[Windows] Arrow keys cannot scroll the conversation
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
Unknown - latest available update installed on 2026-08-21
What subscription do you have?
Pro
What platform is your computer?
Windows 11 x64
What issue are you seeing?
The conversation content area does not respond to keyboard scrolling in the ChatGPT desktop app on Windows.
After clicking the conversation content or an empty area outside the message editor, the Up/Down arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, and Space key do not scroll the conversation. Scrolling works only with the mouse wheel or by dragging the scrollbar on the right.
The keyboard works normally on chatgpt.com in Google Chrome. I have already updated, restarted, and repaired the desktop app, but the issue still occurs.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Open the ChatGPT desktop app on Windows.
Open a conversation that is long enough to scroll.
Click the conversation content or an empty area outside the message editor.
Press the Up/Down arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, or Space.
The conversation does not scroll.
Scroll with the mouse wheel or drag the scrollbar on the right; scrolling works normally.
The same keyboard works correctly on chatgpt.com in Google Chrome.
What is the expected behavior?
After clicking or focusing the conversation content area, the Up/Down arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, and Space key should scroll the conversation, just as they do on chatgpt.com in Google Chrome.
Additional information
This issue only occurs in the ChatGPT Windows desktop app. Keyboard scrolling works normally on chatgpt.com in Google Chrome.
I have already updated, restarted, and repaired the desktop app, but the issue still occurs. Num Lock is turned off. I can currently scroll only with the mouse wheel or by dragging the scrollbar on the right.
3 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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Confirmed on Windows 10 x64 with the Microsoft Store package
OpenAI.Codex 26.818.3698.0, installed on 2026-08-21. The bundled CLI reportscodex-cli 0.149.0-alpha.4, and the desktop shell uses Chromium151.0.7922.170.This is specifically a regression in the conversation transcript/content area, not a composer-focus issue: after clicking an empty area between/around responses, keyboard scrolling no longer works.
ArrowUp,ArrowDown,PageUp,PageDown,Space, andShift+Spacedo not move the transcript. The same click-then-arrow workflow worked before the latest desktop update and is an important keyboard accessibility/navigation behavior.Resetting keyboard shortcuts and the usual focus/restart workarounds do not restore it.
For anyone affected while this issue remains open, I published an unofficial open-source Windows utility:
https://github.com/technatonuniv/CodexKeyboardScroll
It restores keyboard transcript scrolling and also provides configurable transcript/composer focus switching, automatic typing handoff to the composer, reading-mode controls, and hotkey recovery.
It has been tested on Windows 10, does not modify Codex files, and uses Windows UI Automation for composer focus with mouse-wheel input for scrolling. Because it uses a low-level keyboard hook and the executable is unsigned, the repository includes the full source, local build instructions, an MIT license, and a SHA-256 checksum for the release asset.
Latest release: https://github.com/technatonuniv/CodexKeyboardScroll/releases/latest
This is an independent community utility, not an official OpenAI fix.