What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
Version 26.727.51351
What subscription do you have?
Plus
What platform is your computer?
Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64
What issue are you seeing?
This appears related to #20880, but I think the Windows behavior deserves a separate issue.
Issue #20880 focuses primarily on Codex silently creating an empty folder at launch, and its discussion is largely framed around macOS; this report concerns a Windows-specific path-resolution problem in which projectless-chat workspaces are actually created under the wrong physical Documents path.
Issue
On Windows, the user’s Documents Known Folder is often redirected to OneDrive or another location. For example:
C:\Users\USERNAME\OneDrive\Documents, or D:\Documents
shell:Personal correctly opens that redirected location. However, Codex creates projectless-chat workspaces under:
C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Codex
For example:
C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Codex\2026-08-02\example-projectless-chat
This suggests that Codex is using the conventional %USERPROFILE%\Documents path instead of Windows’ effective Documents Known Folder location.
Impact
This is more than an empty folder being created. Projectless chats are creating workspace, work, and output directories outside the user’s redirected Documents location, excluding them from OneDrive backup and synchronization. The content is being created in an unexpected location, and the user would not clearly see it as part of the correct Documents location.
Migration procedure (manual or automated) likely needed after solution
Existing chats retain absolute paths to their assigned workspaces, as shown in Codex’s local JSON state and session records. Changing the default location later may therefore require a migration strategy.
Related issue: #20880.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Confirmation can be made by navigating to C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Codex to see if it exists and/or has folders for chats.
This would not matter to people who haven't redirected Documents to OneDrive or other drives.
What is the expected behavior?
Suggestions
Codex should:
- use the Windows Known Folder API for Documents;
- detect redirected or OneDrive-managed Documents folders;
- optionally provide a supported, user-configurable setting for the projectless-chat workspace location; and
- provide migration guidance for existing chats and workspaces if the default location changes.
Additional information
The initial Codex installation on this machine was through the VS Code extension on February 15, 2026. The Codex desktop app was installed later, on May 1, 2026.
The desktop app appears to have inherited at least some Codex settings and folders created by the VS Code extension. Therefore, the incorrect reference to the physical Windows \Documents path may have originated during the VS Code extension’s initial installation or setup rather than with the desktop app itself. I cannot confirm this without OpenAI’s implementation details, but the installation timeline makes it a possibility worth investigating.
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
Version 26.727.51351
What subscription do you have?
Plus
What platform is your computer?
Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64
What issue are you seeing?
This appears related to #20880, but I think the Windows behavior deserves a separate issue.
Issue #20880 focuses primarily on Codex silently creating an empty folder at launch, and its discussion is largely framed around macOS; this report concerns a Windows-specific path-resolution problem in which projectless-chat workspaces are actually created under the wrong physical Documents path.
Issue
On Windows, the user’s Documents Known Folder is often redirected to OneDrive or another location. For example:
C:\Users\USERNAME\OneDrive\Documents, or D:\Documents
shell:Personal correctly opens that redirected location. However, Codex creates projectless-chat workspaces under:
C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Codex
For example:
C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Codex\2026-08-02\example-projectless-chat
This suggests that Codex is using the conventional %USERPROFILE%\Documents path instead of Windows’ effective Documents Known Folder location.
Impact
This is more than an empty folder being created. Projectless chats are creating workspace, work, and output directories outside the user’s redirected Documents location, excluding them from OneDrive backup and synchronization. The content is being created in an unexpected location, and the user would not clearly see it as part of the correct Documents location.
Migration procedure (manual or automated) likely needed after solution
Existing chats retain absolute paths to their assigned workspaces, as shown in Codex’s local JSON state and session records. Changing the default location later may therefore require a migration strategy.
Related issue: #20880.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Confirmation can be made by navigating to C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Codex to see if it exists and/or has folders for chats.
This would not matter to people who haven't redirected Documents to OneDrive or other drives.
What is the expected behavior?
Suggestions
Codex should:
Additional information
The initial Codex installation on this machine was through the VS Code extension on February 15, 2026. The Codex desktop app was installed later, on May 1, 2026.
The desktop app appears to have inherited at least some Codex settings and folders created by the VS Code extension. Therefore, the incorrect reference to the physical Windows \Documents path may have originated during the VS Code extension’s initial installation or setup rather than with the desktop app itself. I cannot confirm this without OpenAI’s implementation details, but the installation timeline makes it a possibility worth investigating.