Existing project grouping disappears after app update and re-login; old threads become projectless

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

Version 26.730.61639

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.19045.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Rebuild/recover project assignments after global state corruption

Codex failed to parse both the primary and backup global-state JSON files because they contained NUL bytes, then initialized and migrated an empty state without rebuilding project metadata from the surviving thread database.

After updating the Codex app on Windows and subsequently signing out and back in with the same ChatGPT account, all of my existing Codex threads remain accessible, but their previous local project/workspace organization has disappeared.

The Projects section is empty, while all old threads are displayed together under “Recent.” Selecting “Organize sidebar → By project” does not restore the previous grouping.

I also tried creating a new local project and attaching the exact same folder that was previously associated with those threads. However, the project still shows “No chats” and “0 tasks,” and none of the old threads are reassociated with it.

No error message is displayed. The thread history itself does not appear to be deleted; only the project associations and sidebar grouping are missing.

Additional evidence: When I hover over an old thread in the sidebar, the tooltip still displays the thread’s original project name. This indicates that the thread-level project or workspace metadata is still present. However, the Projects section remains empty, and selecting “Organize sidebar → By project” does not group the threads under those retained project names. This appears to be an inconsistency between the retained thread metadata and the project/sidebar index, rather than a complete loss of project association data.

no-active-thread-019fd526-b077-7503-9df3-48548620de62

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Use the Codex app on Windows with multiple existing threads organized under local projects or workspace folders.
Update the Codex app to the latest version.
Sign out of the app.
Sign back in using the same ChatGPT account.
Open the sidebar and select “Organize sidebar → By project.”
Observe that the Projects section is empty and all existing threads are listed together under “Recent.”
Create a new local project and attach one of the original folders previously used by those threads.
Open the newly created project.
Observe that it shows “No chats” and does not reassociate any of the existing threads

What is the expected behavior?

Existing project and workspace associations should be preserved across app updates and account re-authentication.

When the sidebar is organized by project, existing threads should continue to appear under their original local projects instead of becoming projectless chats.

If project metadata needs to be migrated or rebuilt after an update, the app should automatically restore the associations or provide a supported way to reassign existing threads without losing their organization.

<img width="255" height="88" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/947f2000-7b0a-427f-a484-16d2e8ab8c94" />

Additional information

The old threads are still accessible, so this does not appear to be conversation data loss.
The original local folders still exist and remain accessible.
Recreating a project with the same local folder path does not restore the previous thread associations.
I have not manually modified the Codex database, session files, or global state files.
Screenshots showing the empty Projects section, the flat Recent list, the sidebar organization setting, and a newly created project showing “No chats” are attached.

A screenshot is attached showing an old thread whose tooltip still displays its original project name, even though that project does not appear in the Projects section.

This appears closely related to:
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/19873
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/34076