VS Code Codex Extension UI Goes Blank (Grey Screen) Mid-Session While Agent Continues Running

What version of Codex is running?

0.4.56

What subscription do you have?

plus

Which model were you using?

_No response_

What platform is your computer?

_No response_

What issue are you seeing?

During an active Codex session in VS Code, the Codex extension panel intermittently turns into a blank grey screen (UI content disappears). The agent/task continues running in the background (I can hear/see signs of ongoing work, e.g., logs/terminal activity or eventual output), but the Codex UI becomes non-interactive and does not render any conversation or controls.

Impact
• Cannot view ongoing progress, messages, or intermediate steps in the Codex panel
• Cannot interact with the session (send instructions / stop / navigate) via the UI
• Work continues “blind,” which is risky for long-running or multi-step tasks

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open VS Code.
2. Start a new session in the Codex extension.
3. Let the session run for a while (mid-session / longer runs seem more likely).
4. In the Codex UI, open the thinking/process view (server-side reasoning / detailed steps).
5. Click into a detail/expand control (e.g., expand a reasoning step, open a nested detail, or navigate between detailed items).
6. Observed: the Codex panel suddenly becomes a blank grey screen, while the session continues running in the background.

Repro Frequency
• Intermittent (sometimes happens “by itself” without a clear trigger).

What is the expected behavior?

Expected vs Actual
• Expected: Codex panel continues rendering and remains interactive.

• Actual: Codex panel renders as an empty grey area; background work appears to continue.

Additional information

<img width="765" height="896" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fe4061a9-a389-4500-91b1-88061e919915" />
Reloading the VS Code window may recover the panel, but interrupts the workflow