codex throttles local inference engines to 8 bursts per hour on long multi-step requests

What version of Codex is running?

0.39.0

Which model were you using?

gpt-osss

What platform is your computer?

amd64 linux for cocex with aarch64 macos for ollama

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Create prompt that will induce multiple background inferrence requests.

Watch GPU only being scheduled up to 8 times per hour. Usually looks something like 1.0 minute of GPU at 100% then idle for 6.5 minutes - or until the next 1/8 hour slot arrives.

What is the expected behavior?

no idle time ( )

What do you see instead?

we see CPU increase - but no GPU activity unless it is on a 1/8 hour mark with 00:00 starting at the first inference/GPU request.

Additional information

It _feels_ like when I first start a session, this isn't happening for the first couple of prompts ( good steady GPU usage, one inference call after another ) and that somehow it loses track of the state it should be in ( as if codex is waiting, assuming the inference provider is busy - or codex doesn't know that the provider is ready to accept the next request ) based on some sort of feedback codex may be be expecting and has not received from the provider? Maybe some sort of exponential timeout backoff is related - perhaps before some sort of backoff limit or timeout is reached and codex ( not knowing it could have proceeded sooner) goes ahead with the next action in its ongoing plan?