›_ Codex Issues
Codex Issues / #36016

Codex VS Code Extension – Diff view fails to open

Resolved 💬 11 comments Opened Jul 29, 2026 by rplocinski Closed Aug 5, 2026
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

Codex VS Code Extension – Diff view fails to open

Extension

  • OpenAI Codex (openai.chatgpt)
  • Version: 26.721.41059

VS Code

  • Version: 1.131.0
  • macOS 15.5 (Darwin arm64 25.5.0)
  • Apple M4 Pro

Steps to reproduce

  1. Open a repository in VS Code.
  2. Use the Codex panel to modify files.
  3. Wait until Codex finishes and displays the list of changed files.
  4. Click any changed file (e.g. README.md) or click Review.

Expected behavior

The full Codex Diff view opens and displays the file diff.

Actual behavior

The Codex Diff tab opens but immediately shows:

An error occurred

or

Missing diff tool

The full diff cannot be displayed.

Additional observations

  • Hovering the mouse over a changed file shows the diff preview correctly.
  • The problem only affects the full Codex Diff / Review view.
  • Native VS Code diff works normally.
  • git, diff and opendiff are installed and available.
git:      /opt/homebrew/bin/git
diff:     /usr/bin/diff
opendiff: /usr/bin/opendiff

Browser/WebView console

The WebView console reports:

Thread context is unavailable for non-thread routes

Stack trace points to the React WebView used by the Diff page.

Notes

This appears to be a regression in the VS Code extension's Diff/Review view rather than an issue with Git, the repository, or the operating system. The diff preview works, but opening the full review page consistently fails.

View original on GitHub ↗

11 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 29 days ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • #35980
  • #35076
  • #35362
  • #35250
  • #35058

Powered by Codex Action

willxucn · 27 days ago

Confirmed on Windows as well.

  • Windows 11 x64 (10.0.28000)
  • VS Code 1.131.0
  • Codex extension openai.chatgpt 26.727.40816 (Win32 x64)

The full Codex Diff/Review view fails consistently, while VS Code itself, the workspace, and native diffs work normally. The extension log records:

method=fs/readDirectory ... The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3)
Failed to start visualization turn diff snapshot

Fully restarting VS Code and opening the actual Git repository directly (rather than its non-Git parent directory) did not help. This appears to be the same cross-platform Diff/Review regression.

etraut-openai contributor · 26 days ago

Thanks for reporting the issue. We have a fix in place, and it will be included in the next release.

kk-vv · 23 days ago

wen fix

im-ecorp · 23 days ago

I have the same issue

kk-vv · 23 days ago

Switch to Pre Release Version, it's ok now.

LYwhu2019 · 23 days ago

have the same issue

kk-vv · 23 days ago

🤔
Did you restart or reload window after install pre-release version.
The pre-release version 26.5730.61639 works fine to me and my friend.

kucmar · 22 days ago

Can confirm — same issue here, also 100% reproducible on every diff, every file, every project.

Last known working version: 26.715.61943
First broken version I hit: 26.721.30844 (still broken on 26.721.41059 and 26.727.40816)

Same error as reported: full Review/diff page crashes with "Oops, an error has occurred", while the inline diff preview in the chat/conversation still renders fine.

Console stack trace:

Error: Thread context is unavailable for non-thread routes
    at app-initial-OtKCH0aX.js:717:111172
    at app-initial-CFI0UBr6.js:285:103066
    at Object.read (app-initial-CFI0UBr6.js:285:82588)
    ...
Caused by: React ErrorBoundary Error: Thread context is unavailable for non-thread routes
    at R (editor-diff-page-CYrkK60A.js:1:1030)
    at L (editor-diff-page-CYrkK60A.js:1:643)
    ...

The error repeats through several nested ErrorBoundary wrappers, all originating from editor-diff-page-*.js, consistent with the routing/thread-context regression already described.

Already tried and ruled out (not the cause): reloading the window, signing out/in, testing in a completely empty workspace, Workspace Trust/Restricted Mode. Unrelated console noise also ruled out: Sentry quota-drop warnings and GitHub Copilot's managed_settings/mcp_registry 404s.

Current workaround: pinned to 26.715.61943 with auto-update disabled.

Given this breaks a core everyday workflow (reviewing Codex's edits), would be great to get a status update — is this actively being worked on?

rplocinski · 22 days ago

For version 26.5730.61639 is ok

etraut-openai contributor · 22 days ago

This is fixed in the prerelease version. It will be fixed in the next production release.