ChatGPT Desktop: branch selection missing when starting a new Codex chat

[Arbeitnehmer]

I use Codex inside ChatGPT Desktop on macOS. Previously, I could select a Git branch when starting a new conversation. I can no longer find that selector.

Environment: ChatGPT Desktop 26.928.31416, macOS 27.0.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Select Codex in ChatGPT Desktop.
2. Choose an existing local Git project with multiple branches.
3. Start a new conversation.
4. Look for a branch selector before submitting the first prompt.

Actual behavior: I cannot find a control to select the branch. Enabling worktree doesn’t bring the selector back.

Expected behavior: I can select an existing branch before starting the conversation, with a clear distinction between working in the local checkout and creating a worktree from that branch.

This matters for maintenance tasks such as rebasing an existing feature branch. After selecting the branch, I want to give a short prompt like “Rebase this branch onto origin/main and resolve conflicts.” Without the selector, I have to put branch selection and workspace setup into every prompt.

The worktree documentation still describes selecting a starting branch below the composer.

Has this control moved, is its absence a regression, or was it intentionally removed? Please restore a discoverable branch selector before the first prompt.

[EricGT]

You posted this in the appropriate place on the forum for discussing and documenting a Codex bug. The forum, however, is not the official issue tracker. If the problem needs to be formally reported and tracked by the Codex maintainers, the official place is the OpenAI Codex GitHub issue tracker.

Thanks for following the posting requirements for the Codex Bugs subcategory:

Read this before you post in the Codex Bugs category

Report reproducible bugs in the Codex CLI, IDE extension, app, or web experience. Include your Codex version, environment, steps to reproduce, and expected versus actual behavior. Provide a minimal reproducible example where possible. Model hallucinations or differences in generated output alone are not considered bugs for this category. Keep each topic focused on one bug. Use the main Codex category for discussions and Feature Requests for proposed improvements. When a fix is available, con…

I asked ChatGPT to search for the closest related issue, and it identified:

Put the Branch selection BACK in codex app

If that issue describes the same problem you are experiencing, consider adding a reaction to the GitHub issue itself, rather than only reacting to this forum topic. GitHub reactions can help the maintainers gauge how many users are affected.

If it does not match your problem closely enough, search the existing Codex issues for a better match. If you cannot find one, consider opening a new issue and include as much relevant information as possible, such as your Codex version, operating system, environment, reproduction steps, expected behavior, actual behavior, and any relevant logs or error messages.

[macnorton]

I noticed this too. Being able to choose the branch before the first prompt was especially useful when working across multiple feature branches.

Branch/worktree selection feels like workspace context rather than something that should have to be repeated in the prompt each time.

It would be great to have the selector back, or at least clarify whether this was an intentional UX change.

[giuliomagnifico]

Same issue here. This is very annoying, the branch selector in a new chat was very useful for avoiding unwanted damage on the wrong branch.