Desktop: local pinned threads appear gone after app update when last host was remote SSH

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

26.803.61601 (ChatGPT macOS desktop / Codex UI)

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro / Plus (desktop Codex)

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.x.x arm64 (macOS)

Also: standalone codex-cli 0.147.0 present on the same machine.

What issue are you seeing?

After updating or relaunching the ChatGPT/Codex desktop app, previously pinned local threads disappear from the sidebar.

The threads are not deleted. On disk they remain:

• is_pinned = 1 with correct name in ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite (threads table)
• present in pinned-thread-ids in ~/.codex/.codex-global-state.json

What actually changes is host/project context restored by the app:

• selected-remote-host-id is restored to a remote SSH-discovered host (not local)
• selected-project is often a remote project on that host

The sidebar only lists threads for the currently selected host/project, so local pinned threads are filtered out and look like they were wiped by the update.

Switching the host selector back to This Mac / local (or rewriting selected-remote-host-id to local and fully quitting + reopening the app) restores the pins without re-pinning.

This has reproduced multiple times after app updates / relaunches on a multi-host setup (local Mac + remote Mac via Remote SSH / remote control).

No error dialog is shown.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. On Codex desktop (macOS), configure at least two hosts: local and a remote SSH host.
2. On local, create or open several long-lived operator/work threads and pin them. Confirm they appear under Pins when host = local.
3. Switch host to the remote machine and optionally select a remote project. Work there so the last-used host/project is remote.
4. Quit the app fully (or apply a ChatGPT/Codex desktop update and relaunch).
5. Observe: previously pinned local threads are missing from the sidebar Pins list.
6. Inspect local state (optional diagnostic):
   • SQLite still has is_pinned=1 for those thread IDs
   • pinned-thread-ids still contains those IDs
   • selected-remote-host-id is the remote host id (e.g. remote-ssh-discovered:<hostname>)
   • selected-project may be { "type": "remote", "projectId": "..." }
7. Switch host selector to This Mac / local (and a local project if needed).
8. Observe: the same pins reappear without re-pinning.

What is the expected behavior?

One or more of:

1. After update/relaunch, do not leave the user in a host context where their primary pinned local threads are invisible without explanation.
2. If the sidebar is host-scoped, show an explicit empty/filter state, e.g. “N pinned threads on This Mac” / “Pins hidden by host filter,” with a one-click switch to local.
3. Prefer keeping a global pins section (or cross-host pin indicators) so pin data and pin UX stay aligned.
4. If host restore to remote is intentional, document it; today it reads as “update deleted my pins.”

Actual behavior

• Pins appear deleted after desktop update/relaunch.
• Core pin data remains healthy on disk.
• Root cause is view filter + restored remote host/project, not pin storage loss.
• Recovery: switch host to local (or set selected-remote-host-id to local while the app is fully quit, then reopen).

Evidence (neutralized)

When pins looked “gone”:

Store	Observed
state_5.sqlite threads.is_pinned	still 1 for all affected threads
threads.name	still set (named operator threads)
.codex-global-state.json pinned-thread-ids	still listed the same IDs
selected-remote-host-id	remote-ssh-discovered:<remote-hostname>
selected-project	remote project on that host

After setting host to local + full quit/reopen: pins visible again.

Paths/hosts in this report are redacted; reproduction only needs multi-host desktop + local pins + last session on remote.

Related issues

Similar multi-host / pin visibility problems (may not be the same root cause):

• #37310 — pinned conversations disappear after restart (Windows; reappear after pinning another chat)
• #33579 — desktop hides searchable recent pinned local task
• #34076 — desktop hides threads while core DB remains healthy
• #26640 — remote control fetches remote threads but sidebar stays on local (inverse host mismatch)

This report is specifically: local pins hidden because last selected host was remote after app update/relaunch, with pin bits still correct on disk.

Suggested product fix (non-prescriptive)

• On cold start after update, if pinned-thread-ids includes local threads not visible under the restored host, surface a banner or auto-prefer local for the pins surface.
• Or split pin list by host and always show local pins when present.
• Avoid overwriting a user-corrected selected-remote-host-id from in-memory state on quit if the user already switched host in a previous session (secondary race when editing global state while app is open).

Workaround

1. Host selector → This Mac / local
2. Or fully quit the app, set selected-remote-host-id to local in ~/.codex/.codex-global-state.json, reopen

Happy to provide redacted diagnostics if useful.

Reproduce with local and remote SSH hosts, local pinned threads, and a relaunch after the last session uses the remote host. Trace restoration of selected-remote-host-id and selected-project together with the sidebar's host/project filtering; done means local pins are not misleadingly hidden, or the UI clearly explains the filter and provides a path back to local pins.