Codex CLI 0.154.0: false-positive content_filter interrupts benign coding tasks in fresh sessions

What version of Codex CLI is running?

154.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Team

Which model were you using?

gpt-5.6-terra

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.6.0 arm64 arm

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

Visual Studio Code Integrated Terminal, VS Code 1.137.0 (TERM=xterm-256color)

Codex doctor report

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}

What issue are you seeing?

Thread uploaded through /feedback:
01a0aae0-743f-7732-bf03-361e64703795

Codex CLI repeatedly triggers apparent false-positive content_filter errors during ordinary software-development tasks.

Environment:

• Codex CLI: 0.154.0
• Also reproduced previously on 0.152.0
• Model: gpt-5.6-terra
• Reasoning effort: xhigh
• Subscription: ChatGPT Team
• Platform: macOS / Apple Silicon
• Repository: private ASP.NET Core/.NET software project

The issue reproduces in fresh Codex sessions with short, benign prompts.

Examples of tasks that triggered the behavior:

• reporting PWD, Git branch and HEAD;
• reading a single C# source file;
• analyzing a deterministic C# classifier;
• reviewing unit tests;
• running ordinary Git status/diff commands.

During these tasks Codex intermittently outputs:

"I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request."

The refusal can occur in the middle of an otherwise successful turn. Tool execution may continue and Codex may subsequently provide the requested benign software-analysis result.

Eventually some sessions terminate with:

stream disconnected before completion: Incomplete response returned, reason: content_filter

This reproduced after upgrading from Codex CLI 0.152.0 to 0.154.0 and after starting a completely fresh session.

A minimal recent reproduction was:

1. Start a fresh Codex 0.154.0 session.
2. Ask Codex to read only one C# classifier source file.
3. Ask it to determine the classifier result for a normal procurement-requirement string.
4. Codex successfully reads the source file.
5. An "I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request." response appears during the turn.
6. Codex subsequently provides the expected classifier result.

Another reproduction occurred while requesting only PWD, branch and HEAD.

In an earlier affected session the final diagnostic reported:

Token usage:
total=70,523
input=65,501
cached=698,578
output=5,022

However, this is not limited to large contexts because it also reproduces in newly created sessions with short prompts.

Impact:
This is particularly problematic for agentic coding because tool operations can complete before the response is interrupted. In one occurrence Codex edited three C# files and unit tests successfully, but the turn was interrupted by content_filter before validation completed. This leaves the developer needing to manually determine which operations completed.

Expected behavior:
Benign software-engineering prompts and source-code analysis should complete without false-positive content_filter interruptions.

If a response is actually blocked, Codex should fail the affected turn deterministically rather than emitting repeated refusals while tool execution continues.

Please investigate both:

1. the apparent false-positive content_filter classification; and
2. handling/retry behavior when response.incomplete/content_filter occurs during an agentic tool-execution turn.

The full affected thread and diagnostics were uploaded using /feedback.

Thread ID:
01a0aae0-743f-7732-bf03-361e64703795

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Uploaded thread: 01a0aae0-743f-7732-bf03-361e64703795

What is the expected behavior?

Benign software-development requests should complete normally without triggering content_filter.

Reading C# source files, reporting Git/PWD information, running ordinary Git commands, analyzing deterministic application logic, and modifying unit tests should not produce safety refusals.

If content_filter legitimately blocks a response, the affected turn should fail deterministically before or in a clearly defined relationship to tool execution.

Codex should not continue executing tools, potentially modify repository files, emit repeated refusal messages, and then terminate the stream with response.incomplete/content_filter.

A tool-execution turn should have a predictable and recoverable final state.

Additional information

The issue is intermittent but highly reproducible during normal coding work.

Important observations:

• Reproduced on Codex CLI 0.152.0.
• Upgraded to Codex CLI 0.154.0; the issue persists.
• Reproduced in a fresh session.
• Reproduced with short, benign prompts.
• Reproduced while reading only one C# file.
• Reproduced while requesting only PWD/branch/HEAD.
• The refusal may appear between successful tool execution and a valid final answer.
• In one occurrence, Codex successfully modified three C# files (52 insertions / 5 deletions) before the response was interrupted by content_filter, requiring manual Git inspection to determine what had actually completed.
• git diff --check remained clean; this demonstrates that the interruption was not caused by a failed repository operation.
• The full diagnostic thread was uploaded through /feedback.

Thread ID:
01a0aae0-743f-7732-bf03-361e64703795

The problem appears to involve both a possible false-positive content_filter classification and the handling of response.incomplete/content_filter during agentic tool execution.

No proprietary source code needs to be included in this public issue; the uploaded diagnostic thread can be used for internal investigation.

No source file or test is named. First reproduce a benign coding task in a fresh Codex CLI 0.154.0 session with the reported Azure provider and model, then trace where the content_filter interruption is surfaced. Done means benign tasks no longer terminate with a false-positive content_filter result, with regression coverage for the reported scenario.