Codex Desktop: support adding notes to a selected Plan mode answer (CLI parity)

What feature would you like to see?

Please add an optional notes field to request_user_input questions in Codex Desktop so a user can select one of the provided Plan mode options and attach additional context before submitting it.

Codex CLI already supports this interaction: after selecting an option, the user can press Tab to open Add notes. Codex Desktop currently shows the fixed options plus a separate pencil/free-form response row, but it does not expose an equivalent selected option + optional note flow.

Suggested desktop behavior:

1. Select one of the provided options.
2. Press Tab or click an Add note action.
3. Enter an optional note while keeping the selected option.
4. Submit the selected option and note together.

Both keyboard and mouse interaction would be useful. The note should also remain associated with its question when navigating between multiple questions.

Why is this useful?

The existing free-form/“Other” escape hatch is helpful, but it is not equivalent to attaching a note to a valid option. Often the recommended option is correct and the user only needs to add a constraint, exception, or small clarification. Re-entering the option and context as one custom response is slower and can make the structured answer less clear.

This would also bring the desktop question UI closer to the CLI experience.

Expected behavior

A user can select an option, add a note such as “Use option 1, but keep the existing API backward-compatible,” and submit both as one answer.

Current behavior

The desktop dialog provides fixed choices and a separate pencil/free-form response, but no visible way to retain a selected choice and attach a separate note.

Related work

• #10025 added Tab to add notes and improved “Other/None” handling in the CLI/TUI.
• #10210 made the isOther escape hatch available for Plan mode questions.
• #9990 requested optional notes for the final “Implement this Plan” prompt; this request is specifically about parity for Codex Desktop request_user_input question dialogs.

Environment

• Codex Desktop / ChatGPT desktop app
• macOS
• Observed on August 7, 2026