restoration.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Steps to reproduce
- Configure Codex Desktop with an SSH remote workspace.
- Leave previous Codex threads associated with that remote host.
- Enable or retain automatic SSH reconnection on startup.
- Close Codex completely.
- Launch Codex.
- Codex automatically connects to the SSH host.
- While loading the previous remote thread, the entire UI freezes.
### Actual behavior
- The application initially opens.
- Automatic SSH connection begins.
- Codex starts restoring previous remote threads.
- The main window then becomes permanently unresponsive.
- Killing and reopening the complete process tree does not resolve it.
- Restarting Windows does not resolve it.
- Repairing/reinstalling the Store app does not resolve it.
- The issue returns because startup restores the same SSH workflow.
During inspection, one renderer process consumed approximately one full CPU core continuously. The affected renderer did not respond to a basic DevTools
Protocol Runtime.evaluate request, suggesting a synchronous renderer/UI loop rather than ordinary SSH network latency.
What is the expected behavior?
Expected behavior
Codex should automatically connect to the configured SSH host and restore remote threads without blocking the Windows renderer.
Remote history should load asynchronously, and the interface should remain responsive even if a thread takes a long time to restore.
### Regression information
- Last known working Store version: 26.715.10079.0
- Broken Store version: 26.721.3404.0
- Regression appeared immediately after the Microsoft Store update.
- Rolling back through the Store is not available because the previous package is no longer retained.
### Related current report
This may be related to #33524, which reports unified Windows app freezes during thread/resume, but this case specifically reproduces during automatic
SSH connection and remote-thread restoration on the newer 26.721.3404.0 build:
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/33524
Additional information
Additional notes
Please do not treat disabling SSH auto-connect as the final resolution. Automatic remote reconnection is an essential supported workflow. A safe-mode or
“skip restoring the last thread” startup option could be useful as a temporary recovery mechanism.