codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex Desktop resets global permission mode from Auto-review to Default after restart

What version of the Codex App are you using?

Codex Desktop 26.519.31651 (CFBundleVersion 3017)

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT account; subscription tier not included here.

What platform is your computer?

macOS

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Desktop does not appear to persist the global/current permission mode across app restart.

I normally set the permission mode in the composer to Auto-review. While the app is running, threads seem to use the current selected review level. However, after quitting/restarting Codex Desktop, the permission mode resets back to Default permissions.

This is easy to miss. If I start or continue several threads after restart before noticing the reset, those threads use Default permissions and then continue requiring manual approvals until I manually switch them. Changing one thread back to Auto-review does not update the other threads that already picked up Default permissions.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open Codex Desktop on macOS.
2. In the composer permission control, select Auto-review.
3. Quit and restart Codex Desktop.
4. Open a thread or start several threads.
5. Observe that the composer permission mode has reset to Default permissions rather than remaining on Auto-review.
6. If several threads are started/used before noticing the reset, each remains on Default permissions until changed manually.

Expected behavior

Codex Desktop should persist the user-selected global/current permission mode across app restart. If the user selected Auto-review before quitting, the app should come back with Auto-review selected, or clearly explain why it intentionally reset to Default permissions.

Actual behavior

After restart, the selected permission mode is back to Default permissions. Threads started or used while the app is in that reset state inherit/use Default permissions, leading to repeated manual approval prompts.

Local evidence

The local global state file appears to remember an internal preferred mode:

"agent-mode-by-host-id": {
  "local": "guardian-approvals"
},
"preferred-non-full-access-agent-mode-by-host-id": {
  "local": "guardian-approvals"
}

But the Desktop UI still comes back on Default permissions after restart rather than preserving the Auto-review selection.

Why this matters

This creates a subtle workflow footgun. After restart, it is easy to launch or continue several threads before noticing that Auto-review was reset. Those threads then require repeated manual approvals until individually changed, which is especially painful when working across multiple concurrent threads.