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Codex Issues / #38219

[Regression][Remote] VS Code and iOS threads no longer sync bidirectionally after VS Code restart

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Aug 12, 2026 by tipicoUEFN
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Remote no longer keeps the same thread/history visible between VS Code on the PC and the ChatGPT mobile app on iPhone.

This previously worked: I could start a Codex chat on the PC, open the same chat on mobile, see live progress, and continue the same conversation from either device.

Now the state appears split between devices:

  • If I start a Codex task/chat in VS Code on the PC, I cannot see its current progress / messages correctly on mobile.
  • If I start a Codex Remote chat on mobile, it is not visible/resumable in VS Code on the PC after restarting VS Code.
  • On mobile, opening the affected remote chat can fail with the German error:
Fehler beim Laden der Nachrichten: Der Codex-Server hat einen Fehler zurückgegeben.

(English: “Error loading messages: The Codex server returned an error.”)

This looks like a regression in Remote thread/session indexing or reattachment across clients rather than the intended cross-device Remote behavior.

Environment

  • Desktop client: VS Code with Codex / ChatGPT extension
  • Mobile client: ChatGPT iOS app
  • iOS: 26.6
  • ChatGPT iOS app build observed: 30960470514
  • Exact VS Code extension version: not captured yet
  • Desktop OS/build: not captured yet
  • Date reproduced: 2026-08-12

Steps to reproduce

PC → mobile
  1. Open a project in VS Code and start a Codex task/chat.
  2. Let the task continue running / producing progress.
  3. Open ChatGPT on iPhone and go to Codex Remote for the same PC/project.
  4. Open the corresponding chat.
  5. The current task/progress is not reliably visible; in at least one case the mobile app shows Fehler beim Laden der Nachrichten: Der Codex-Server hat einen Fehler zurückgegeben.
Mobile → PC
  1. Start a Codex Remote chat/task from the ChatGPT iOS app against the connected PC.
  2. Confirm it is usable on mobile.
  3. Restart VS Code on the PC.
  4. Open the Codex/ChatGPT extension.
  5. The mobile-started thread is not visible/resumable there as the same conversation.

Expected behavior

Remote should keep one coherent thread/session across VS Code and the ChatGPT mobile app:

  • a task started on PC should be visible on mobile with its live/current state;
  • a task started on mobile should remain visible/resumable in VS Code after restarting VS Code;
  • both clients should attach to the same thread/history rather than showing different conversation state;
  • restarting VS Code should not break the cross-device association.

Regression

The same workflow worked previously: the same chat could be used from both mobile and PC and progress was visible across devices. The problem is therefore a regression rather than a request for new functionality.

Related issues

This appears related to prior Remote thread visibility/indexing problems such as #23351, but that issue was closed as completed. It may also overlap with cross-client session divergence reported in #31114. The current symptom is specifically a bidirectional visibility/resume regression involving VS Code + iOS and VS Code restart.

Additional information

A screenshot is available showing the mobile error message. I can provide the exact VS Code extension version, desktop OS/build, Remote host diagnostics, or feedback/session ID if maintainers need them.

View original on GitHub ↗

2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 15 days ago

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

  • #37659
  • #37967
  • #37868
  • #37403

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opringle · 9 days ago

Additional controlled version bisect: VS Code → iOS Remote

I can reproduce this exact workflow on the same Mac/account/history and have a
known-bad/known-good extension bisect.

Environment

  • macOS 26.5.2 (25F84), Apple Silicon
  • VS Code 1.133.0, arm64
  • ChatGPT desktop Remote host 26.814.41407 (build 6720)
  • iOS ChatGPT app freshly reinstalled on 2026-08-18 (exact iOS app build was not captured)
  • Confirmed failing VS Code extension: 26.810.50856, bundled codex-cli 0.148.0-alpha.9
  • Confirmed working VS Code extension: 26.727.40816, bundled codex-cli 0.146.0-alpha.9.2

Reproduction and controls

  1. Three VS Code windows each had a Codex app server running from extension

26.810.50856.

  1. iOS Remote could discover the Mac and list the thread metadata, so pairing

and transport were alive.

  1. Opening a thread owned by a running VS Code process failed before displaying

messages with Error loading messages: Codex server returned an error.

  1. A different stored thread that was not owned by an active VS Code process

opened successfully on the same phone.

  1. The Remote host logged iOS thread/resume failing with

thread-store conflict / already has an active writer.

  1. SQLite PRAGMA quick_check returned ok; reinstalling the iOS app made no

difference.

I then installed and pinned extension 26.727.40816, reloaded all VS Code
windows, and verified that their app servers were running from that extension
directory. The same previously failing thread immediately loaded on the phone.
No chat-history restore or migration was performed.

This appears to be the VS Code/iOS instance of the active-writer handoff
regression tracked more broadly in #37403, rather than corrupt history or an
iOS pairing problem.

For accuracy, 26.814.41407 was present on disk as a VS Code extension but was
never activated by the running VS Code windows during this A/B test, so I am
not classifying that extension version as locally good or bad.