ChatGPT Desktop macOS 1.2026.118 — New Projects open directly into chat and hide “Chats / Sources” tabs

ChatGPT Bugs
1

Environment:

  • ChatGPT Desktop
  • Version: 1.2026.118 (1777682760)
  • macOS Apple Silicon

Description:
There appears to be a regression in the Projects UI/navigation.

When creating a new Project and opening it:

  • the app immediately opens a chat view
  • the usual Project tabs (“Chats”, “Sources”) are missing
  • it is therefore impossible to:
    • add Sources to the Project
    • create/manage multiple chats inside the Project
    • navigate through the Project normally

Behavior differs between new and existing Projects:

  • old/existing Projects still show the expected tabs initially
  • however, once opening a chat inside an old Project, there is no visible way to navigate back to the Project home page
  • the only workaround is selecting the Project again from the main left sidebar

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Open ChatGPT Desktop
  2. Create a new Project
  3. Open the Project
  4. Observe that the Project opens directly into a chat
  5. Observe that “Chats” and “Sources” tabs are missing

Additional repro:

  1. Open an existing/older Project
  2. Open one of its chats
  3. Try navigating back to the Project home
  4. Observe there is no back navigation/UI entry point

Expected behavior:

  • Projects should open on the normal Project home screen
  • “Chats” and “Sources” tabs should always be visible
  • users should be able to navigate back from a Project chat to the Project overview/home

Actual behavior:

  • new Projects bypass the Project home UI entirely
  • tabs are missing
  • navigation back to Project home is unavailable

Frequency:

  • reproducible consistently

Temporary workaround:

  • re-select the Project from the main sidebar to return to the Project home