iOS remote access deletes [sandbox_workspace_write].network_access from the host config.toml

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

Version 26.721.41059

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

macOS 27.0 (Build 26A5388g), Apple Silicon (arm64); uname -mprs: Darwin 27.0.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Opening a connected Mac Codex host from ChatGPT on iOS silently rewrites the host's ~/.codex/config.toml and removes this explicit user setting:

[sandbox_workspace_write]
network_access = true

This is not limited to a single remote thread. After the iOS remote session applies its default sandbox policy, the setting is physically removed from the machine-wide config file. The macOS Codex App then shows Allow network access as disabled, and later desktop threads inherit network-disabled behavior.

Other unrelated custom settings in config.toml remain intact. I did not manually edit the file between enabling network access and opening Codex remotely from iOS, and I reproduced the deletion again intentionally.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. On the macOS Codex App, open Settings → Configuration.
2. Use the workspace-write sandbox and enable Allow network access.
3. Confirm that the host config contains:

``toml
[sandbox_workspace_write]
network_access = true
``

1. Open an existing macOS Codex task and verify its next turn_context has sandbox_policy.network_access: true.
2. Leave the macOS Codex App and task running.
3. In the ChatGPT iOS app, open Codex, connect to that Mac host, open the same task, and send any message. Do not change permissions or configuration manually.
4. Return to the Mac immediately and inspect Settings → Configuration and ~/.codex/config.toml.

Actual result: the remote turn is rehydrated with workspace-write and network access disabled. The explicit [sandbox_workspace_write].network_access = true setting is removed from the machine-wide config, and the desktop App shows Allow network access turned off.

I restored the setting and reproduced this sequence intentionally.

What is the expected behavior?

Mobile/remote permission choices should be scoped to the remote turn or thread and must not rewrite the connected host's machine-wide user configuration.

If the iOS client chooses a restricted default sandbox with network access disabled, it should apply that policy only to the remote session. It must preserve an explicit existing [sandbox_workspace_write].network_access = true value in ~/.codex/config.toml.

Additional information

Controlled reproduction — 2026-07-27 (KST)

This was reproduced on the same existing task. No agent shell/tool command modified config.toml during the transition.

Immediately before opening the task from ChatGPT iOS:

03:57:47.555  turn_context
                sandbox_policy.network_access: true
                permission_profile.network: enabled

After opening the same task from ChatGPT iOS and sending a message:

03:58:57.900  config/read response
03:58:57.994  thread_settings_applied
                permission_profile.network: restricted
03:58:58.033  turn_context
                sandbox_policy.network_access: false
                permission_profile.network: restricted

Immediately after this transition, the macOS App showed Allow network access disabled and the explicit network_access = true setting was absent from ~/.codex/config.toml.

After re-enabling network access locally:

03:59:16      config.toml recreated with network_access = true
03:59:55.970  thread_settings_applied
                permission_profile.network: enabled
03:59:56.019  turn_context
                sandbox_policy.network_access: true
                permission_profile.network: enabled

There was no config/batchWrite or config/value/write entry in the desktop log during the downgrade window, so the persistent config mutation is silent in the normal config-write API log.

Bundled Codex CLI: 0.146.0-alpha.3.1

Related issues

• #30485 — mobile remote continuation downgrades desktop session permissions
• #24270 — iOS remote starts with workspace-write / network_access:false
• #32763 — Codex Desktop silently rewrites machine-wide config settings

This report is distinct because the mobile action deletes an explicit setting from the host's persistent, machine-wide config.toml, affecting later desktop sessions as well.