[Windows] Codex Desktop severe UI lag, input delay, and intermittent Not Responding while browser version remains responsive

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Desktop on Windows becomes severely sluggish during normal use. The problem affects basic UI interaction rather than only model/network response time.

Observed symptoms:

• Clicking buttons or controls can have a large delay.
• Switching between conversations/threads is very slow.
• Typing into the prompt box visibly lags behind keyboard input.
• The app intermittently enters a Not Responding state.
• Clicking the taskbar icon may fail to minimize/restore the Codex window normally.
• In some sessions the app can remain stuck on the startup/logo screen.
• Task Manager still shows the Codex/ChatGPT processes running while the visible app is unresponsive or extremely slow.

The web version of ChatGPT/Codex on the same machine and network does not show this UI-level lag. Waiting for a web conversation to load only shows normal network/request latency; typing, clicking, and switching UI remain responsive.

This makes the problem appear specific to the Windows Codex Desktop application rather than the network or account.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Launch Codex Desktop on Windows 11.
2. Open or switch between several conversations/tasks.
3. Type in the prompt input and interact with buttons/navigation.
4. Continue using the desktop app for a while.
5. Observe increasingly slow UI interaction, delayed typing/clicks, and occasional Not Responding behavior.

The exact trigger is not yet isolated. It can also reproduce shortly after launch in some sessions.

Expected behavior

The desktop application should remain responsive during normal interaction. Typing, clicking buttons, switching threads, and minimizing/restoring the window should respond immediately even if an API/model request is still loading in the background.

Troubleshooting already tried

• Closed VS Code and other Codex integrations so only the desktop app was running.
• Repaired/reset the Windows app.
• Cleanly reinstalled the desktop app.
• Updated the GPU driver.
• Restarted Windows.

The severe lag still reproduces after reinstall and driver update.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 x64
• Codex Desktop: Microsoft Store / Windows desktop application
• Browser version on the same computer: responsive
• Network used by desktop and browser is the same

I can provide the exact current Codex Desktop build number and additional diagnostics if maintainers need them.

Additional context

This appears similar to other Windows desktop performance reports, for example:

• #33776
• #28855
• #16374
• #33912
• #21134

However, in this case the most consistent symptom is severe application UI/input latency while the browser version remains normal, and reinstalling the Windows app does not resolve it.

It may be useful to investigate whether the Electron/renderer/main process is blocking the UI thread, whether local conversation/session state is causing progressively slower rendering, or whether a Windows-specific background process is repeatedly consuming the main thread.

Begin by reproducing the lag on Windows 11 after launching Codex Desktop and switching between several conversations while typing and clicking. Compare the desktop behavior with the responsive browser version, then collect the current build number and diagnostics; investigate whether the Electron renderer or main process, local conversation state, or a Windows-specific background process is blocking the UI. Done means normal typing, navigation, window controls, and startup remain responsive during background requests.