TUI title generation fails because managed permission profiles override its explicit read-only sandbox

Proposed GitHub issue

Title

TUI title generation fails because managed permission profiles override its explicit read-only sandbox

What version of Codex CLI is running?

0.155.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Business

Which model were you using?

The visible task uses gpt-5.6-sol. The internal title-generation thread uses gpt-5.6-luna.

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.6.0 arm64 arm

What terminal emulator and version are you using?

Ghostty 1.3.1

Codex doctor report

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}

The report has overall status warning. Its two warnings concern unverified endpoint-protection exclusions and a 23-row terminal window. Neither warning affects configuration resolution or the sandbox policy returned by thread/start.

What issue are you seeing?

Automatic thread-title generation fails when Codex receives managed requirements containing an allowed_permission_profiles allowlist with default_permissions = ":workspace".

The title helper explicitly requests an ephemeral read-only thread with approval policy never, but app-server resolves the thread as workspace-write. The TUI detects the broader effective policy and aborts before starting the title turn:

approval_policy=never sandbox_policy=workspace-write
...
codex_tui::app::thread_title: failed to start title-generation thread
error=temporary structured thread did not start with read-only permissions

Consequently, new TUI threads remain unnamed.

Manual naming with /rename still works, indicating that persistence through thread/name/set is healthy and the failure is isolated to automatic title generation.

The effective requirements reported by configRequirements/read are:

{
  "allowedApprovalPolicies": ["on-request", "never"],
  "allowedSandboxModes": null,
  "allowedPermissionProfiles": {
    ":danger-full-access": true,
    ":read-only": true,
    ":workspace": true
  },
  "defaultPermissions": ":workspace"
}

Read-only is explicitly allowed, so the failure does not appear to be an intentional policy rejection. This configuration follows the documented managed permission-profile pattern: a built-in workspace default with read-only and workspace profiles allowed.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Apply these requirements through a supported managed requirements source:

   default_permissions = ":workspace"
   
   [allowed_permission_profiles]
   ":read-only" = true
   ":workspace" = true
   ":danger-full-access" = true
   

2. Fully restart Codex CLI so the requirements are loaded into the new process.

3. Run Codex CLI 0.155.0 in TUI mode in a trusted workspace.

4. Start a new task and send an initial prompt that would normally trigger automatic title generation.

5. Inspect the trace/debug log.

The temporary title thread starts with:

model=gpt-5.6-luna
approval_policy=never
sandbox_policy=workspace-write

It is then rejected by the TUI with:

temporary structured thread did not start with read-only permissions

No title turn is submitted.

What is the expected behavior?

The temporary title thread should start read-only because:

• the caller explicitly requests read-only;
• :read-only is permitted by the managed allowlist; and
• title generation deliberately validates that its effective permissions remain read-only.

Possible resolutions include having the title helper request permissions = ":read-only" when managed profile mode is active, or translating an allowed legacy sandbox = "read-only" request to the corresponding built-in profile instead of replacing it with the managed workspace default.

The title helper should continue to fail closed if read-only is genuinely disallowed.

Additional information

The apparent v0.155.0 code path is:

1. temporary_structured_request.rs treats only profile names not beginning with : as profiles to preserve.
2. An active built-in profile such as :workspace is therefore discarded.
3. The helper sends the legacy sandbox = ReadOnly field.
4. In config resolution, the presence of managed allowed_permission_profiles sets requirements_force_profile_selection.
5. Forced profile selection chooses the managed default_permissions, which is :workspace.
6. App-server returns the compatibility sandbox projection as workspace-write.
7. The title helper's read-only verification aborts the operation.

Relevant source:

• temporary_structured_request.rs: built-in profiles are filtered out
• temporary_structured_request.rs: temporary thread request
• config/mod.rs: managed requirements force profile selection
• config/mod.rs: profile selection overrides the legacy syntax path
• Documented managed permission-profile configuration

The helper catches the broader policy before the title turn runs. This report does not demonstrate filesystem access or a sandbox escape. The user-visible impact is failed automatic title generation, while the underlying correctness issue is that thread/start returns a broader effective sandbox than the caller requested even though the requested read-only profile is allowed.

Related but apparently not duplicate:

• #15310: Desktop automations silently fall back to workspace-write sandbox regardless of app configuration
• #38097: Codex Security Deep Scan fails to start on Windows: parent must provide a managed filesystem permission profile
• #44502: Desktop auto-title silently falls back when structured JSON title validation fails

Start by reproducing TUI title generation with a managed permission profile and an explicit read-only sandbox. Trace the permission-profile and sandbox handling involved in that path; done means title generation succeeds while the explicit read-only restriction remains honored.