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Codex Desktop can remain stuck showing "thinking/running" even after the task has completed #20754

@kdo82

Description

@kdo82

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Codex App version: 26.429.3425.0

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64 Codex CLI in WSL: codex-cli 0.128.0 WSL: Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64 x86_64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Desktop sometimes remains stuck showing a "thinking" or
"running" state indefinitely.

The underlying task appears to continue or complete successfully. If
I exit the Codex Desktop app and restart it, the same thread is shown
with the completed result. This makes it look like the live UI state
is stuck, rather than the actual agent task being permanently hung.

I do not see the same behavior in Codex CLI. I mainly observe it in
Codex Desktop.

In my environment, Codex Desktop is used on Windows with WSL
available/configured. Around the same time, the Desktop logs have
repeatedly shown messages like:

Failed to resolve git root: WSL mode is enabled but no eligible
distro is available

This may or may not be the direct cause, but it suggests the Desktop
app may be in a bad state around WSL/runtime/git-root resolution. The
core symptom is that the Desktop UI appears to miss or fail to apply
the final turn completion/status update event. After restarting the
app, the persisted thread state is correct and the completed result
is visible.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

I do not have a minimal code snippet that deterministically
reproduces this yet. The issue appears intermittent and UI-state
related.

Observed reproduction pattern:

  1. Start Codex Desktop on Windows.
  2. Use a local/WSL workspace and start a normal task that performs
    reasoning and/or shell execution.
  3. Wait for the task to run.
  4. Sometimes the UI remains stuck showing "thinking" or "running"
    indefinitely.
  5. Exit Codex Desktop completely.
  6. Restart Codex Desktop.
  7. Reopen the same thread.
  8. The previously stuck task is now shown as completed, with the
    final result visible.

Expected behavior:
The Desktop UI should receive/apply the final turn completion or
thread status update and stop showing the active spinner when the
turn has completed.

Actual behavior:
The Desktop UI can remain in an active "thinking/running" state even
though the task appears to have completed and persisted successfully.

Additional notes:

  • I do not observe this in Codex CLI.
  • This appears more like a Desktop live state synchronization issue
    than a model/task execution failure.
  • The environment includes Windows + WSL2.
  • Desktop logs around the issue have included repeated WSL-related
    git root resolution errors:
    "Failed to resolve git root: WSL mode is enabled but no eligible
    distro is available"

Session id / token usage / context window usage:
I do not have a reliable session id or token/context usage snapshot
for the affected run. I can collect and attach these the next time it
happens if there is a recommended place in the app logs or state
files to retrieve them.

What is the expected behavior?

No response

Additional information

When a turn completes, Codex Desktop should update the live thread
state and stop showing the "thinking" or "running" indicator.

If the underlying task has completed and the result has been
persisted, the Desktop UI should show the final assistant response
without requiring the user to exit and restart the app.

In other words, the live UI state should stay consistent with the
persisted thread state.

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    appIssues related to the Codex desktop appbugSomething isn't workingsessionIssues involving session (thread) management, resuming, forking, naming, archivingwindows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems

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