›_ Codex Issues
Codex Issues / #39748

Codex App [bug]: Quick Chat shortcut opens a full new chat when sidebar is hidden

Open 💬 0 comments Opened Aug 20, 2026 by jordanschwartz-js

What version of the Codex App are you using?

Codex Desktop 26.818.21641 on macOS arm64.

What issue are you seeing?

The documented Quick Chat shortcut (Cmd + Option + N) behaves differently depending on whether the left sidebar is visible.

  • With the sidebar visible, Cmd + Option + N correctly opens Quick Chat in the small popup/overlay.
  • With the sidebar hidden, the same shortcut opens a new full chat in the main window, replacing the currently visible chat instead of opening Quick Chat.

This makes the shortcut state-dependent and interrupts the current workflow when the sidebar is collapsed.

The current shortcut reference documents these as separate commands:

  • Quick chat: Cmd + Option + N
  • New chat: Cmd + N or Cmd + Shift + O

Reference: https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/reference/commands

Steps to reproduce

  1. Open Codex on macOS and open an existing chat.
  2. Leave the left sidebar visible.
  3. Press Cmd + Option + N.
  4. Observe that Quick Chat opens in the small popup/overlay as expected.
  5. Close Quick Chat.
  6. Hide the left sidebar (Cmd + B).
  7. Press Cmd + Option + N again.
  8. Observe that Codex navigates the main window to a new full chat instead of opening Quick Chat.

Expected behavior

Cmd + Option + N should always invoke Quick Chat regardless of sidebar visibility. Hiding the sidebar should not change the semantic meaning of the shortcut or replace/navigate away from the current chat.

Actual behavior

Sidebar visible:

Cmd + Option + N → Quick Chat popup ✅

Sidebar hidden:

Cmd + Option + N → new full chat in main window ❌

Why this matters

Quick Chat is useful for asking a lightweight or tangential question without leaving or disturbing the current Codex thread. When the sidebar is hidden, the current behavior turns that lightweight action into a navigation/context switch.

Related issues

  • #33731 — Quick Chat/sidebar entry regression on macOS
  • #34098 — Quick Chat/sidebar entry regression on Windows
  • #33977 — sidebar keyboard handling interfering with Quick Chat on macOS

I could not find an existing issue for this exact sidebar-hidden shortcut routing behavior.

View original on GitHub ↗