How to remove tasks in OpenAI Codex?

[j5i3h8o8]

I want to delete these tasks because they clutter the screen and are no longer useful.

[kyrylo-petrash]

Hi team! Currently, Codex only allows archiving tasks, but there is no way to permanently delete them — even archived ones. Please consider adding a "Delete" option to help users keep their workspace clean and organized. Thanks a lot!

[varicocelehealing]

I don't want a delete function for "keeping my workspace clean". What the hell? I opted for the enterprise paid GPT so that I wouldn't have to face these privacy concerns. I want to permanently delete the chats and make sure they are not used to train Open AI's models. It has complete access to all of my ******ing code. What on Earth? How the hell do they not add a damn delete function? Open AI is a 100% conning its users. BE AWARE DO NOT START WITH CODEX -- it is a privacy nightmare.

[hoodrichpirobo]

Short answer: use Archive for cleanup. A permanent Delete task option does not appear to be documented for Codex tasks/threads right now.

There are two separate things here:

1. Hide it from the normal task/thread list

   • Use archive.
   • In the app, archive the thread/task from the UI.
   • In the CLI, use:

   codex archive

   or:

   codex archive <SESSION_ID>

   To restore it:

   codex unarchive <SESSION_ID>

2. Permanently delete the underlying task/transcript/data

   • Archiving is not deletion.
   • The CLI docs explicitly describe archive as cleaning up the session picker without deleting the transcript.
   • I do not see a documented codex delete, codex cloud delete, or permanent delete control for Codex cloud tasks.

For local CLI sessions, transcripts are stored locally under:

$CODEX_HOME/sessions

usually:

~/.codex/sessions

Archived local sessions are under:

$CODEX_HOME/archived_sessions

usually:

~/.codex/archived_sessions

Removing files there may clean up local CLI history, but that should be treated as local cleanup only. It does not necessarily delete any Codex cloud task, ChatGPT-side record, audit log, or server-side retention copy.

For privacy/data-retention concerns, the relevant setting depends on how you use Codex:

• ChatGPT sign-in: follows the ChatGPT account/workspace data and retention settings.
• API key auth: follows the API organization’s data controls.
• Enterprise: current Codex docs say Enterprise includes no training on enterprise data and retention/residency controls.

So for the original “clutter” problem, archive is the available answer. For the stronger “permanently delete this task and its data” requirement, I think this is still a missing product feature and should be tracked as a feature request: Codex should expose a clear Delete option that explains exactly what gets deleted, what remains for retention/audit/security, and whether the operation applies only locally or also to cloud-hosted task data.