Remote Control cannot attach to a live CLI session on the workstation (completed threads work, in-progress ones fail)

What variant of Codex are you using?

CLI + ChatGPT iOS Remote Control (paired hosts)

What feature / fix would you like?

Support the normal workstation-primary workflow:

1. Start and run the task in Codex CLI on the workstation
2. Use the phone only to monitor progress, approve actions, and send short steering replies
3. Return to the same live CLI session without quit/resume or forking

Today, Remote Control effectively allows the phone to open completed threads, but fails when the workstation CLI already owns a live / in-progress session.

Why this matters

Almost nobody’s main coding surface is the phone. The realistic loop is:

• keyboard + terminal on the workstation
• phone as a second screen for status + decisions while away from the desk

Claude Code Remote Control (/rc) matches this model: the local CLI session stays primary; mobile is another window into the same live session.

Codex Remote currently behaves more like: “pair a host → operate threads from mobile,” and does not reliably share an already-attached live CLI session with iOS.

What happens today (observed)

On the failing live session, iOS shows:

• 加载消息时出错：Codex 服务器返回了错误。
  (“Error loading messages: Codex server returned an error.”)
• 此任务无法重新连接
  (“This task cannot reconnect”)

So the phone can act as a history viewer for finished threads, but cannot attach to the live session the CLI already owns.

Expected behavior

• Workstation CLI remains the primary client
• iOS can attach to that same live thread as a secondary client
• Monitoring, approvals, and short follow-ups work without forcing the user to start the task from mobile
• Returning to the workstation TUI does not require quitting and resume, and does not create divergent continuations

Actual behavior

• Completed threads: OK from iOS
• Live CLI-attached threads: iOS cannot reconnect / server error
• Practical workaround pushed by the product shape: start work from Remote/App side instead of CLI — awkward for workstation-first developers

Suggested direction

Any of:

• Explicit multi-client live attach (CLI + mobile on the same thread)
• Or a clear “monitor/approve-only” secondary session mode for Remote
• Or document and enforce single-writer rules without hard-failing the phone on live threads (e.g. read-only view + queued approvals)

Related: #32445, #34632, #23011

Additional information

No response

Reproduce the difference between a completed thread and a live CLI-attached thread using Codex CLI with iOS Remote Control on paired hosts. Read related issues #32445, #34632, and #23011, then trace the CLI and Remote Control session-attachment paths. Done means the workstation remains primary while iOS can monitor, approve, and send short follow-ups on the same live thread without reconnect errors or divergent continuations.