The new desktop application should preserve ChatGPT and Codex as two distinct, persistent workspaces inside the same application:
ChatGPT | Codex
Not every ChatGPT user is a developer or uses Codex. The current design appears to impose a Codex-oriented information architecture on ordinary ChatGPT users, making familiar features such as Projects, conversation history, Custom GPTs, and general navigation less visible and less convenient.
A better approach would be:
1. Preserve the established ChatGPT interface as a full top-level workspace, including its Projects, conversations, files, GPTs, search, and familiar sidebar.
2. Preserve Codex as a separate top-level workspace optimized for repositories, coding tasks, terminals, diffs, and developer tools.
3. Allow users to switch between the two through persistent tabs, similar to switching browser tabs, without losing their current location or workspace state.
4. Gradually unify the underlying infrastructure so that ChatGPT and Codex can share project data, files, context, permissions, memory, and outputs without users needing to import, copy, or paste information manually.
For example, a user should be able to discuss and plan a project in ChatGPT, open the associated implementation in Codex, and then return to ChatGPT with the Codex work linked to the same project.
This would provide the benefits of a unified application without forcing every user into the same interface. The platform and data layer can be unified while the user experiences remain appropriately optimized for different kinds of work.
Please consider:
- Restoring ChatGPT Projects and conversation navigation as first-class elements
- Creating persistent ChatGPT and Codex tabs
- Retaining each tab’s sidebar, open items, scroll position, and workspace state
- Supporting optional shared context and project data between them
- Allowing users who do not use Codex to maintain the familiar ChatGPT experience
The objective should be to unify the platform without unnecessarily replacing or degrading the established ChatGPT workflow.