OpenAI updates ChatGPT desktop with history sync after Work feedback

• OpenAI patched the merged desktop app after feedback: conversation history and projects returned to the sidebar, Chat and Work history now sync across web, mobile, and desktop, and local tasks stay local, according to thsottiaux's update.
• Codex stayed as its own mode inside ChatGPT, while a launch modal told users “Codex is now the ChatGPT app” in the desktop modal and the new switcher labels Codex as “Build, debug, and ship” in Theo's screenshot.
• Codex review moved deeper into the app: OpenAI Devs showed PR Chat plus inline patch editing in the PR demo, and OpenAI's changelog says users can edit, accept, or reject proposed patches without leaving Codex.
• The app is becoming a general computer-use surface: ChatGPTapp's walkthrough shows browser research and spreadsheet input in the desktop demo, while OpenAI Devs showed Codex in Chrome pulling context from Drive, Slack, and local files in the Chrome workflow.
• Demand was loud: Codex and ChatGPT Work hit 9M active users before another weekly limit reset, per thsottiaux's reset post, and OpenAIDevs put Codex at 7M+ weekly users with 150+ updates in two months in the Codex recap.

The Codex changelog buries a lot under one desktop app version: PR Chat, direct Markdown and code editing, faster Computer Use, visible subagent activity, custom domains for Sites, and a clearer warning when Full access meets Ultra. The Computer Use docs say the feature runs in both Work and Codex and asks macOS for Screen Recording and Accessibility; one user’s haunted-Mac report makes that permission boundary feel less abstract in 0xblacklight's report. The browser docs also say the built-in browser uses a separate profile from your regular browser, a small detail with big implications for logged-in workflows.

OpenAI’s follow-up changed the app shell, not the model. thsottiaux wrote that the new ChatGPT desktop app “didn't get totally quite right on the first try,” then listed the repair set:

• ChatGPT conversation history and projects are visible in the sidebar.
• Chat and Work history sync across web, mobile, and desktop.
• Local tasks stay on the user’s computer.
• Chat and Work can be switched inside the desktop app.
• Codex mode is unchanged.

The correction maps to the rough edge users were reporting. One OpenAI Developer Community bug report said the July 14 desktop app stopped showing existing ChatGPT Projects while the same workspace still showed them on the web, and another macOS report said web project hierarchy was missing while some Work chats were still discoverable through @.

Theo’s reaction was the cleanest product read: renaming “ChatGPT Work” to “ChatGPT” and “ChatGPT Codex” to “Codex” looked stupid and useful at the same time, according to his screenshot.

The modal did not hedge: “Codex is now the ChatGPT app.” OpenAI’s release notes frame the desktop app as one global macOS and Windows surface for Chat, Work, and Codex, with Work for research and deliverables and Codex for software development.

The naming loop still looked strange in practice. Ben Hylak posted a macOS window titled ChatGPT with “Codex” as the main view in his screenshot, then let his meme reply carry the obvious “ChatGPT in Codex or Codex in ChatGPT” confusion.

OpenAI’s Codex changelog says existing Codex app users keep projects, settings, and workflows, and can make Codex the default view. Simon Willison spotted a more subtle split: Chat and Work modes on mobile seemed materially different, while Codex versus Work on desktop looked cosmetic in his reply to Ethan Mollick.

PR Chat is the most engineer-shaped part of the update. OpenAI Devs showed a pull request opened inside Codex, questions asked against that PR context, and an inline patch reviewed, accepted, and committed inside the editor in the demo.

The changelog says the same flow covers inline review feedback, proposed patch inspection, and edit, accept, or reject actions without leaving the app. OpenAI’s code review docs put the surrounding review surface in Git terms: the pane reflects repository state, supports line-specific feedback, and lets users decide what to stage, revert, commit, or push.

pvncher said the demo showed a pull request feature he worked on, with more PR updates coming in his post. Christmas came early for code-review-loop nerds.

ChatGPTapp’s video shows the new app using a browser to research flight information, then moving data into a spreadsheet. OpenAI’s release notes describe the same desktop pitch: Work can use local files and desktop apps with permission, while the built-in browser can gather information from websites and work with supported web tools and files.

OpenAI Devs framed the Chrome flow as a go-live plan: build a checklist from a form, pull context from Google Drive, Slack, and local files, flag follow-up, update a portal, and draft a reply. The user still makes the final call in that demo.

The permissions story is now part of the product story. The Computer Use docs say macOS users must grant Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions, and 0xblacklight reported a Codex session that triggered a screen-recording prompt, moved windows, and typed through the clipboard API in his haunted-Mac post. He later clarified that the behavior was not in the Codex harness in his follow-up.

Search got a separate rollout from the desktop repair. OpenAI’s ChatGPT release notes say the sidebar can now search chats, projects, images, and documents across web, iOS, and Android, with filters by content type and global availability on all plans.

Tibor Blaho’s screenshot captured the release-note text and a search modal with filters for chats, images, documents, and projects in his post. TestingCatalog showed the same search UI with the Work toggle selected in its screenshot.

Codex has its own retrieval shortcuts. mattlam_ pointed to the ⌘P and ⌘K command palettes for tasks, commands, and workspace files in his command-palette screenshot, while Nick Dobos showed a stranger path: turn a live voice conversation on iOS into a planning thread, then attach it to Codex with @ in his workflow note.

OpenAIDevs’ recap lists the wider Codex batch: GPT-5.6 and Ultra, parallel work with /goal, faster computer use, AppShots, inline edits, Sites, mobile and SSH workflows, and PRs from review to merge. It also claims 7M+ weekly Codex users and 150+ updates in two months.

The subagent UI is no longer hidden behind logs. dejavucoder’s screenshot shows active and completed workers with task names, elapsed time, and partial status text in the Subagents view, while his follow-up shows the sidebar summary with “1 working” and “5 done.”

pvncher said Codex’s multi-agent tools are different from the usual “subagents” mental model in his note. The changelog’s matching line is plainer: task and subagent activity is now easier to follow while Codex works.

OpenAI turned the rollout into a public feedback loop.

• sama claimed a 2.5x increase in usage of Codex and ChatGPT Work over the prior week in his usage post.
• thsottiaux said Codex and ChatGPT Work had hit 9M active users before another reset restored the weekly usage limit to 100% in his reset post.
• thsottiaux asked what to improve, then offered $100 in Codex credits to the first 10,000 users who tweeted what they loved about GPT-5.6 Sol or why they switched in his feedback-credit thread.
• After the merge, thsottiaux asked what OpenAI should merge next in his “double or nothing” prompt.