A Codex Features Request Thread

ChatGPT Use cases and examples
,
1

I use Codex as a long-term operational workspace with many project-specific chats. Some chats act as index/master maps for the entire workflow. Recently, I accidentally archived a critical pinned “work map” chat, which disrupted navigation across my Codex project.

I’m requesting two UX improvements:

  1. Manual drag-and-drop ordering of chats inside projects, preferably in an edit mode.

Hi OpenAI team,

I want to suggest a Codex UX improvement based on a real workflow issue I experienced.

I am using Codex as a long-term operational workspace, not only as a coding assistant. In this kind of workflow, some chats become structurally important. They are not just normal conversations. They become project maps, index chats, decision hubs, routing chats, or the main place where a user organizes many related Codex threads.

Recently, I accidentally archived a pinned chat that acted as my main Codex work map. That chat contained the structure of my workspace: which project chats existed, what each one was for, how they were named, which chats were pinned, and where new topics should go.

When that chat was archived, it felt like my main navigation system disappeared.

My request is simple: Codex should show a confirmation dialog before archiving pinned, index, or project-critical chats.

Suggested behavior:

If a user tries to archive a pinned chat, Codex should ask for confirmation.

Example:

“You are about to archive a pinned chat: ‘Mapa de trabajo - Codex / Proyectos y chats.’ This chat may be important for your project navigation. Are you sure you want to archive it?”

Suggested buttons:

  • Cancel
  • Archive chat

A second useful layer would be an undo toast after archiving:

“Chat archived. Undo.”

This would protect users from accidental clicks, trackpad mistakes, or fast menu actions.

Cases where Codex should show confirmation:

  • The chat is pinned.
  • The chat belongs to a project.
  • The chat has recent activity.
  • The chat was used as the source for creating other threads.
  • The chat title includes words like Index, Map, Master, Overview, Project, Architecture, or similar.
  • The user manually marks the chat as important or protected.

Use case 1: Pinned chat as workspace map

A user may have one pinned chat that works as the central map for a large project. It explains what each chat is for, which topics belong where, and how the project is organized.

If this chat is archived accidentally, the user does not just lose a conversation from the sidebar. They lose the main navigation point for the entire workspace.

Use case 2: Chat as project router

A project can include many related chats, for example:

  • Website
  • WhatsApp
  • Contracts
  • Quotations
  • Billing
  • Installation
  • Documentation
  • GitHub
  • Product decisions

An index chat helps decide where new work should go. If it disappears, the user may start creating duplicate chats, mixing topics, or losing confidence in the structure.

Use case 3: Long-running professional workflows

For long-running projects, some chats become durable project assets. They hold important context, decisions, naming conventions, workflow rules, and links between tasks.

In these cases, archiving a chat is not a minor UI action. It changes the visibility of an important workspace asset.

Use case 4: Business and non-technical users

Codex is useful not only for developers. Founders, operators, consultants, and small teams can use it to organize and build business systems.

For these users, a chat can function like an operational control point. Accidentally archiving that chat can be confusing and disruptive.

Use case 5: Preventing accidental destructive actions

Archiving may be reversible, but in practice it can feel like a chat disappeared, especially if the user does not know how to recover it.

A confirmation dialog would prevent accidental loss of visibility for important chats without making normal chat cleanup difficult.

Suggested extra feature: Protected chats

Codex could also allow users to mark a chat as protected or critical.

For protected chats:

  • Archiving requires confirmation.
  • Deleting requires stronger confirmation.
  • The chat remains visually marked as important.
  • The chat can optionally stay at the top of the project.

Why this matters:

As Codex becomes more useful for complex, long-term work, chats are no longer always disposable. Some chats become maps, indexes, planning surfaces, and coordination hubs.

Protecting those chats would make Codex feel safer and more reliable as a professional workspace.

This improvement would help users avoid accidental disruption, especially when they are managing multiple projects, pinned chats, and long-running workflows.

Thank you for considering this request. I would be happy to provide more concrete examples or screenshots from my workflow if helpful.

2

Hi OpenAI team,

I want to suggest a Codex UX improvement for users who manage complex, long-running projects with many related chats.

Right now, project chats appear to be organized mostly by recent activity or internal sorting logic. That is useful in some situations, but it does not always match the real structure of a project.

Many projects are not flat lists of conversations. They have phases, dependencies, categories, and a natural order. For these cases, Codex should support manual drag-and-drop ordering of chats inside projects, preferably through an “Edit layout” or “Edit project” mode.

Suggested feature:

Inside a Codex project, users should be able to:

  • Drag and drop chats into a custom order.
  • Create visual sections.
  • Move chats between sections.
  • Mark one chat as the project index or home chat.
  • Keep important/index chats at the top of the project.
  • Collapse and expand sections.
  • Save manual order independent of recent activity.
  • Optionally switch between “Recent activity order” and “Manual project order.”

Small generic example:

Project Home

  • Project Index / Overview

Planning

  • Product strategy
  • Requirements
  • Architecture

Build

  • Backend
  • Frontend
  • Database
  • Authentication

Operations

  • Testing
  • Deployment
  • Bug reports
  • Support

In this example, the visual order matters. The user may want “Architecture” to stay near the top, even if “Bug reports” was the most recently active chat.

Use case 1: Long-running software project

A software project may have chats for planning, backend, frontend, database, authentication, testing, deployment, bugs, and roadmap. These chats should be grouped according to the project structure, not only sorted by the last time they were used.

Use case 2: Operational business workflow

A business workflow may have stages such as lead capture, quotation, contract, billing, production, delivery, and support. That order matters because it represents how the work actually happens.

Use case 3: Avoiding artificial naming hacks

Today, users may add prefixes like A, B, C, 01, 02, or P01 just to force chats into a readable order. This helps, but it should not be the only way to organize a project.

The chat title should describe the chat clearly. The project layout should control visual order.

Use case 4: Separating different types of work

A project can contain different types of chats:

  • Planning chats
  • Technical implementation chats
  • Documentation chats
  • Bug or issue chats
  • Deployment chats
  • Support or operations chats
  • Meta/project-index chats

Without manual ordering and sections, these different categories can become mixed together.

Use case 5: Project index or home chat

Every serious project should be able to have a project index or home chat.

This chat could explain:

  • What each chat is for
  • Where new topics should go
  • Which chats are active
  • What the project structure is

This index chat should stay at the top of the project, regardless of recent activity.

Suggested UI behavior:

Inside a project, Codex could offer:

  • Sort by recent activity
  • Sort alphabetically
  • Manual order
  • Edit layout

In “Manual order,” the user’s custom arrangement would be preserved.

In “Edit layout,” the user could drag chats, create sections, and choose which chat is the project home/index.

Why this matters:

Codex is becoming more than a single-task coding assistant. For many users, it is becoming a workspace where project context, execution, planning, and decisions live together.

Manual project chat organization would make Codex stronger for:

  • Developers
  • Founders
  • Product teams
  • Operators
  • Consultants
  • Small businesses
  • Long-running technical projects
  • Multi-chat workflows

This is not only a cosmetic improvement. It would help users organize work according to real project structure, not only according to recency.

Thank you for considering this request.

3

Hi!

Possible to provide the prompt input that created the value-less additional AI text?

That would clarify your original concern - without the wordy padding and fabrications of justifications.

4

Thanks for the feedback. I agree the core request can be stated more simply.

The original concern is: I accidentally archived a pinned Codex chat that served as my project/workspace index. Because it was the navigation map for other related chats, losing it from the sidebar disrupted the workflow.

Suggested fix: before archiving pinned, index, or project-critical chats, Codex should show a confirmation dialog or provide an immediate undo option.

5

Thanks for the feedback. Here is the core use case in plain form:

I have multiple Codex chats inside the same project, each representing a different part of the workflow: planning, architecture, backend, frontend, testing, deployment, bugs, and support.

The problem is that the chat list appears to be organized mainly by recent activity, but real projects often have a logical order that is different from recency.

For example, I may want:

  1. Project Index / Overview
  2. Planning
  3. Architecture
  4. Backend
  5. Frontend
  6. Testing
  7. Deployment
  8. Bugs / Support

Even if “Bugs / Support” was the most recently active chat, I may still want it to stay lower in the project structure.

Suggested fix: allow manual drag-and-drop ordering of chats inside a project, ideally with an edit mode and optional sections.

6

Hey Jong1980, welcome to the forum!

I agree that would be a useful addition. I'll pass this feedback along to the team so they can review the request and decide whether adding a confirmation dialog makes sense.

Avinash