[Desktop latest] Task/thread search and listing intermittently hang across multiple machines

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

Locally verified on this MacBook today:

• ChatGPT desktop app 26.810.52044
• build 6662
• bundled Codex CLI 0.148.0-alpha.9

The same symptom is being seen on every machine currently running the latest desktop app available as of August 16, 2026. I did not capture the exact About-box values from the other machines before filing this public report.

What subscription do you have?

Not provided.

What platform is your computer?

Cross-machine report:

• macOS on Apple silicon (locally verified)
• at least one Windows desktop host (user-reported)

This does not appear tied to one repository, one task, or one host.

What issue are you seeing?

In the latest ChatGPT desktop app / Codex desktop experience, major task/thread search and listing can hang instead of returning results.

User-facing surfaces affected include:

• searching past tasks/threads/chats
• browsing/listing major task history / Recents / thread lists
• reopening or locating prior work through those list/search surfaces

The problem is significant because it blocks access to existing work history rather than only slowing down one active thread.

The important point here is cross-machine scope: the same failure mode is happening on multiple latest-version desktop installs, so this does not look like a one-off corrupt local database on one machine.

Local inspection performed on the MacBook

I did a narrow local inspection on the currently affected MacBook before filing:

• ~/.codex/state_5.sqlite integrity check: ok
• ~/.codex/logs_2.sqlite integrity check: ok
• ~/.codex/goals_1.sqlite integrity check: ok

So the inspected local SQLite state is structurally healthy.

Today’s desktop log (~/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex/2026/08/16/...) also shows many successful fast thread/list RPC completions, for example durations around 2-21 ms in several places. At the same time, the same log contains repeated renderer-side errors such as:

• Received turn/started for unknown conversation
• Received turn/completed for unknown conversation

That combination suggests the durable local state and the underlying app-server list path can be healthy while the desktop UI / bridge / renderer still gets into an inconsistent thread state.

I am intentionally not attaching raw logs publicly because they contain private local paths, task identifiers, and conversation metadata.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open the latest ChatGPT desktop app and switch to Codex.
2. Use the app long enough to accumulate a meaningful set of current and historical tasks/threads.
3. Try to find prior work through task/thread search or the normal major thread/task listing surfaces.
4. Observe intermittent hangs or non-returning search/list behavior instead of a bounded result or explicit error.
5. Repeat the same workflow on another machine running the latest desktop app.
6. Observe that the same class of failure occurs there as well.

Representative user actions include both search-driven access and ordinary thread/task list browsing.

What is the expected behavior?

Task/thread search and list surfaces should:

• return promptly with results, or
• fail promptly with a clear actionable error

They should not hang indefinitely or become unusable across multiple latest-version desktop installs.

Additional information

I searched existing open issues before filing. The closest related reports I found include:

• #37668 - desktop thread tools hang before reaching AppServerConnection
• #35030 - scheduled runs hang on list_threads
• #36412 - remote SSH thread-management RPCs hang while app-server stays healthy
• #36828 - long thread opens on the wrong/history portion despite successful pagination
• #25084 - desktop hides active project chat history while local threads remain on disk

Those look related, but this report is narrower and current: latest desktop build, cross-machine, user-facing task/thread search and listing hang.

If maintainers want private follow-up, I can provide redacted log excerpts and exact affected task identifiers through an OpenAI-controlled support or in-app feedback channel rather than a public GitHub thread.

Start by reproducing the hang on the latest desktop app, then inspect the listed desktop log path and the three SQLite state files. Compare thread/list RPC completions with renderer errors such as unknown conversations across the reported platforms. Done means task and thread search and listing return promptly or show a clear actionable error instead of hanging.