Project-only memory project cannot access plugins or Work Cloud/Local

What version of the Codex App are you using?

ChatGPT Desktop 1.2026.190.0; Codex App package 26.901.4073.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

A cloud ChatGPT project created on the Web with Project-only memory has no working path to use an already installed and authorized custom plugin/MCP connector.

The same project reaches a dead end in every available mode:

1. Chat inside the project: typing @ returns "No results"; the custom connector and all plugin entries are unavailable.
2. Current desktop sidebar/menu: there is no Plugins entry. The visible entries are GPTs, Sites, and Customize.
3. Work inside the project: Cloud is disabled/unavailable.
4. Work Local: the app rejects the project with the Polish error "Nie udało się użyć tego projektu do lokalnego czatu" ("This project could not be used for a local chat").
5. Standalone Work: it does not inherit the project's Project-only memory or instructions, so using it requires a manual export outside the project boundary.

This became visible during the current unified ChatGPT desktop / GPT-6 Astra rollout. That timing is an observation, not a claim of causation.

The result is a workflow-blocking regression: a project can preserve its memory boundary or use the connector, but there is no supported route that does both.

Official in-app feedback was submitted first. Feedback/session ID:

01a07310-e9fd-7a10-b067-5a608315324d

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. In ChatGPT Web, create or open a project.
2. Set memory to Project-only memory.
3. Add project files through the available Add files control.
4. Install and authorize a custom plugin/MCP connector.
5. Open Chat inside that project.
6. Type @.
7. Observe "No results" and no plugin/connector entries.
8. Switch to Work.
9. Observe that Cloud is disabled.
10. Attempt Work Local with the project.
11. Observe: "Nie udało się użyć tego projektu do lokalnego czatu".
12. Start standalone Work and observe that the Project-only context/instructions are not inherited.

The behavior was reproduced across the Web-created project and the current Windows desktop app.

What is the expected behavior?

At least one supported path must preserve the Project-only boundary while allowing the authorized connector:

• Chat inside the project exposes installed plugins/connectors through @; or
• Work Cloud can run inside the project while preserving Project-only memory; or
• the product provides an explicit, safe handoff that carries the selected project instructions and files without silently changing the memory boundary.

The UI should also clearly state the actual compatibility matrix before a user creates or configures the project.

Additional information

Impact:

• Blocks connector-based editing workflows involving an external visual scene editor and source/result systems.
• Forces duplicated or stale context.
• Creates a governance risk because the only apparent workaround crosses the Project-only boundary.
• Conflicts with current product documentation describing plugins as usable in Chat/Work and invokable with @.

Requested follow-up:

1. Confirm the supported matrix for Project-only memory × Chat × Work Cloud/Local × custom plugins/connectors/MCP.
2. Confirm whether this is intentional behavior or a regression.
3. Restore at least one connector-capable path that preserves the project boundary.
4. Align the UI and documentation with actual availability.
5. Add an end-to-end regression test covering this exact combination.

Please do not close this with a generic update/reinstall instruction: both applications are the current installed production packages listed above. The failure is a product capability/UX dead end, not a missing user update.

Screenshots exist and can be provided privately, but they are not attached here because they contain project-specific UI content.

Start by reproducing the project-only memory flow through Chat, @, Work Cloud, Work Local, and standalone Work on the stated Windows versions. The issue names no repository files or tests; done would require confirming the supported compatibility matrix and providing at least one connector-capable path that preserves the project boundary, with matching UI, documentation, and end-to-end coverage.