[Windows 26.818.41509] conversationDetailMode=STEPS_PROSE is overwritten to STEPS_COMMANDS on startup

What version of the Codex App are you using?

Codex Desktop / ChatGPT app for Windows: 26.818.41509
Published: August 22, 2026

What platform is your computer?

Windows

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Desktop does not preserve the Desktop conversation detail setting when I manually set:

[desktop]
conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_PROSE"

After fully closing Codex Desktop, editing the setting, saving the file, and starting Codex Desktop again, the application rewrites it to:

[desktop]
conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_COMMANDS"

This happens automatically on application startup, without me changing the setting in the UI.

Steps to reproduce

1. Fully quit Codex Desktop.
2. Open the local Codex config.toml.
3. Set:

[desktop]
conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_PROSE"

4. Save the file.
5. Confirm that the file still contains STEPS_PROSE.
6. Start Codex Desktop.
7. Re-open the config.
8. Observe that Codex Desktop has changed the value to:

conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_COMMANDS"

Expected behavior

Codex Desktop should preserve:

conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_PROSE"

If STEPS_PROSE is no longer supported, Codex Desktop should explicitly reject, migrate, or document the setting instead of silently overwriting it.

Actual behavior

Codex Desktop silently rewrites:

conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_PROSE"

to:

conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_COMMANDS"

on startup.

Regression / related issue

This appears to be a regression of issue #23033.

That issue previously reported that conversationDetailMode reverted to STEPS_COMMANDS, and a hotfix was later reported as released.

The same persistence symptom is reproducible again on Windows Desktop 26.818.41509.

Related issue:
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/23033

Other Windows Desktop issues have also reported config values being overwritten or regenerated on restart:

• #27655 — settings UI / config.toml persistence mismatch
• #25090 — config changes overwritten on restart

Additional information

The setting is intentional. I prefer the prose-oriented conversation detail mode rather than the more command-oriented display.

For privacy reasons, I do not want to upload my full config.toml, because it contains local paths, project names, usernames, and other machine-specific information.

I can provide minimal redacted snippets showing only the affected setting before and after startup, for example:

Before startup:

[desktop]
conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_PROSE"

After startup:

[desktop]
conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_COMMANDS"

I can also provide a screenshot of the About dialog showing version 26.818.41509.

Requested fix

Please make conversationDetailMode = "STEPS_PROSE" persist across Codex Desktop restarts, or clarify if STEPS_PROSE has intentionally been deprecated or replaced.

If the value is still supported, Desktop should not overwrite it with STEPS_COMMANDS during startup.

Start by tracing Codex Desktop's startup handling for the [desktop] conversationDetailMode value in config.toml, then compare the behavior and resolution described in issue #23033. Reproduce the Windows startup rewrite with the minimal STEPS_PROSE snippet; done means the supported value persists, or an intentional unsupported value is explicitly rejected or migrated.