Add "Delete" option to Task context menu

You can use https://github.com/milisp/codexia to delete them.

Very strange that this is not a basic feature by default, I'd rather have delete than archive.
Linking the discussion, quite a lot of people requested this https://github.com/openai/codex/discussions/1442

Surely this is a breach of GDPR?

what was the thought process with no delete?

Still nothing?

bro, just let me delete this chat before i go

If you're concerned about clutter in the UI, you can use the existing "Archive" command.

Surely this is a breach of GDPR?

All session data is stored locally in the ~/.codex/sessions directory. You can delete them manually if you want. Totally under your control.

Still though, the things are still there and I can still see my message history even after deleting the file (For some reason)

Did you restart the extension after deleting the file?

Yeah, I noticed it only after I restarted for the update. Still, makes no sense that we can’t just delete it from the Ui but we can just do it by deleting the file. Why not making our lives easier?

If you're concerned about clutter in the UI, you can use the existing "Archive" command. > Surely this is a breach of GDPR? All session data is stored locally in the ~/.codex/sessions directory. You can delete them manually if you want. Totally under your control.

I'm very confused- if you can manually delete it, why not also make it a built-in option in the app to make it easier for users? It's a very simple action that's expected to be in the UI and not something you're supposed to be doing manually, and I'm pretty sure it's just a few lines of code to add that option in the UI to the context menu since it's really just deleting a file
I'm sure everyone using Codex would appreciate if you could add this simple feature

I'm very confused- if you can manually delete it, why not also make it a built-in option in the app to make it easier for users? It's a very simple action that's expected to be in the UI and not something you're supposed to be doing manually, and I'm pretty sure it's just a few lines of code to add that option in the UI to the context menu since it's really just deleting a file I'm sure everyone using Codex would appreciate if you could add this simple feature

Why not develop an action in your project that allows you to delete them? I just ran this prompt in my project and it produced quite a nice little script that I add to my project's specific actions.

``Generate a user interface in the style of Codex CLI as a bash script that I can use to select the different threads in a project's session folder in Codex and delete it. Be sure to retrieve the name of the thread like it appears in Codex or the user prompt so I can identify it easily``

If you're concerned about clutter in the UI, you can use the existing "Archive" command. > Surely this is a breach of GDPR? All session data is stored locally in the ~/.codex/sessions directory. You can delete them manually if you want. Totally under your control.

@etraut-openai - perfect, how do I delete that on codex web however?

> I'm very confused- if you can manually delete it, why not also make it a built-in option in the app to make it easier for users? It's a very simple action that's expected to be in the UI and not something you're supposed to be doing manually, and I'm pretty sure it's just a few lines of code to add that option in the UI to the context menu since it's really just deleting a file I'm sure everyone using Codex would appreciate if you could add this simple feature Why not develop an action in your project that allows you to delete them? I just ran this prompt in my project and it produced quite a nice little script that I add to my project's specific actions. Generate a user interface in the style of Codex CLI as a bash script that I can use to select the different threads in a project's session folder in Codex and delete it. Be sure to retrieve the name of the thread like it appears in Codex or the user prompt so I can identify it easily

Thanks for the idea :) but I'm just really confused about why it isn't built in

I hope this also means we get a new slash command for the CLI that does the same. Something like /delete that prompts for confirmation before erasing.

Guys this is needed. It's slowing down codex after a while. I just had to delete manually 1GB of archived crap from the sqlite DB. Codex helped me, but still...

Codex itself can fix a thread that is attached to the wrong workspace/project, or delete it. Feed below instructions to Codex, which was also generated by Codex !!! Worked for me charmingly!.

Prompt for Codex:

You are going to rehome or remove a Codex desktop thread using local Codex storage. Be careful and back up everything before editing.

Goal:

• If I give you a target thread ID and a new workspace path, move that thread to the new workspace.
• If I ask to delete it instead, first identify all local files/state that reference it and explain the deletion plan before making changes.

What to inspect:

• ~/.codex/session_index.jsonl
• ~/.codex/sessions/.../rollout-<...>.jsonl
• ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite

For move/rehome:

1. Find the thread ID in ~/.codex/session_index.jsonl.
2. Locate the matching session file under ~/.codex/sessions/.
3. Back up:

• the session file
• ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite

1. In the session file, replace the old cwd with the new workspace path everywhere it appears.
2. In ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite, update the row in the threads table for that thread:

• set cwd to the new workspace
• set git_sha = NULL
• set git_branch = NULL
• set git_origin_url = NULL

1. Show me the verification output:

• the updated threads row
• the updated cwd lines from the session file

1. Tell me to restart Codex desktop.

SQL template:

update threads
set cwd='/path/to/new/workspace',
    git_sha=NULL,
    git_branch=NULL,
    git_origin_url=NULL
where id='<THREAD_ID>';
For delete:

Find all references to the target thread ID in:
~/.codex/session_index.jsonl
~/.codex/sessions/...
~/.codex/state_5.sqlite
Back up every file you will modify.
Tell me exactly what you plan to delete or edit.
Only then remove the thread’s session file and any index/state references you can confirm belong to that thread.
Show me what changed and what may still require an app restart.
Safety rules:

Never edit without creating backups first.
Never assume only one file matters.
Verify after every change.
If anything looks ambiguous, stop and explain.

> If you're concerned about clutter in the UI, you can use the existing "Archive" command. > > Surely this is a breach of GDPR? > > > All session data is stored locally in the ~/.codex/sessions directory. You can delete them manually if you want. Totally under your control. @etraut-openai - perfect, how do I delete that on codex web however?

I also wonder how...

bro, just let me delete this chat before i go

I am here again please let me just delete my conversation

<img width="771" height="377" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9fc72439-f5e0-42b3-ad86-a57c65df3360" />

okay guys its available on codex its self

<img width="1920" height="1080" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cb9d830c-2b1d-4569-a891-125addf4e50d" />

Windows reproduction: mixed local Codex tasks and account-backed ChatGPT chats

I can still reproduce a related gap in Codex desktop 26.721.11231.0 on Windows.

The Recents list mixes two different backing types without showing the distinction:

• local Codex tasks backed by ~/.codex rollouts/state; and
• ChatGPT conversations created in the Web UI and mirrored into the desktop app.

For an account-backed ChatGPT conversation:

1. Open its context menu in Codex desktop. The available cleanup action is Archive, not Delete.
2. Archive it in Codex desktop.
3. The conversation disappears from both desktop Recents and the active ChatGPT Web history, so this is an account-level archive rather than a local-only hide.
4. Codex desktop has no Archived Chats list/manager where that conversation can be reviewed or deleted.
5. To delete it, open ChatGPT Web and go to Settings → Data Controls → Archived Chats → Manage → Delete. ChatGPT Web also offered a direct Delete action before archival.

This makes the advice to delete ~/.codex/sessions incomplete for the current desktop app: that can address a local Codex rollout, but it does not delete an account-backed ChatGPT conversation, and manual file/SQLite surgery risks leaving local indexes inconsistent.

Expected behavior:

• visibly label whether a Recent item is a local Codex task or an account-backed ChatGPT conversation;
• provide Delete… with confirmation and route it to the correct backing store;
• expose archived account chats in desktop, or deep-link directly to ChatGPT's Archived Chats manager; and
• avoid requiring users to edit rollout files or SQLite by hand.

This is not a request for a duplicate issue; it is a Windows reproduction and a mixed-backing case for this existing issue.

Session deletion is now supported in the IDE Extension.