Desktop app becomes permanently unusable after opening a local folder in Projects

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

OpenAI.Codex 26.721.3404.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 x64

What issue are you seeing?

After a completely clean installation, the ChatGPT desktop app works normally.

However, when I go to Projects from the left sidebar and try to open/select a local folder, the app immediately displays the "Something went wrong" screen.

After that, every subsequent launch of the app also shows the same error. The app only works again after completely removing all local application data and reinstalling.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Steps to reproduce

1. Completely uninstall the ChatGPT desktop app.
2. Delete all local application data and cache.
3. Reinstall the app from the Microsoft Store.
4. Launch the app and sign in.
5. Verify that ChatGPT works normally.
6. Open Projects from the left sidebar.
7. Choose to open/select a local folder.
8. The app immediately displays "Something went wrong".
9. Restarting the app does not recover. The error persists until all local application data is deleted.

What is the expected behavior?

Expected behavior

Opening a local folder in Projects should succeed or display an appropriate error message without corrupting the application's state.

Actual behavior

Opening a local folder causes the application to enter a permanent "Something went wrong" state. The issue persists across restarts until all local application data is manually removed.

Additional information

Additional information

• Windows 11 x64
• OpenAI.Codex 26.721.3404.0
• Browser version of ChatGPT works normally.
• The problem started immediately after updating to the latest desktop app version.
• The issue is consistently reproducible on my machine.