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VS Code extension: high renderer CPU in non-git workspace caused by repeated git stable-metadata worker loop #17394

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VS Code extension: high renderer CPU in non-git workspace caused by repeated git stable-metadata worker loop#17394
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bugSomething isn't workingextensionIssues related to the VS Code extensionperformance

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@PR0TX
PR0TX
opened on Apr 10, 2026

What version of the IDE extension are you using?

openai.chatgpt 26.5406.31014

What subscription do you have?

Plus

Which IDE are you using?

Visual Studio Code 1.115.0

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

When I open the Codex extension in a folder that is not a Git repository, VS Code starts using noticeably high CPU in the renderer/window process, even while idle.

After profiling the Codex webview frame in DevTools, I found that the issue is caused by a repeated worker-response loop coming from the Git worker.

The repeated message is:

{
"type": "worker-response",
"workerId": "git",
"response": {
"id": "ac5ec350-67f7-4d5b-9f27-6087a627a2eb",
"method": "stable-metadata",
"result": {
"type": "error",
"error": {
"message": "Not a git repository"
}
}
}
}

This seems to cause a message/timer storm inside the Codex webview and increases CPU usage in VS Code window/frame processes.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Open a folder that is not a Git repository.
  3. Open the Codex extension panel/sidebar.
  4. Leave the panel open, even without actively using it.
  5. Observe increased CPU usage in VS Code window/frame processes.

I verified this by profiling the Codex webview frame in DevTools.

I also tested a workaround:

  • after running git init in the same folder,
  • reopening/reloading VS Code,
  • and opening Codex again,

the CPU usage dropped close to zero.

This makes the issue reproducible and strongly suggests that the non-git workspace state is triggering the loop.

What is the expected behavior?

If the opened folder is not a Git repository, the extension should handle that state gracefully.

It should not repeatedly request git stable metadata, spam worker responses, or cause high renderer CPU usage while idle.

Additional information

No response

Activity

  1. PR0TX
    added
    extensionIssues related to the VS Code extension
    on Apr 10, 2026
  2. github-actions
    added
    bugSomething isn't working
    on Apr 10, 2026

  3. github-actions commented on Apr 10, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Apr 10, 2026 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

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

    Powered by Codex Action

  4. mdcnz commented on Apr 14, 2026

    @mdcnz
    mdcnz
    on Apr 14, 2026

    I'm experiencing this too, on linux (opened a duplicate #17730).

    After running git init . the load immediately drops, no reload or restart required.

    Load is normal in other existing git dirs.

  5. mdcnz
    marked High CPU load in vscode codex extension in recent versions on linux #17730 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 14, 2026

  6. omair2084 commented on Apr 15, 2026

    @omair2084
    omair2084
    on Apr 15, 2026

    Had this issue on windows, clicked initialize repo and the load immediately dropped. Thanks!

  7. etraut-openai
    marked stable-metadata error loop in non-git folders causes high CPU in the VS Code extension #18775 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 21, 2026
  8. etraut-openai
    marked Codex Desktop macOS: renderer CPU spike with repeated stable-metadata "Not a git repository" errors #18837 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 21, 2026
  9. etraut-openai
    marked macOS 桌面版今天明显卡顿，并伴随 unknown conversation / Not a git repository / MCP cleanup 异常 #19108 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 23, 2026
  10. etraut-openai
    marked Codex Desktop on macOS was very slow today and kept reconnecting to the local app-server #19109 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 23, 2026
  11. etraut-openai
    marked Codex App: non-git saved workspace roots can trigger renderer high CPU and Git warning loops #19115 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 23, 2026
  12. etraut-openai
    marked Codex App enters high CPU loop when project list contains non-git entries #19201 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 25, 2026
  13. etraut-openai
    marked VS Code extension enters high-CPU retry loop on non-git workspace #19327 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 25, 2026
  14. etraut-openai
    marked VS Code extension high CPU in non-git workspace due to stable-metadata retry loop #19642 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 26, 2026
  15. etraut-openai
    marked Codex in VS Code causes very high CPU usage in non-git folders, but behaves normally in git repositories on macOS #18331 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 26, 2026
  16. etraut-openai
    marked stable-metadata git worker loops endlessly when workspace is not a git repo #19699 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 26, 2026
  17. VasileCiurla
    marked High idle CPU (25%) in Codex IDE extension on Positron: Electron window renderer consumes CPU after opening Codex panel #19731 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 26, 2026

  18. CrankyAnt commented on Apr 27, 2026

    @CrankyAnt
    CrankyAnt
    on Apr 27, 2026

    Adding a Windows-specific variant that may help narrow this down.

    For me this was version-sensitive:

    • last known good: 26.409.20454
    • reproduces: 26.422.30944
    • also reproduces: 26.5422.30944

    Environment:

    • Windows 10
    • VS Code

    The repeating log line was the same one discussed here:

    worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git

    What seems worth adding is that I could reproduce closely related failure states beyond just a plain non-git folder:

    1. non-git workspace root
    2. git repo in unborn state (initialized, but no first commit / no valid HEAD)
    3. git repo rejected by Git because of safe.directory / dubious ownership on Windows

    In my testing, git init alone was not always sufficient.
    The loop only stopped reliably after the workspace had both:

    • a Git-safe ownership state (safe.directory)
    • a valid first commit so HEAD exists

    That suggests the eventual fix should probably treat all of these as stable non-fatal metadata states, not just:

    • not a git repository
    • repo exists but HEAD is unborn/missing
    • repo exists but Git rejects access via safe.directory / ownership checks

    This feels closely related to #19326, but with the additional Windows safe.directory angle.

  19. DigitalAndSEO commented on Apr 27, 2026

    @DigitalAndSEO
    DigitalAndSEO
    on Apr 27, 2026

    I’m seeing what looks like a related issue on macOS with the latest VS Code extension.

    Environment

    • Codex / ChatGPT VS Code extension: openai.chatgpt@26.422.30944
    • VS Code: 1.117.0
    • VS Code arch: arm64
    • OS: macOS 26.4.1 build 25E253
    • Kernel: Darwin 25.4.0 arm64
    • Workspace: Git repo opens correctly; git status works.

    What I see

    When I open Codex / ChatGPT in VS Code, the Codex Output panel starts logging repeated Git worker warnings (and the CPU usage reaches 130% in the Code Helper (plugin) process):

    [warning] worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git

    Then I also see repeated 403 Forbidden fetch errors to this endpoint:

    [error] Error fetching httpStatus=403 statusText=Forbidden url=https://chatgpt.com/ces/v1/rgstr?...&st=javascript-client-react&sv=3.32.2...

    When I open or use a chat, the Output panel is also flooded with IPC warnings like:

    [warning] [IpcClient] Received broadcast but no handler is configured method=thread-stream-state-changed
[warning] [IpcClient] Received broadcast but no handler is configured method=thread-read-state-changed

    These warnings appear repeatedly while the conversation is active / streaming.

    Example logs

    On opening a chat:

    2026-04-25 14:51:41.064 [warning] worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git
2026-04-25 14:51:41.075 [warning] worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git
2026-04-25 14:51:41.213 [info] [git-repo-watcher] Starting git repo watcher
2026-04-25 14:51:47.803 [error] Error fetching httpStatus=403 requestId=REDACTED statusText=Forbidden url=https://chatgpt.com/ces/v1/rgstr?k=REDACTED&st=javascript-client-react&sv=3.32.2&sid=REDACTED&ec=3&gz=1

    While chatting / streaming:

    2026-04-25 14:52:50.205 [warning] [IpcClient] Received broadcast but no handler is configured method=thread-stream-state-changed
2026-04-25 14:52:50.232 [warning] [IpcClient] Received broadcast but no handler is configured method=thread-stream-state-changed
2026-04-25 14:52:50.648 [warning] [IpcClient] Received broadcast but no handler is configured method=thread-read-state-changed
2026-04-25 14:52:56.973 [error] Error fetching httpStatus=403 requestId=REDACTED statusText=Forbidden url=https://chatgpt.com/ces/v1/rgstr?k=REDACTED&st=javascript-client-react&sv=3.32.2&sid=REDACTED&ec=4&gz=1

    Notes

    The chat itself still appears to work, but the Output panel gets noisy with repeated warnings/errors. This seems related to this issue because of the repeated stable-metadata Git worker warnings, but in my case I also consistently see the ces/v1/rgstr 403 Forbidden errors and the repeated IPC thread-stream-state-changed / thread-read-state-changed warnings.

    The chat itself still appears to work in some cases, but the Output panel gets noisy with repeated warnings/errors. This seems related to this issue because of the repeated stable-metadata Git worker warnings, but in my case I also consistently see the ces/v1/rgstr 403 Forbidden errors and the repeated IPC thread-stream-state-changed / thread-read-state-changed warnings.

    Also, some older chats no longer open correctly. When I try to open them, the chat appears to stay stuck in a loading/thinking state, while the Output panel keeps logging this warning indefinitely:

    [warning] worker_rpc_response_error error={} method=stable-metadata workerId=git

  20. igorkuznecov commented on Apr 29, 2026

    @igorkuznecov
    igorkuznecov
    on Apr 29, 2026 – with ChatGPT Codex Connector

    I put together a small public workaround repo for this stable-metadata non-git loop:

    https://github.com/igorkuznecov/patch-codex-extension

    What it does:

    • patches the extension host bundle so the non-git stable-metadata path returns null instead of a hard error
    • patches the webview asset so failed stable-metadata requests resolve to null instead of feeding the loop
    • creates .stable-metadata.bak backups
    • includes a restore script
    • uses MIT license

    Current version of the script patches all installed openai.chatgpt-* versions it finds under ~/.cursor/extensions or ~/.vscode/extensions, which turned out to matter when multiple extension versions are present.

    Tested locally on Cursor extension builds:

    • openai.chatgpt-26.422.62136-darwin-arm64
    • openai.chatgpt-26.422.71525-darwin-arm64

    The patch script is here:

    • patch-codex-stable-metadata.sh

    Usage:

    bash patch-codex-stable-metadata.sh ~/.cursor/extensions
# or
bash patch-codex-stable-metadata.sh ~/.vscode/extensions

    Then reload the editor window.

    This is only a local workaround, not an upstream fix, but it stopped the renderer/log loop in my repro.

  21. etraut-openai
    marked High CPU usage in VS Code when opening Codex panel in a non-Git workspace #20295 as a duplicate of this issue on Apr 30, 2026

  22. itorres008 commented on May 2, 2026

    @itorres008
    itorres008
    on May 2, 2026

    Solved for Me

    Problem gone for me after 05/02/26 9:01 AM, last Git warning logged and CPU load normal.
    Didn't update Codex extension or VS Code, so fix may have been somewhere else. I see some other warnings which could be coming from some quick fix, but anyway, CPU is normal. There was a Codex Extension 26.429.30905 update waiting, but problem was gone before installing it.

    I did install Codex App yesterday for testing, and it didn't have the excessive CPU load. I switched to VS Code Codex and problem persisted, so I think it's not that App installation fixed anything.

  23. etraut-openai
    added
    performance
    on May 3, 2026

  24. omry commented on May 6, 2026

    @omry
    omry
    on May 6, 2026

    @etraut-openai, wouldn't say this is performance.
    This is a bug. not some slow code.

  25. PR0TX commented on May 7, 2026

    @PR0TX
    PR0TX
    on May 7, 2026
    Author

    It looks like the issue has indeed been resolved. I’ve been monitoring this for about a week, and during that time I haven’t seen any more freezes or excessive CPU usage in VS Code. Previously, the issue would occur almost immediately, but now everything is working normally, even with the Codex panel open in a non-Git workspace.

    Thanks—it looks like the fix worked.

  26. piotrkacala commented on May 19, 2026

    @piotrkacala
    piotrkacala
    on May 19, 2026

    I can confirm this issue still exists on my side.

    I just hit the same problem: there was a storm of workerId=git messages, and after running git init in that folder the problem disappeared.

    System:

    • Linux Mint 22.3
    • Linux kernel 6.17.0-29-generic
    • x86_64

    Codex version:

    • 26.422.71525

    VSCodium version:

    • 1.116.02821

  27. philip-soerensen commented on Jun 8, 2026

    @philip-soerensen
    philip-soerensen
    on Jun 8, 2026

    I can confirm that this still exists for me.

    Codex version: 26.602.40724

    VS Code About page:
    Version: 1.123.0
    Commit: 6a44c352bd24569c417e530095901b649960f9f8
    Date: 2026-06-03T11:29:03+02:00
    Electron: 42.2.0
    ElectronBuildId: 14159160
    Chromium: 148.0.7778.97
    Node.js: 24.15.0
    V8: 14.8.178.14-electron.0
    OS: Linux x64 6.17.0-119029-tuxedo

  28. etraut-openai
    closed this as completedon Aug 5, 2026
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