›_ Codex Issues
Codex Issues / #36454

iOS Remote Project List is not synchronized with Codex Desktop (Projects are not using Desktop as the source of truth)

Open 💬 4 comments Opened Aug 1, 2026 by yu-chern
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

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

1.2026.202

What subscription do you have?

plus

What platform is your computer?

_No response_

What issue are you seeing?

Summary

The Project List shown in the ChatGPT iOS app (Remote for Codex Desktop) is completely out of sync with the Project List in Codex Desktop.

The Desktop Project List should be the single source of truth, but the iOS app appears to be using stale or different metadata.

Environment

  • Codex Desktop (macOS)
  • ChatGPT iOS App
  • Remote connection via QR code

Steps to reproduce

  1. Pair the iPhone with Codex Desktop.
  2. Create a new Project in Codex Desktop.
  3. Rename an existing Project in Codex Desktop.
  4. Delete another Project in Codex Desktop.
  5. Revoke Remote access on Desktop.
  6. Pair the iPhone again using a newly generated QR code.
  7. (I even completely uninstalled and reinstalled the ChatGPT iOS app.)

Expected behavior

The iPhone should display exactly the same Project List as Codex Desktop.

Specifically:

  • Newly created Projects should appear.
  • Renamed Projects should immediately show the new name.
  • Deleted Projects should disappear.
  • Project order should match Desktop.

In other words, the Desktop Project List should be treated as the single source of truth.

Actual behavior

None of the above changes are synchronized.

The iPhone continues to display an old Project List:

  • Deleted Projects are still visible.
  • Renamed Projects still have their old names.
  • Newly created Projects do not appear at all.
  • Re-pairing the device does not refresh the Project List.
  • Completely uninstalling and reinstalling the ChatGPT iOS app does not refresh the Project List either.

This strongly suggests that the mobile app is reading stale project metadata rather than the current state from Codex Desktop.

Additional observations

This does not seem to be a local cache issue because:

  • Revoking Remote access and pairing again has no effect.
  • Reinstalling the ChatGPT app has no effect.
  • The stale Project List survives across new pairings.

It feels like the iOS Remote Project List is backed by a different data source than the Desktop Project List.

If this is intentional, it would be helpful to document how synchronization works.

If it is not intentional, this appears to be a synchronization bug.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Open Codex Desktop on macOS.
  2. Connect the ChatGPT iOS app to Codex Desktop using Remote (QR code).
  3. Create a new Project in Codex Desktop.
  4. Rename an existing Project in Codex Desktop.
  5. Delete another Project in Codex Desktop.
  6. Verify that the Desktop Project List reflects all of these changes correctly.
  7. On the ChatGPT iOS app, open the Remote Project List.
  8. Observe that:
  • The newly created Project does not appear.
  • The renamed Project still shows its old name.
  • The deleted Project is still listed.
  1. Revoke Remote access in Codex Desktop.
  2. Generate a new QR code and pair the iPhone again.
  3. Check the Project List on the iPhone again.
  4. The Project List is still stale and does not match the Desktop Project List.
  5. Completely uninstall and reinstall the ChatGPT iOS app.
  6. Sign in again and reconnect to Codex Desktop.
  7. The stale Project List still persists.

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_

View original on GitHub ↗

4 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 27 days ago

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

  • #36040

Powered by Codex Action

Safibulae · 25 days ago

Additional reproduction on current macOS and iOS clients:

  • ChatGPT desktop for macOS: 26.727.51351
  • ChatGPT iOS: 1.2026.202
  • Remote is connected and otherwise usable

In iOS Remote, two project rows render as raw g-p-* internal identifiers instead of their display names. Expanding either row shows the expected existing thread(s), so the thread-to-project association appears intact while project display-name resolution is missing or stale.

Both affected rows already contain visible threads. This is therefore distinct from only omitting inactive projects, as described in #36040. Other local-folder rows in the same Remote view render normal display names.

Expected: raw internal project identifiers should never appear in user-facing UI. Remote should resolve the current display name, or clearly document any intentional difference in its project metadata source.

No private names, paths, full identifiers, screenshots, host details, account/workspace details, or session identifiers are included in this report.

leo8190 · 12 days ago

Additional macOS/iOS reproduction (privacy-scrubbed):

  • Current host: ChatGPT desktop 26.810.41047 (build 6570), macOS 26.5.2, arm64.
  • On 2026-08-12, after updating the ChatGPT iOS app from the App Store, the same local project still had two different visible names: Desktop showed its saved custom project label, while iOS Remote showed the primary folder basename.
  • The shared chats and host context confirmed that both rows referred to the same project.
  • Refreshing/reconnecting Remote did not make the custom Desktop label appear on iOS.
  • I did not repeat a destructive rename test today because earlier project/folder renaming caused broken local mappings. The current host is in a masked state where Desktop labels equal folder basenames.

Expected: Remote should use the saved host project display label, or clearly expose both the project label and folder basename.

No project names, filesystem paths, host/device identifiers, account details, screenshots, session IDs, or logs are attached.

BananaMeow-del · 1 day ago

Additional Windows + iOS reproduction (privacy-scrubbed):

  • Host: ChatGPT/Codex Desktop on Windows.
  • Client: ChatGPT iOS Remote.
  • Same ChatGPT account and the same connected desktop host.
  • Desktop shows one current project with the relevant tasks correctly grouped, plus a separate Personal Project.
  • iOS Remote retains two stale project entries and splits tasks from the single current Desktop project across those stale entries.
  • A chat that belongs to the Personal Project on Desktop is also assigned to the wrong stale project on iOS.

This is therefore more than a project display-name mismatch or omission of inactive projects: the visible chat-to-project assignments themselves diverge between Desktop and iOS Remote.

Expected: the connected Desktop host should be the source of truth for project names, project membership, and chat grouping. iOS Remote should reconcile to the current Desktop project tree rather than retaining stale metadata.

Observed repeatedly on 2026-08-27. Exact app build numbers were not captured yet. A privacy-scrubbed side-by-side comparison screenshot is available.