Windows: local conversation archive fails with os error 2 after resume
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
Codex Desktop release 26.814.41407 (updated 2026-08-18; release observed in desktop log)
What subscription do you have?
ChatGPT Plus (currently using credits)
What platform is your computer?
Windows 10 Home 22H2, OS build 19045.7663, x64
What issue are you seeing?
Summary
After the 2026-08-18 update, Codex Desktop on Windows cannot archive local conversations. Older and current local project threads are visible and readable, but Archive fails and the thread remains active.
Error
failed to archive session: thread-store internal error:
failed to archive thread:
The system cannot find the file specified. (os error 2)
The desktop log reports method=thread/archive with error code -32603.
The referenced rollout JSONL file exists on disk, and the local archived_sessions directory also exists. No session files, database rows, or logs were modified during diagnosis.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Start Codex Desktop on Windows.
- Open or resume an existing local project conversation.
- Use the conversation menu and choose Archive.
- The app reports the archive failure shown above; the thread stays visible and unarchived.
- Restart Codex Desktop and retry. The same error occurs for several older and current local threads.
What is the expected behavior?
The conversation should be marked as archived, its rollout file should be moved to the local archived-session store, and it should disappear from the active thread list.
Additional information
This appears to match open Windows reports:
- https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/39239
- https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/39209
- https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/39150
- https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/39130
Those reports describe a likely duplicate-path handling issue: one rollout file may be represented both as a normal Windows path and as an extended-length path after resume. The archive operation may queue the same physical file twice; the second move then fails with os error 2, and the first move is rolled back.
Could you confirm whether a fix is planned and provide a safe way to archive existing affected local conversations without manual database edits?
2 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
Powered by Codex Action
For the Windows archive error, please test whether the existing rollout can still be discovered and copied without changing the vendor archive state.
Thanks for the detailed report. This is a good candidate for a bounded recovery check. Vetto 0.2.0-alpha.2 is available from npm and adds a read-only, copy-only Codex rescue adapter. It does not resume Codex, edit rollout files, or write vendor SQLite. On a disposable copy, try:
npm install --global @shleddy/vetto@next;vetto rescue --adapter codex --root <CODEX_HOME> --json scan; then use the exact returned key withdiagnoseandsnapshot ... --output ./vetto-recovery/session.jsonl. Please report OS, Codex/Vetto versions, sanitized JSON, and source SHA-256 before/after; never upload raw transcripts, auth/config, prompts, or tokens. An explicit unavailable/unsupported result is useful too.