[macOS] Side-panel tab bar accumulates unclickable ghost tabs that keep taking up space

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

Not confirmed; observed on September 9, 2026.

What subscription do you have?

Not provided.

What platform is your computer?

macOS

What issue are you seeing?

The side-panel tab bar develops non-interactive, ghost-like tab entries. They remain in the layout and keep taking up horizontal space. The user reports that clicking these entries does nothing and that more of them accumulate during continued use.

The attached screenshot highlights two affected entries in red: one has a document icon with a partial title, and the other shows only a document icon with no visible title.

Impact: the accumulating unusable entries crowd the tab bar and reduce the space available for usable tabs.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

The exact sequence that creates the ghost entries has not yet been isolated.

Observed affected state:

1. Use the desktop app with multiple items open in the side-panel tab bar.
2. Some entries appear as the partial-title / icon-only tabs highlighted in the screenshot.
3. Clicking those affected entries does not activate their content (user-reported).
4. During continued use, additional unusable entries accumulate and continue occupying tab-bar space (user-reported).

The screenshot documents the visual state; click behavior and accumulation are reported by the user, not independently reproduced.

What is the expected behavior?

Each displayed tab should correspond to an available item and respond to activation. Obsolete entries should be removed and release their layout space. Continued use should not accumulate non-interactive placeholder tabs.

Additional information

No response

Start by reproducing the reported ghost tabs in the macOS desktop app, using the side-panel tab bar with multiple items open and observing whether entries become non-interactive or accumulate. The payload names no source files or tests; done means identifying the cause, ensuring every displayed tab activates correctly, and removing obsolete entries so they no longer consume layout space.