Threadbox for Codex and Claude Code

Claude Code history across folders

Open Threadbox in the Activity Bar, then Claude Code History. It lists saved Claude Code conversations from all folders on this extension host, grouped by their original working directory and sorted by recent activity. Search matches titles, directories, and session IDs. This view works even if Codex CLI is missing or outdated. History refreshes after changes and when the window regains focus; a refresh button is also available.

Double-click a conversation or right-click Open in Claude Code to continue it in the official Anthropic extension. In the exact original single-folder workspace, it opens directly. Otherwise Threadbox asks to open that folder in a new VS Code window, preserving the current window, then resumes the selected session after checking workspace trust and metadata again. Multi-root workspaces also use a dedicated folder window because the official extension chooses a single working directory. A missing folder or unavailable official extension produces an error instead of silently creating a new conversation.

The view reads only metadata through Anthropic's SDK (listSessions / getSessionInfo). It does not start Claude, send a prompt, call a model, copy full transcripts, or modify Claude history. Titles can be the short summary provided by the SDK. Claude rename, archive, Trash, project assignment, and creation are not exposed in this first integration; Codex operations cannot target Claude sessions. Resuming opens the official plugin, whose normal behavior/settings then apply. Cloud-only histories and other machines are not synchronized.

The default data directory follows CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR in the official extension's machine-scoped claudeCode.environmentVariables, then the extension host environment, then ~/.claude. threadbox.claudeConfigDir can override browsing; it must match the official extension before resuming. Paths belong to the remote host in SSH/containers/Codespaces. Disable threadbox.claudeHistoryEnabled to hide this view. Cross-window handoffs store only a session ID, paths, and a five-minute expiry in Threadbox's own storage.

Codex task management

Open the official Codex sidebar and expand Threadbox. The extension is native-sidebar-only. Search, filter, refresh, and an opt-in multi-select toggle are in the toolbar. Checkboxes are hidden by default; Ctrl/Shift selection works normally. Task operations live in right-click menus and drag-and-drop, while project creation, import, sorting and settings are available from project/group right-click menus. The desktop app keeps its full manager. Set threadbox.sidebarLocation to standalone for a separate Activity Bar container.

The extension runs in the workspace extension host, so Remote SSH, Dev Containers, and Codespaces manage the remote host's Codex tasks. It does not read full transcripts, repair desktop Recents, delete working directories, call a model, upload data, or collect telemetry.

Threadbox projects are stored in the extension host's VS Code global storage and do not automatically sync between servers. Import Current Workspace creates one local project and atomically assigns every matching root task; running, pinned, and archived tasks are included, spawned tasks follow their root, and Trash is left unchanged. Codex interface projects are not currently exposed by the public App Server, so Threadbox cannot import or synchronize those project definitions. Their tasks remain visible by working directory and can still be opened and continued in Codex.

The built-in Trash project works for every task. Moving a task to Trash archives it and remembers its previous Threadbox project; restoring it returns there when that project still exists, or leaves it without a Threadbox assignment otherwise. Empty Trash permanently deletes eligible task records through App Server. Running and pinned tasks remain protected, and working directories are always preserved. An existing host-local project named trash is upgraded in place so its assignments are not lost. Moves and restores refresh automatically and report individual failure reasons. Pin controls are shown only when the installed CLI actually exposes the public pinning API; unsupported filters are never used to infer that all tasks are pinned. Pins stored only by another client are not exposed to Threadbox. If a task is still open in another Codex client, Threadbox does not bypass its writer lock. The notification explains the conflict and offers Open in Codex, View Details, and Retry for failed moves. Archive the task in the owning client, or exit that client, before retrying. Complete failure details are available in the Threadbox output channel.

Codex CLI 0.157.0 or newer is required. This release validates the two latest stable versions, 0.157.0 and 0.157.1, including the complete create/Trash/restore/empty lifecycle in isolated data. Older CLIs must be upgraded with the install/update action. A missing CLI can be installed for the current user with OpenAI's official standalone installer; Threadbox verifies the exact executable before saving its machine-scoped path. Older CLIs still run the official codex update command. A system npm install that fails with EACCES or EPERM offers a visible remote-terminal sudo update as the preferred single-installation fix, plus a user-level fallback. After that fallback succeeds, Threadbox prompts to uninstall the old system copy instead of silently leaving two ambiguous Codex commands. Configure threadbox.codexBinary or threadbox.codexHome when the CLI does not use the default environment. All install and update actions run on the Remote SSH, Dev Container, or Codespaces extension host, never on the local UI host.

Filter and organize tasks

Choose Filter Tasks to switch between all workspaces and the current workspace (including subdirectories and multiple roots), and between all, unarchived, and archived tasks. Trash stays separate and is not hidden by the archive filter. Sort Tasks offers recently updated, oldest updated, and name order. Scope, archive filter, and sort order are saved per VS Code workspace; the title description shows active filters, and Clear All Filters resets scope, archive, and search.

Enable multi-select from the toolbar when you need checkboxes. Right-click or drag a checked task to act on the entire checked set; an unchecked task remains independent. Ctrl/Shift native multi-selection works without checkbox mode. Changing filters or exiting multi-select clears checks. Right-click for Select Filtered Tasks or Clear Checked Tasks; Select Filtered excludes Trash. Archived tasks have their own top-level group beside Unassigned, classified by original working directory, independent of saved project assignments. Drag tasks to Archived to archive them, to Trash to trash them, or drag archived tasks to Unassigned/a project to restore and move them after confirmation. No working-directory files are moved. Before task-family operations, a fresh inventory and confirmation show affected roots/descendants; descendants may be outside filters. Empty Trash always targets the entire Trash. Hover for complete metadata.

Rename a task

Right-click an active task and choose Rename Task. Threadbox updates the actual Codex name through the official API, verifies the saved name, and refreshes the list. Renaming does not start/resume a conversation, send a message, stop a backend, or change project assignments. Names must contain 1-512 characters with no control characters. The supported CLI versions require archived or trashed tasks to be restored before renaming; the UI makes this limitation explicit.

Recover a blocked Move to Trash

On Linux extension hosts, a writer-lock notification also offers Release Writer and Retry. This requires Python 3.9+ and Linux pidfd support. Threadbox checks that the lock belongs to a known Codex App Server running as the current user, then shows its PID, executable, and known affected tasks. Stopping that backend can interrupt ALL sessions it serves; the list of writer locks may not cover every background activity. Codex may need to reconnect or reload afterwards.

Nothing is stopped until you confirm. Threadbox first requests normal termination; force stopping a backend that still holds the task requires a separate confirmation. Changed process identities and newly acquired tasks abort recovery. After release, Threadbox retries the official Trash operation, never directly removes lock/session files, and never uses sudo. Windows/macOS keep the manual close-and-retry guidance. Restore and Empty Trash do not offer automatic process termination.

This is an independent community project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI.