Codex Desktop: make exact task IDs searchable in the top search bar

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Assessment

Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Newbie friendliness
58/100
Issue type
Feature
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
macos, rust
Domain
desktop, search

Research direction

Reproduce the issue in Codex Desktop by pasting the exact task ID into the top search bar, then compare that behavior with opening the same ID through Codex. Trace the top search entry point and verify that a valid exact ID appears as the first result and opens the task, while broader search behavior remains unchanged.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

app enhancement session
What variant of Codex are you using?

App — ChatGPT Desktop on macOS

What feature would you like to see?

Codex Desktop’s top search bar should return a task when the user pastes its exact task ID.

I pasted this valid task ID into the search bar:

019f8573-2099-70a3-82f5-54ed866e7cec

No matching task appeared. However, when I asked another Codex task to find and open that exact task ID, Codex successfully opened it in the app. This confirms that the task exists and that Codex can resolve the ID—just not through the visible search bar.

Expected experience:

  1. Paste an exact task ID into the top search bar.
  2. See that task as the first result.
  3. Select the result to open the task.

Task IDs are commonly used in task handoffs, troubleshooting, and references to older work. Exact-ID lookup would provide a reliable recovery path when the title or project is unknown.

This request is intentionally limited to exact task-ID lookup, not a broader redesign of title or conversation-content search.

Additional information

Environment:

  • ChatGPT Desktop 26.803.61601
  • macOS
  • Codex CLI 0.144.0
  • Observed August 11, 2026

Related but distinct reports:

  • #32182 and #26634 concern tasks that disappear from normal history/sidebar and search.
  • #35338 concerns searches for visible numeric or conversation-content terms.

This request is narrower: when the input is a complete, valid task ID, Codex should treat it as an exact address and open that task.

Dominant language
Rust
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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