Pinned conversations disappear after restarting Codex and temporarily reappear when pinning another chat

No source files, tests, or entry points are named. Reproduce the Windows desktop behavior across restarts, then trace startup loading and refresh behavior for the pinned-conversation sidebar state; done means all existing pinned conversations remain visible after reopening without pinning another chat.

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.730.61639

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Previously pinned conversations disappear from the left sidebar in the Codex Windows desktop app after closing and reopening the application.

The conversations do not appear to be deleted. I discovered that pinning any other currently visible conversation immediately makes the previously missing pinned conversations reappear in the sidebar.

However, this restoration is only temporary. If I close Codex and open it again, the older pinned conversations disappear from the sidebar again.

This suggests that the pinned-conversation list or sidebar state is not being correctly loaded when the application starts. Performing a new pin action appears to force the sidebar or pinned-thread state to refresh, causing the missing pinned conversations to become visible again.

No error message is displayed.

I have attached a screen recording showing the behavior.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open the Codex desktop application on Windows.
2. Have multiple conversations pinned in the left sidebar.
3. Close the Codex application completely.
4. Reopen Codex.
5. Observe that some previously pinned conversations are missing from the left sidebar.
6. Select any currently visible conversation.
7. Use the conversation menu and choose Pin chat.
8. Observe that the previously missing pinned conversations immediately reappear in the left sidebar.
9. Close Codex completely again.
10. Reopen Codex.
11. Observe that the same older pinned conversations have disappeared again.

This behavior is reproducible on my installation.

The attached video shows:

• The older pinned conversations initially missing.
• A different conversation being pinned.
• The missing pinned conversations immediately reappearing.
• The issue returning after restarting Codex.

No code snippet, token limit, or context-window condition appears to be required to trigger this bug. It appears to be related specifically to persistence or hydration of the pinned conversation state in the desktop application's sidebar.

What is the expected behavior?

All pinned conversations should remain visible in the left sidebar after closing and reopening Codex.

The pinned-conversation list should be loaded correctly when Codex starts, without requiring the user to pin another conversation to force the sidebar to refresh.

Additional information

• The affected conversations are not intentionally unpinned or archived.
• The conversations appear to still exist because they return immediately when another conversation is pinned.
• Pinning a new conversation seems to force a refresh or recalculation of the pinned-conversation list.
• The restored conversations disappear again after the application is closed and reopened.
• I have attached a video demonstrating the complete reproduction process.
• Approximate occurrence time: August 6, 2026, around 3:00 PM, UTC-3.
• Platform: Codex desktop application on Windows.
• No visible error message is produced.

App: ChatGPT desktop, powered by Codex & OWL
Version: 26.730.61639
Release date: August 4, 2026