gpt-6-astra is unusable: cannot finish a simple plan, days-long self-contradicting loops, unrequested changes, ~1 TB written to /tmp

What version of Codex CLI is running?

codex-cli 0.155.1

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro 20x

Which model were you using?

gpt-6-astra max

What platform is your computer?

Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64

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

Windows Terminal (WSL / PowerShell)

Codex doctor report

{
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  "overallStatus": "ok",
  "codexVersion": "0.155.1",
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      "status": "ok",
      "summary": "background server is not running",
      "details": {
        "control socket": "/home/andyalvarez/.codex/app-server-control/app-server-control.sock",
        "daemon state dir": "/home/andyalvarez/.codex/app-server-daemon",
        "mode": "ephemeral",
        "pid file": "/home/andyalvarez/.codex/app-server-daemon/app-server.pid (missing)",
        "settings": "/home/andyalvarez/.codex/app-server-daemon/settings.json (missing)",
        "status": "not running",
        "update-loop pid file": "/home/andyalvarez/.codex/app-server-daemon/app-server-updater.pid (missing)"
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        "auth storage mode": "File",
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      "summary": "Responses WebSocket handshake succeeded",
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        "auth mode": "chatgpt",
        "connect timeout": "15000 ms",
        "endpoint": "wss://chatgpt.com/backend-api/<redacted>",
        "handshake result": "HTTP 101 Switching Protocols",
        "model provider": "openai",
        "provider name": "OpenAI",
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        "wire API": "responses"
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      "summary": "running npm on linux-x86_64",
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      "details": {
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}

What issue are you seeing?

gpt-6-astra cannot complete a simple, well-specified task at either xhigh or max reasoning effort, and consumes an unreasonable amount of time, quota and disk trying.

The task was a modest change in a Next.js / React / Prisma project. The plan was a markdown file split into verifiable phases, and the repository has an AGENTS.md and skills configured. At xhigh the model worked for more than a full day straight and never got past roughly 30% of the plan.

Observed behavior:

• Non-convergence: it repeatedly reverted and rewrote its own earlier changes, contradicting decisions it had already made. Completed phases were never treated as done.
• Instruction-following failure: it ignored explicit instructions from the plan and from AGENTS.md.
• Scope creep: it never asked a single clarifying question, and created files and changes nobody requested.
• Resource abuse: it wrote close to 1 TB of data to /tmp.
• Quota burn: it consumed 2 of my 3 accumulated usage resets for that 30%.

At max it was worse: the model deleted most of what xhigh had produced, redid it, and fell into the same loop without finishing.

The environment is healthy. codex doctor --json reports overallStatus "ok", the latest CLI version, valid auth, reachable endpoints and a working sandbox, so this points to model behavior and not local configuration.

On a $200/month plan, this is unacceptable. It is also hard to take seriously that this is being marketed as a step toward AGI when the model cannot finish a simple, verifiable plan without rewriting its own work in circles for over a day. Calling this AGI is an embarrassment.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open a Next.js / React / Prisma project with an AGENTS.md and skills configured.
2. Provide a markdown plan divided into verifiable phases for a relatively simple task.
3. Ask gpt-6-astra to execute it at reasoning effort xhigh, without subagents.
4. Let it run and monitor /tmp. The model does not converge, rewrites its own previous work, asks no questions and makes unrequested changes, while /tmp grows to close to 1 TB.
5. Repeat the same task at reasoning effort max.

Reproducibility: consistent across multiple attempts at both xhigh and max.

What is the expected behavior?

The model should execute the plan phase by phase, verify each phase, and preserve completed work unless a later step requires changing it. It should follow AGENTS.md and the plan, ask for clarification instead of inventing work, and avoid unrequested changes.

A simple task should finish in hours, not days, with bounded disk usage. A run that is not converging should stop or ask for input instead of looping indefinitely.

Additional information

• Environment: Codex CLI 0.155.1 (npm), WSL2 on Debian 13, Windows Terminal, model gpt-6-astra. The full codex doctor --json output is included above, with the username redacted in the paths.
• I am a senior full-stack developer with over 15 years of professional experience and a background in electronic engineering. I know how to write a plan, structure a repository and instruct an agent. The task was simple and the plan was verifiable, so this is not a prompting problem.
• For comparison, DeepSeek handles this kind of work considerably better. Its code may be less clean in terms of SRP and DRY, but it delivers something functional. This model delivered 30% of the work, full of contradictions, after more than a day of runtime.
• This looks like a serious regression in reliability, instruction-following and resource control, and it needs an investigation. Other users seeing the same loops, runaway runtimes or /tmp growth are welcome to add their experience below.
• I can share the plan file, the AGENTS.md and the rollout logs on request.

The payload names no source file or test. Start by reproducing with codex-cli 0.155.1 and gpt-6-astra max on Linux WSL2, then inspect the rollout files under ~/.codex and /tmp growth while checking the Codex doctor report. Done means a simple plan completes without contradictory loops, unrequested changes, or runaway temporary writes.