codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Windows desktop app triggers multiple git.exe add -A processes when opening a project/chat, causing severe CPU and disk usage [1 participants]

Summary

On Windows, opening a local project in the Codex desktop app and then opening the chat/thread UI for that project can trigger multiple git.exe processes in parallel.

In my case, the spawned commands include repeated:

• git.exe add -A
• git.exe rev-parse --git-dir

This causes severe local CPU and disk usage. The issue appears to be triggered by opening the project/chat UI itself, not by explicitly asking Codex to run Git commands.

Environment

• Codex App version: 26.429.3425.0
• Platform: Windows 11 x64
• Shell: PowerShell
• Git: Git for Windows
• Date observed: May 3-4, 2026

What issue are you seeing?

When I open a local project in Codex and then open the conversation/chat for that project from the left sidebar, Codex starts several Git for Windows processes at the same time.

Observed symptoms:

• multiple git.exe processes run concurrently
• local CPU usage can jump to around 50%–60%
• disk usage also rises significantly
• the issue can happen immediately after opening the project/chat UI
• this can feel much worse on larger repositories

This does not appear to require any explicit Git action from me.

Steps to reproduce

1. Launch the Codex desktop app on Windows.
2. Open a local project folder that is a Git repository.
3. Open the project conversation/chat from the left sidebar.
4. Watch Task Manager.
5. Observe several Git for Windows processes starting in parallel, with CPU and disk usage spiking.

Expected behavior

Opening a project or chat should not trigger heavy Git write/index operations.

At most, I would expect lightweight repository detection or status checks. The app should not start multiple git add -A processes just from opening the project/chat UI.

Actual behavior

The app appears to start multiple Git commands in parallel, including repeated git.exe add -A, which is much heavier than a normal lightweight repo check.

This causes:

• high CPU usage
• high disk activity
• degraded responsiveness
• concern that Git index/state may be modified unexpectedly

Evidence collected

I inspected the running processes while the issue was happening and captured command lines such as:

• git.exe add -A
• git.exe rev-parse --git-dir

I also observed multiple git.exe add -A processes running at the same time.

Example symptom pattern:

• opening the project/chat UI triggers the spike
• several Git for Windows processes appear
• each process consumes noticeable CPU
• total CPU can rise to around 50%–60%

Why this seems like a bug

This appears to be an app-side Git/indexing/workspace snapshot issue, because:

• it is triggered by opening the project/chat UI
• it happens without asking Codex to perform Git actions
• the commands include git add -A, which is unexpectedly heavy for passive UI loading
• the behavior is severe enough to impact system performance

Additional information

The issue may be easier to reproduce in repositories containing large generated directories unless they are ignored, for example:

• node_modules/
• dist/
• build/
• .venv/
• large logs or generated assets

However, even if large directories amplify the problem, the core issue still appears to be that the desktop app triggers heavy Git operations during normal UI/project opening.

Privacy note

This report intentionally omits raw local paths, usernames, repository names, and screenshots containing personal information. If maintainers need logs, sanitized versions can be provided later with personal paths redacted.