Context window usage indicator is not displayed

[alexchexes]

What version of the IDE extension are you using?

26.519.32039

What subscription do you have?

Plus

Which IDE are you using?

VS Code

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26100.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Just noticed that the context window usage indicator is no longer displayed.

Before:

Now:

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Use an earlier version of the Codex VS Code extension.
2. Use the current version of the Codex VS Code extension.
3. Notice that the context window usage indicator is no longer displayed.

What is the expected behavior?

The context window usage indicator should be displayed.

Additional information

Without this indicator, it is impossible to understand the current context window usage. This information is essential for users who have long chat sessions, because when the context becomes large enough, it is automatically compacted.

Since we know that not all the information is preserved during compaction, it is important to know when the context is going to be compacted at the beginning of the next turn.

This critical part of the current state should be visible without any additional actions. It is as important as the battery indicator on a phone and should remain visible in all cases.

[github-actions]

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

• Codex App: context/compaction progress indicator disappeared from composer UI #24071
• Context window usage bar is not displayed after recent upgrades #24066
• Codex App no longer shows context window percentage near send button #24029
• Regression: context usage percentage is missing from Codex input composer #24015
• Context usage doesn't show up #24044

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[MisterRound]

"New, improved unlimited context!" 😀

[mklusz]

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!

[gomisha]

I couldn't add this to the original issue (#23794) since it's locked so I'll add the workaround here:

Type the slash command in the Codex thread input box and that opens up different sub-commands, one of which is to compact the current context. That sub-command shows you how much context is left.

[alexchexes]

@gomisha Thanks. Another workaround is to enable the /status panel. But once again, the issue is the disappearance of a tiny yet highly valuable UI element that shows an essential piece of information about the current state and that should be displayed at all times, not "on-demand".

[xuanswe]

Same issue in codex desktop: #23794

[gomisha]

@alexchexes I'm finding that once activated, the /status panel keeps displaying the context window at all times for new and existing threads, not just on demand.

I activate it by typing /status and then selecting the Status Toggle Context Usage overlay popup.

Once it's activated, it stays on all the time for the current and future threads:

[Wiktor102]

Thanks @gomisha !
On hover, it also shows the exact token numbers:

[alexchexes]

@gomisha Hmm, just checked your screenshot (it wasn't displayed in the mail notification) - at first, I was thinking we were talking about the same thing, but now I see how weird that is because, in my case, I do not have that panel at all, and /status opens a completely different panel.

I still have context usage in that panel, and that's why I mentioned it as a workaround, but, now I am really curious whether my panel version is old or new, and how the panel you use looks in VSCode. Are you even in vscode? What OS? If you can, please share a screenshot of the full VS Code UI with that panel, as I am really confused about how such a tall panel like that can fit the narrow VSCode chat side panel and stay visible at all times without taking half of the chat height.

[gemyago]

Likely will be closed as a duplicate of #23794. This is so frustrating that it was removed. I get all this "unlimited context" marketing stuff, but we all know what that means in practice, and I would rather start a new session when I see it's close to the limit. Compaction is good sometimes, but sometimes it's not what I want. It's like removing fuel tank indicator from a car - use your intuition.... not sure what the product vision was behind this, but it's clearly not aligned to how I personally work with AI.

[gomisha]

I still have context usage in that panel, and that's why I mentioned it as a workaround, but, now I am really curious whether my panel version is old or new, and how the panel you use looks in VSCode. Are you even in vscode? What OS? If you can, please share a screenshot of the full VS Code UI with that panel, as I am really confused about how such a tall panel like that can fit the narrow VSCode chat side panel and stay visible at all times without taking half of the chat height.

@alexchexes I'm using the MacOS Codex desktop app (Version 26.519.81530 (3178)) on Mac (Sequoia 15.7.3)

There's a button in the top right to open up the side panel (red arrow in screenshot) and that side panel shows the context usage after you type and select /status