ThreadShelf for Codex

Open Codex chats in editor tabs. Browse history by project and check account usage from the VS Code sidebar.

An independent extension by MrKarmannik. It is not an OpenAI product and is not affiliated with OpenAI.

Project history and account usage in the dark theme

Requirements

Windows x64 and VS Code 1.111.0 or newer for this preview.
The official OpenAI Codex extension, signed in to your account. It is included as an extension pack dependency.

The current compatibility check uses OpenAI Codex 26.1021.22027. Chat tabs use its internal conversation editor; future Codex updates may require an update to this extension.

Use

Open a project folder and select ThreadShelf in the Activity Bar.
Select a chat to open it in a pinned editor tab. Selecting it again returns to the existing tab.
Click All projects / This project above the list to switch the history filter. Projects are ordered by their latest loaded chat; expand a project to see its chats.

Open tabs and pinned chats appear first. Hover over the Chats header for new chat, search, refresh, and collapse actions. Right-click a chat to rename it or generate a title. Loading more history adds older chats to their projects.

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+Alt+H`	Open searchable chat history
`Ctrl+Alt+N`	Create a chat in an editor tab
`Ctrl+Alt+C`	Return to the last chat

The extension does not replace VS Code's Ctrl+Shift+T editor history. Codex: Reopen closed chat is also available from the Command Palette.

Settings

Open Settings → Extensions → ThreadShelf for Codex, or choose Open extension settings from the Chats menu.

Setting	Default	Purpose
Chat Mode	Graphical chat	Use the official editor, or run Codex CLI in editor terminals
Language	Automatic	Follow VS Code's language, or choose English or Russian
Generate Titles	On	Name terminal chats from their first message using a short model request
Title Model	`gpt-6-luna`	Model used for generated titles
CLI Path	Automatic	Optional path to the Codex executable for terminal chats

Title generation uses your Codex account and consumes its model allowance. Disable Generate Titles to stop automatic requests. Manually selecting Generate chat title also sends a model request. Opening history, searching, and reading account limits do not send messages to a model.

The terminal mode runs codex resume directly, without passing commands through a shell. It uses your existing Codex configuration; this extension does not increase permissions.

Limits and privacy

Usage bars show the remaining allowance reported by Codex, with reset times. Only quota windows returned by the service are shown. The visible sidebar refreshes once a minute; the refresh action checks immediately.

Chat history is provided by the local Codex app-server. Pins and view preferences are stored in VS Code. This extension has no telemetry or separate backend. Model requests and account access go through Codex. See PRIVACY.md for details.

The sidebar in the light theme

Known limitations

Graphical tab titles are controlled by the official Codex editor. A saved rename may require closing and reopening the tab. This extension does not close chats to update a caption.
A conversation can have an active writer in another window. Finish work there before opening it for writing here.
Search and project ordering apply to loaded history. Use Load more sessions to include older chats.
Folder matching is exact after path normalization: Windows drive case, separators, UNC and extended paths are handled; sibling folders and subfolders are separate projects.
This first public preview is packaged for Windows x64. Other platforms, Remote SSH and WSL are not part of its tested support scope.

Updating from local builds

The public extension ID is MrKarmannik.codex-session-tabs. Uninstall or disable older local-tools.codex-session-tabs builds before using it: both versions register the same commands. Codex conversations remain in Codex, but extension-specific pins and closed-tab preferences are not migrated between publisher IDs.

Support and development

Report a reproducible issue at GitHub Issues. Include the VS Code and Codex extension versions, OS, and steps to reproduce. Do not attach tokens, auth.json, or private chat text.

Development instructions are in DEVELOPMENT.md. Licensed under MIT.