VS Code extension 26.825.51511: historical message actions only show Copy; Edit/Fork/Rewind unavailable

What version of the IDE extension are you using?

openai.chatgpt 26.825.51511

What subscription do you have?

Not relevant / not provided.

Which IDE are you using?

VS Code

What platform is your computer?

Linux-backed Codex environment (exact host/editor platform not material to the UI repro).

What issue are you seeing?

In the current Codex VS Code extension, hovering a historical user message only exposes Copy. There is no visible Edit, Fork / branch from here, or rewind-style action.

This is confusing because older extension behavior and existing reports show that at least some of these message-level actions have existed or been surfaced previously:

• #20347 was filed against VS Code extension 26.422.71525 and explicitly reproduces editing a previous user message, so Edit was available in an older extension build.
• #16913 documents message-level Fork controls disappearing in the IDE client and includes screenshots where Copy/Edit/Fork were visible, although a maintainer noted that per-message Fork was not considered an officially exposed extension feature.
• #22025 tracks the Edit icon being hidden and unreliable rollback/checkpoint UX, but is labeled for the desktop app rather than the VS Code extension.
• #10084 requests checkpoint rollback / branching in the Codex extension, but does not track the current regression where the historical-message action row has effectively collapsed to Copy only.

The backend/session model still supports branching, and the CLI provides a workable fallback by resuming the thread and backtracking to an earlier prompt, but this is much less discoverable and requires handing the thread from the VS Code extension to the CLI.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Install/open Codex VS Code extension 26.825.51511.
2. Open an existing multi-turn conversation.
3. Hover over a previous user message in the conversation history.
4. Inspect the message-level action buttons.
5. Only Copy is shown; there is no Edit, Fork/branch, or rewind action.

What is the expected behavior?

At minimum, the extension should provide a clear supported way to continue from an earlier user turn without carrying later turns forward.

Ideally the historical-message action row should consistently expose:

• Edit previous prompt (with clear semantics), and/or
• Branch/Fork from here so the original thread remains intact, and
• a clear rewind/rollback path if supported.

If these controls were intentionally removed or are feature-gated, please document the intended replacement workflow and why only Copy is currently visible.

Additional information

A CLI workaround exists, but it is awkward for an IDE workflow:

1. Release the VS Code extension's active writer on the thread.
2. codex resume <thread-id>.
3. Backtrack to the desired historical prompt in the TUI.
4. Edit/submit it to create a branch.

The IDE should ideally expose the same capability directly, especially since the thread already contains the required history and the underlying session/fork machinery exists.

This issue is intentionally scoped to the current VS Code extension UI regression / missing historical-message actions rather than the separate hidden-context bug in #20347 or the desktop-app UX issue in #22025.

Start by reproducing the historical-message action row in VS Code extension 26.825.51511, then compare the behavior and intended support described in issues #20347, #16913, #22025, and #10084. Done means the extension restores a supported way to continue from an earlier user turn, or clearly documents the intended replacement workflow if those controls are not supported.