openai / openai/codex

Feature Request: Switch between Work and Chat

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#46,409 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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enhancement session
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
125k
Forks
19.4k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

I’d like the ability to switch from Work mode back to Chat mode while a task is in progress, without losing context.

Complex tasks often involve a loop of discussion → execution → review → discussion → execution. Work is great for execution, while Chat is better for discussing intermediate results and adjusting the plan.

It would be very useful to have a “Pause and Chat” option in Work, then resume the same Work task afterward with all context and progress preserved.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue does not name files, tests, or entry points. Start by locating the Work and Chat mode implementations and how task context and progress are stored; done means a user can pause Work, discuss intermediate results, and resume the same task without losing context.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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