Codex Desktop placed a persistent project in a managed workspace that was later reset

Summary

During a Codex Desktop task, the agent created a substantial local application inside a managed .codex/.chatgpt-projects/... workspace instead of a user-owned persistent folder. When the user questioned the location, the agent incorrectly stated that the folder was not temporary. The managed workspace was later reset and the application directory disappeared.

Impact

• A completed TypeScript application (47 passing tests and a successful production build) appeared to be lost.
• Recovery required reconstructing files from Codex session logs, regenerating the local database, rerunning imports, tests, and the build.
• This consumed significant user time and additional model tokens.
• The user had reasonably expected project deliverables to be stored in a normal persistent Documents folder, as in prior tasks.

Expected behavior

For a user-requested standalone local application, Codex Desktop should either:

1. create it in a clearly persistent, user-owned project folder; or
2. explicitly warn that the selected managed workspace may be reset and ask where the durable deliverable should be saved.

The agent should not describe a managed workspace as non-temporary without verifying its lifecycle.

Actual behavior

The project was created under the Codex-managed ChatGPT project mirror. After a reset, the application directory was gone. The original source spreadsheets were unaffected. The application was eventually recovered into a Documents folder and committed locally.

Suggested safeguards

• Visibly distinguish managed/ephemeral workspace roots from durable user folders.
• Warn before placing a requested standalone deliverable under .codex/.chatgpt-projects.
• Add a durable export/move checkpoint before resetting a managed workspace.
• Prevent the agent from claiming persistence without checking the workspace type.

Diagnostic reference

Codex session ID: 019fced2-0709-7ff2-9545-ee4c01e5d36f

Environment: Codex Desktop on macOS, 2026-08-05.

No API credentials, product catalog contents, or personal filesystem paths are included in this report.