[Codex Desktop][macOS] Open in IntelliJ hangs and leaves multiple launcher processes while Push diff preview is open

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

26.903.61454 (build 8378; read from the installed app bundle metadata)

What subscription do you have?

Not relevant to the reproduction / not included

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.4.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

On macOS, Open in IntelliJ IDEA can hang when the existing IntelliJ window has the Push dialog open and a changed file is selected for diff preview.

The file-open request does not complete cleanly. Repeating the action leaves multiple persistent IntelliJ launcher processes, even though there is only one real long-running IDE instance. In one reproduction, seven launcher processes remained after seven open attempts. They were all children of Codex Desktop and all targeted the same source file; several used --line 280 --column 1.

Example, with user and repository paths redacted:

<launcher-pid> <codex-pid> /Applications/IntelliJ IDEA.app/Contents/MacOS/idea --line 280 --column 1 <repo>/SomeFile.java
... repeated seven times ...
<main-idea-pid> 1 /Applications/IntelliJ IDEA.app/Contents/MacOS/idea

The seven launcher processes were created over about 13 seconds and remained alive instead of forwarding the request and exiting. At diagnosis time, ps showed each launcher near 99% CPU with roughly 58–63 MB RSS.

The running IDEA's idea.log recorded CommandLineProcessor - External command line at the exact timestamps of all seven launches, so the requests reached IntelliJ's command-line activation path, but the callers did not exit.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open a project in IntelliJ IDEA.

2. Open the Git branches popup, choose the current branch, and select Push....

3. In the Push dialog, select one of the changed files so its diff preview is shown.

4. Switch to a different task in Codex Desktop.

5. Click a file reference and use Open in IntelliJ IDEA (jump to the referenced file/line).

6. Observe that the jump hangs or does not complete normally.

7. Repeat the jump action a few times.

8. Run:

   ps -axo pid=,ppid=,%cpu=,rss=,command= | grep '/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA.app/Contents/MacOS/idea'
   

9. Observe multiple persistent idea launcher processes whose parent is Codex Desktop, while only one long-running IntelliJ instance exists.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex should reuse the existing IntelliJ instance and navigate to the requested file and line, even while IntelliJ has a Push dialog and diff preview open. If IntelliJ cannot process the request while a modal dialog is active, Codex should time out or report the failure without leaving persistent launcher processes or allowing repeated requests to accumulate.

Additional information

• IntelliJ IDEA: 2026.2.1, build IU-262.9437.185
• macOS: 26.4, Apple Silicon
• The launcher executable was /Applications/IntelliJ IDEA.app/Contents/MacOS/idea.
• The launcher process parent was /Applications/ChatGPT.app/Contents/MacOS/ChatGPT.
• Related but different: #33461 reports DirectoryLock CannotActivateException on Windows. This report is macOS-specific, depends on an IntelliJ Push/diff-preview modal state, and produces multiple persistent launcher processes.

Start by locating the macOS Codex Desktop entry point for the “Open in IntelliJ IDEA” action and its process-launch handling, then reproduce the Push dialog and diff-preview state described in the issue. Verify the launcher forwards the file and line request or fails cleanly, and that repeated attempts do not leave persistent IntelliJ launcher processes.