codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bring back the repository tree view as an in-app context selection tool [4 comments, 3 participants]

Problem

The previous repository tree view was not just a way to browse files. It was a core workflow feature.

It allowed users to:

• Navigate the repository directly inside Codex
• Select specific files without manually typing paths
• Right-click files and attach them to the current thread
• Ask Codex to inspect or work on a file with precise context
• Move from repository structure to agent instruction in one flow

The current "Open" action does not replace this.

Opening the repository in Windows Explorer, GitHub Desktop, or an external editor is useful for file management, but it does not solve the in-app context selection problem. It moves the user out of Codex instead of helping them give Codex better context.

Why this matters

Codex is most useful when the user can give it precise repository context quickly.

Removing or hiding the tree view turns a simple interaction:

right-click file -> add to chat / review this file

into a manual prompt-writing task:

go to this folder, find this file, inspect it, then use it as context

That is slower, more error-prone, and frankly a strange downgrade for a tool whose entire value depends on accurate code context.

Expected behavior

Please restore an in-app repository tree view with file-level actions such as:

• Add file to current thread context
• Review this file
• Summarize this file
• Ask Codex to modify this file
• Include folder as context
• Copy relative path
• Open diff if modified

Actual behavior

The app provides external open actions, but those are not equivalent.

"Open in Explorer" is not a context workflow. It is a way to leave the app.

Suggested fix

Bring back the repository tree view, or add an equivalent in-app file navigator focused on context selection.

The important part is not merely browsing files. The important part is letting the user select repository context without leaving Codex or manually typing file paths.

Summary

The old tree view solved a real interaction problem.

The replacement does not.

Please do not confuse "open the repo somewhere else" with "help the user provide precise context to Codex".