Windows Codex 26.810.4967.0 renderer memory spikes and causes system-wide stuttering as a chat grows
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- Dominant language
- Rust
- Stars
- 125k
- Forks
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Description
Environment:
- Codex Windows app: 26.810.4967.0
- Windows 10 Pro, build 19045
- Intel i7-8750H, 12 logical processors
- 32 GB RAM
Observed behavior:
After using almost any chat for a while, the Codex UI and eventually the whole
computer become noticeably laggy. The problem appears to get worse as messages
and tool outputs accumulate.
Local measurements:
- One ChatGPT.exe renderer process reached about 2.15 GB working set.
- Total Codex-related memory approached 4 GB during a large tool-output render.
- After the output stopped/collapsed, the renderer dropped to about 754 MB and
total Codex memory dropped to about 2.2 GB. - CPU was not continuously saturated and the system still had about 18 GB free RAM.
- The current session transcript was only about 0.29 MB, so the issue does not
appear to require a very large transcript file. - GPU process was also active during the slowdown.
- ~/.codex/logs_2.sqlite is about 439 MB with roughly 186,000 log rows.
Expected behavior:
Long-running chats and large tool outputs should not cause renderer memory to
grow to multiple gigabytes or make the entire Windows desktop stutter.
Reproduction:
- Start a local Codex chat.
- Continue using it for tool-heavy work, especially commands with sizable output.
- Observe ChatGPT.exe renderer memory and UI responsiveness.
- Repeat with a new chat; the behavior eventually returns.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Reproduce the slowdown in the Windows Codex app with a tool-heavy chat while monitoring ChatGPT.exe renderer memory, GPU activity, and desktop responsiveness. Inspect ~/.codex/logs_2.sqlite alongside the renderer behavior, then verify that long-running chats and large tool outputs no longer grow memory to multiple gigabytes or cause system-wide stuttering.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust, sqlite
- Domain
- desktop, performance
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100