Feature request: Local-only trusted-device transfer/sync for Work chats

What variant of Codex are you using?

ChatGPT/Codex desktop app on macOS and Windows, specifically local Work chats.

What feature would you like to see?

Summary

Please add an optional way to transfer or synchronize selected local Work chats directly between trusted desktop devices, without uploading or persistently storing the conversation on OpenAI's servers.

The goal is to preserve the privacy benefit of a machine-local Work chat while allowing a user to continue it on another computer.

Problem

Local Work chats can contain long-running workflows, decisions, files, and task context. Because they are tied to the machine where they were created, switching between a Mac and a Windows PC currently means choosing among poor alternatives:

• recreate the context manually;
• move the workflow into a cloud chat and give up its local-only storage model;
• use an unofficial export/import tool;
• or leave the source machine online and access it remotely.

Remote control is useful, but it is not equivalent to replication: the source machine must remain available, and the destination does not receive an independent local copy that can continue offline.

Proposed experience

Add a Share with trusted device action to the local chat menu.

It could offer two modes:

1. Send a copy — securely transfer a snapshot of the selected chat to another paired device.
2. Keep this chat synchronized — optionally replicate later updates whenever the paired devices can connect directly.

A conservative first version could support only one-time, same-LAN transfer. Ongoing sync could follow later.

Privacy and security requirements

• Opt-in per chat; disabled by default.
• Explicit device pairing and destination confirmation.
• End-to-end encryption with device identity verification, such as a QR code or short fingerprint.
• Direct LAN/peer-to-peer transfer of conversation content.
• No transcript or attachment content stored or relayed through OpenAI's cloud.
• Clear paired-device management and immediate revocation.
• A visible origin and last-sync status on transferred chats.
• The source device may be turned off after transfer; the destination copy remains usable locally.
• Project paths, repositories, credentials, tool approvals, and other machine-specific state must not be copied implicitly.

If the devices are not directly reachable, the transfer can simply wait until they are on the same network. An internet relay could be considered separately, but it should not be required for this local-only mode.

Suggested MVP

1. Pair two desktop devices on the same LAN.
2. Choose one local Work chat and select Send a copy.
3. Review what will be transferred: conversation history, session/project metadata, and optional user-selected attachments.
4. Confirm the import on the destination.
5. Store the imported chat in the destination's local chat database using collision-safe identifiers.
6. Preserve or explicitly remap device-specific project paths rather than assuming identical paths.
7. Continue the chat locally on the destination after the source goes offline.

A supported encrypted export/import bundle would also be a useful interim step, but direct trusted-device transfer would provide the intended experience.

How this differs from related requests

• #21803 and #32350 primarily request account-level/cloud synchronization.
• #19681 requests remote access from an iPhone to a Mac-hosted Codex session.
• #34804 focuses on remote workspace continuity while execution remains on the source host.
• #26640 is a remote-control UI bug; remote access still depends on the source machine.
• #4825 requested sharing chat history across PCs, but it was closed for inactivity and did not define a selective, encrypted, no-cloud device-to-device model.

This request is specifically for replicating selected local chats between trusted desktop devices while keeping the transcript local to those devices.

Additional information

This would make local Work chats substantially more practical for people who alternate between a desktop and laptop, use both macOS and Windows, or need privacy-sensitive workflows to remain outside cloud conversation storage.

There is already an unofficial local export/import workaround discussed in #21803, which suggests a supported portability path would be useful. A native implementation could provide safer schema migration, attachment handling, path remapping, conflict prevention, and device authentication than users manually copying internal session files.