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Codex mobile lists subagent threads as workdir projects #29769
Description
Title: Codex mobile lists subagent threads as workdir <hash> projects and floods the project list
Summary
When subagents are spawned from Codex Desktop/App, Codex mobile shows many top-level folder entries named workdir <8-char hash> for the same host. These entries do not appear as normal projects in the desktop app project list, but they appear on mobile and can flood the mobile UI until it becomes hard to use.
Environment
- Host OS: macOS
- Codex Desktop: 26.616.81150, build 4306
- Local
codex --version:codex-cli 0.140.0 - Current desktop/app session state reported CLI version:
0.142.0 - Mobile app: Codex iOS, version not checked
- Feature involved: subagents / multi-agent thread spawning
Steps To Reproduce
- Open Codex Desktop/App on macOS.
- Start a normal project thread.
- Ask Codex to use multiple subagents for parallel work or review.
- Let the subagent threads complete or remain open.
- Open Codex mobile and connect to the same desktop host.
- View the mobile project/thread list for that host.
Expected Behavior
Subagent threads should either:
- stay hidden from the top-level mobile project list,
- be grouped under the parent thread, or
- be clearly labeled as subagent threads rather than shown as project folders.
Actual Behavior
Codex mobile shows many top-level folder entries named like workdir 12283408, workdir 37c83c7c, etc. Some expanded entries show subagent prompt preview text. Desktop does not show these as normal saved projects, so there is no obvious desktop-side way to clean them up from the same UI.
In one local state, there were 156 unarchived rows with thread_source='subagent'. These corresponded to source values containing subagent.thread_spawn. After deleting those subagent threads locally, the mobile clutter disappeared from the normal thread/project list.
Impact
The mobile app becomes difficult or impossible to use after several desktop subagent workflows because the list is dominated by generated workdir entries.
Diagnostics
list_projectsshowed only real saved projects, not theworkdir <hash>entries.- The active local state database had many rows where
thread_source='subagent'. - The issue appears to be a mobile/remote host listing problem: subagent worker threads are being exposed as top-level mobile project/thread entries, while desktop hides or presents them differently.
Suggested Fix
Hide subagent worker threads from the mobile top-level project list, or group them under their parent thread using thread_spawn_edges. If they must be visible, label them as subagents and provide a bulk cleanup/archive action.
Activity
github-actions commentedon Jun 24, 2026
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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matthew-s-ford commentedon Oct 4, 2026
I’m seeing similar mobile project-list clutter from ordinary projectless chats and scheduled automation runs, rather than subagent threads.
My setup is a Windows desktop host with Codex Remote in the ChatGPT iOS app. Each projectless chat gets a generated working folder. Those folders appear as separate project-like entries on the phone, including in the new-chat project picker, even though they aren’t registered desktop projects. Repeated runs keep adding entries.
Expected behavior: generated projectless working folders should not each become a separate top-level project choice.
Could this be another case of the same listing problem, or would you prefer a separate issue?
spnvt63995 commentedon Oct 11, 2026
Additional occurrence on a macOS host, observed/reported on 2026-10-11. This also affects ordinary code-review/projectless chats, consistent with the earlier projectless-chat report in this issue; it is not limited to subagent
workdir <hash>entries.Environment
26.1007.21159, build20052(read from the installed app's Info.plist).26.6.2, arm64.User-reported sequence and impact
pr-main,pr-main-2,new-chat, andnew-chat-2, accumulate in the mobile Projects list.The user explicitly clarified that the affected work originated on the Mac. Another computer being visible in the mobile host selector does not establish that these are projects from that computer.
Checks performed
local-projectsregistry was empty at inspection time, and the app's project-listing tool returned no saved local projects.This is an occurrence from an existing installation, not a clean-install reproduction. The precise source of the mobile project inventory has not been established; a specific caching or indexing cause remains unconfirmed.
Expected behavior
Generated projectless task directories should not each become a persistent top-level project choice. Explicit project removal on the desktop should be reflected in Remote, or Remote should provide a supported way to hide/remove these directory groupings while preserving chats and files.
Screenshots, private project names, full local paths, device/account identifiers, thread IDs, and raw logs are omitted.