[Windows] Generated file download links missing in desktop app but visible in browser

[sjenn2225]

What version of the Codex/ChatGPT app are you using?

Unknown. The issue occurred in the current Windows desktop app on August 4, 2026.

What subscription do you have?

Prolite

What platform is your computer?

Windows 10, x64

What issue are you seeing?

When ChatGPT generated a DOCX file, the assistant returned a valid sandbox:/mnt/data/... download link, but the link/attachment did not appear in the Windows desktop app.

The assistant resent the link multiple times, but it remained absent in the desktop app. Opening the exact same conversation in Chrome immediately showed the download link, and the DOCX downloaded successfully.

This indicates that the file was created correctly and that the issue is specific to rendering generated-file links or attachments in the Windows desktop app.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open a conversation in the Windows desktop app.
2. Ask ChatGPT to create a downloadable file, such as a DOCX.
3. Wait for the assistant to return the generated-file link.
4. Observe that the file link or attachment may not appear in the desktop app.
5. Open the same conversation in a web browser.
6. Observe that the link appears there and downloads the file successfully.

Expected behavior

Generated files should appear as clickable download links or attachments in the Windows desktop app, consistent with the browser experience.

Actual behavior

The generated-file link is missing in the Windows desktop app but visible and functional in Chrome for the same conversation and assistant response.

Additional information

• Browser used for comparison: Chrome 150
• File type reproduced: .docx
• The assistant recreated and resent the link several times with the same result.
• No issue with the file itself; it downloaded and opened normally from Chrome.

[github-actions]

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

• Windows app doesn’t render generated file attachments #36243
• Generated file links render as plain text and are not clickable in the new ChatGPT Windows desktop app #36065
• local chat output URL file results hyperlink not functional #35819
• Codex App renders ChatGPT-generated Markdown download links as non-clickable text #35945
• Quick Chat does not render generated files as downloadable attachments #36064

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[nickjohngray]

Same here—this is extremely frustrating and disruptive.

I am seeing the same desktop link-rendering failure on macOS in Advanced Voice: ordinary Markdown links and raw web URLs can disappear from the assistant transcript. In the affected transcript, URL punctuation may also be rendered as spoken words such as "colon" and "slash", so the visible text cannot be copied accurately.

Confirmed workaround: ask Codex to copy the URL or required text to the macOS clipboard, then paste it into the target app. This is not a fix; the transcript should faithfully render assistant-supplied links and punctuation.