Windows unified ChatGPT desktop app lacks ChatGPT Images library and selection-based editor available on web

What variant of Codex are you using?

Windows unified ChatGPT/Codex desktop app (Microsoft Store/MSIX package OpenAI.Codex_26.803.5235.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0), ChatGPT view.

What feature would you like to see?

Please bring the full ChatGPT Images experience from ChatGPT Web to the Windows unified desktop app:

• the Images library under More
• opening a generated or uploaded image in the dedicated editor
• the selection/masking tool for local edits
• aspect-ratio controls
• undo/redo, cancel, and save controls
• consistent access to generated images across web and desktop for the same account

The same ChatGPT Plus account can use these features on ChatGPT Web, but the Windows desktop surface does not expose an equivalent complete Images library/editor experience.

Codex can generate or edit images through natural-language prompts, but that is not equivalent to the interactive ChatGPT Images UI where a user opens an image, selects a region, and edits it visually.

Additional information

Environment

• Subscription: ChatGPT Plus
• App package: OpenAI.Codex_26.803.5235.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Bundled/local Codex CLI family: 0.147.0-alpha.6.5
• OS: Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.8973 x64 (Windows 11 25H2)
• UI language/locale: zh-CN
• Observed: 2026-08-10

Reproduction

1. Sign in to ChatGPT Web and the Windows unified ChatGPT desktop app with the same Plus account.
2. On the web, open More > Images.
3. Open a generated image. The web experience provides the Images library and interactive editor, including selection-based edits.
4. In the Windows desktop app, switch to ChatGPT > Chat and inspect the corresponding navigation and generated-image experience.
5. Observe that the complete Images library/editor workflow available on the web is not available in the desktop surface.

Expected behavior

The Windows unified app should provide feature parity for ChatGPT Images, or at minimum clearly indicate that the full editor is currently web/mobile-only and offer an Open in web editor action.

Why this appears to be a platform gap rather than an account problem

OpenAI's current Images documentation lists ChatGPT Images availability on web, iOS, and Android, while separately noting that image generation/editing is possible in Codex:

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11084440

The Windows app documentation also states that a subset of web/macOS features may not yet be available in the Windows app:

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9982051-using-the-chatgpt-windows-app

The installed app is already the new unified ChatGPT/Codex app, so this is not caused by using ChatGPT Classic:

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001276-moving-to-the-new-chatgpt-desktop-app

No account identifiers, local paths, thread contents, or private logs are included in this report.

No repository files, tests, or entry points are named in the report. First locate the Windows desktop ChatGPT surface and determine where navigation and image workflows are owned, then compare the requested library and editor behavior with the documented web experience; done means the requested workflow is available or the app clearly offers the documented web-editor fallback.