## Summary
TUI config writes currently wrap app-server failures with local context
like `config/batchWrite failed in TUI`, but several user-visible paths
only render the outer error. That hides the actionable app-server
message, such as validation constraints or read-only `CODEX_HOME`
failures, leaving users with a dead-end diagnostic.
This change adds a small formatter next to the TUI config write helpers
that renders the error source chain, then uses it for model persistence,
feature persistence, project trust, status line writes, hook trust, and
hook enablement.
Fixes#26077
## Why
TUI onboarding trusted-project persistence should go through the same
app-server config write path as other config mutations. Writing
`config.toml` directly from the trust widget bypasses that layer and can
let onboarding proceed even when the trust decision was not actually
persisted.
## What changed
- Added a TUI config helper that writes the existing project trust
structure through `config/batchWrite`.
- Persists trust decisions as `projects.<project>.trust_level =
"trusted"` using the existing project trust key helper.
- Changed the trust directory widget to only record the user selection;
onboarding performs the app-server write before reporting success.
- Keeps the user on the trust screen and shows an error if app-server
persistence fails.
## Verification
- `cargo test -p codex-tui --lib
trust_persistence_failure_keeps_trust_step_in_progress`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui --lib
trusted_project_edit_targets_project_trust_level`
- Manual: built the local `codex-cli`, accepted the trust prompt in a
temp project, confirmed `projects.<project>.trust_level = "trusted"`,
and simulated an unwritable config to verify onboarding stays on the
trust screen without writing trust.
## Summary
Manual provider selection during `codex --oss` startup was still
persisting `oss_provider` through the legacy local `config.toml` writer.
That bypasses the app-server-owned config mutation path used by the TUI,
so this routes the write through the app server config API instead.
The net behavior is intentionally narrow: only an interactive picker
selection is persisted. Auto-detected single-running-provider startup
and explicit `--local-provider` startup remain ephemeral, so merely
having one backend running does not make that provider sticky for future
runs.
## What Changed
- Removed the TUI picker’s direct dependency on
`set_default_oss_provider`.
- Had `oss_selection` report whether the returned provider came from the
interactive picker.
- Carried only manually selected providers into startup persistence.
- Wrote `oss_provider` via `config/batchWrite` once the app server
session is available.
- Logged a warning and continued startup if the app-server config write
fails.
## Verification
Manually smoke-tested the real `codex-tui` binary with a temporary
`CODEX_HOME`, pseudo-terminal input, and a fake LM Studio HTTP server:
- Interactive picker selection persisted `oss_provider = "lmstudio"`.
- Non-picker `--local-provider lmstudio` startup did not persist
`oss_provider`.
## Why
[#23883](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/23883) moved the
user-facing `--profile` flag onto profile v2 and
[#23886](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/23886) removed CLI
forwarding for the legacy profile-v1 path. Core and TUI config
persistence still carried `active_profile` and
`ConfigEditsBuilder::with_profile`, which let later writes continue
targeting legacy `[profiles.<name>]` tables after profile selection
moved to profile-v2 config files.
## What
- Remove legacy profile routing from
[`ConfigEditsBuilder`](4b38e9c22e/codex-rs/core/src/config/edit.rs (L1064-L1294)),
so core config edits no longer carry `with_profile` or infer
`[profiles.*]` write targets from a `profile` key.
- Drop `active_profile` plumbing from runtime `Config`, TUI
startup/state, app-server config override forwarding, and Windows
sandbox setup persistence.
- Make app-server-backed TUI config edits use unscoped model,
service-tier, feature, Auto-review, plan-mode, and Windows sandbox paths
through
[`tui/src/config_update.rs`](4b38e9c22e/codex-rs/tui/src/config_update.rs (L43-L112)).
- Update config edit coverage so legacy `profile` state stays untouched
by direct model writes, and remove tests whose only contract was the
deleted profile-scoped persistence path.
## Testing
- Not run locally.
## Why
Experimental feature toggles and memory settings can update several
related config values in one interaction. Keeping those writes local in
a remote TUI session is especially dangerous because the UI can diverge
from the app-server config while also leaving behind partially stale
supporting keys.
This is **[3 of 4]** in a stacked series that moves TUI-owned config
mutations onto app-server APIs.
## What changed
- Routed feature flag persistence through app-server batch writes,
including the supporting reviewer and permission updates used by
guardian approval.
- Routed Windows sandbox mode persistence and legacy Windows feature
cleanup through app-server writes.
- Routed memory settings through app-server batch writes and updated the
TUI tests to exercise the embedded app-server path.
## Config keys affected
- `features.<feature_key>`
- `profiles.<profile>.features.<feature_key>`
- `approval_policy`
- `sandbox_mode`
- `approvals_reviewer`
- `windows.sandbox`
- `features.experimental_windows_sandbox`
- `features.elevated_windows_sandbox`
- `features.enable_experimental_windows_sandbox`
- Profile-scoped Windows legacy feature variants under
`profiles.<profile>.features.*`
- `memories.use_memories`
- `memories.generate_memories`
- Profile-scoped memory variants under `profiles.<profile>.memories.*`
## Suggested manual validation
- Connect the TUI to a remote app server, toggle guardian approval on
and off, and confirm the remote config updates
`features.guardian_approval`, reviewer state, approval policy, and
sandbox mode coherently.
- Toggle a default-false experimental feature at the root level, disable
it again, and confirm the key clears instead of lingering as an
unnecessary explicit `false`.
- Change memory settings and confirm the remote config updates both
memory keys while the running TUI reflects the new state.
- On Windows, switch sandbox mode through the TUI and confirm
`windows.sandbox` is updated while the legacy Windows feature keys are
cleared.
## Stack
1. [#22913](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22913) `[1 of 4]`
primary settings writes
2. [#22914](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22914) `[2 of 4]` app
and skill enablement
3. [#22915](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22915) `[3 of 4]`
feature and memory toggles
4. [#22916](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22916) `[4 of 4]`
startup and onboarding bookkeeping
## Why
Model catalog responses can now advertise a nullable
`default_service_tier` for each model. Codex needs to preserve three
distinct states all the way from config/app-server inputs to inference:
- no explicit service tier, so the client may apply the current model
catalog default when FastMode is enabled
- explicit `default`, meaning the user intentionally wants standard
routing
- explicit catalog tier ids such as `priority`, `flex`, or future tiers
Keeping those states distinct prevents the UI from showing one tier
while core sends another, especially after model switches or app-server
`thread/start` / `turn/start` updates.
## What Changed
- Plumbed `default_service_tier` through model catalog protocol types,
app-server model responses, generated schemas, model cache fixtures, and
provider/model-manager conversions.
- Added the request-only `default` service tier sentinel and normalized
legacy config spelling so `fast` in `config.toml` still materializes as
the runtime/request id `priority`.
- Moved catalog default resolution to the TUI/client side, including
recomputing the effective service tier when model/FastMode-dependent
surfaces change.
- Updated app-server thread lifecycle config construction so
`serviceTier: null` preserves explicit standard-routing intent by
mapping to `default` instead of internal `None`.
- Kept core responsible for validating explicit tiers against the
current model and stripping `default` before `/v1/responses`, without
applying catalog defaults itself.
## Validation
- `CARGO_INCREMENTAL=0 cargo build -p codex-cli`
- `CARGO_INCREMENTAL=0 cargo test -p codex-app-server model_list`
- `cargo test -p codex-tui service_tier`
- `cargo test -p codex-protocol service_tier_for_request`
- `cargo test -p codex-core get_service_tier`
- `RUST_MIN_STACK=8388608 CARGO_INCREMENTAL=0 cargo test -p codex-core
service_tier`
## Why
App and skill toggles are user config mutations too. When the TUI is
attached to a remote app server, writing those toggles into the local
`config.toml` makes the UI report success without updating the server
that actually owns the session.
This is **[2 of 4]** in a stacked series that moves TUI-owned config
mutations onto app-server APIs.
## What changed
- Routed app enable/disable persistence through app-server config batch
writes.
- Routed skill enable/disable persistence through `skills/config/write`.
- Avoided refreshing local config from disk after these writes when the
TUI is connected to a remote app server.
## Config keys affected
- `apps.<app_id>.enabled`
- `apps.<app_id>.disabled_reason`
- `[[skills.config]]` entries keyed by `path`, with `enabled = false`
used for persisted disables
## Suggested manual validation
- Connect the TUI to a remote app server, disable an app, reconnect, and
confirm the app remains disabled from remote config rather than local
disk state.
- Re-enable the same app and confirm both `apps.<app_id>.enabled` and
`apps.<app_id>.disabled_reason` are cleared remotely.
- Disable a skill in the manage-skills UI and confirm a remote
`[[skills.config]]` disable entry appears.
- Re-enable that skill and confirm the disable entry is removed and the
effective enabled state updates without relying on local config reloads.
## Stack
1. [#22913](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22913) `[1 of 4]`
primary settings writes
2. [#22914](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22914) `[2 of 4]` app
and skill enablement
3. [#22915](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22915) `[3 of 4]`
feature and memory toggles
4. [#22916](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22916) `[4 of 4]`
startup and onboarding bookkeeping
## Why
The TUI can run against a remote app server, but several high-traffic
settings still persisted by editing the local config file. That sends
remote sessions' preference writes to the wrong machine and lets local
disk state drift from the app-server-owned config.
This is **[1 of 4]** in a stacked series that moves TUI-owned config
mutations onto app-server APIs.
## What changed
- Added a small TUI helper for typed app-server config writes.
- Routed primary interactive preference writes through
`config/batchWrite`.
- Preserved existing profile scoping for settings that already support
`profiles.<profile>.*` overrides.
## Config keys affected
- `model`
- `model_reasoning_effort`
- `personality`
- `service_tier`
- `plan_mode_reasoning_effort`
- `approvals_reviewer`
- `notice.fast_default_opt_out`
- Profile-scoped equivalents under `profiles.<profile>.*`
## Suggested manual validation
- Connect the TUI to a remote app server, change `model` and
`model_reasoning_effort`, reconnect, and confirm the remote config
retained both values while the local `config.toml` did not change.
- Change `personality`, `plan_mode_reasoning_effort`, and the explicit
auto-review selection, then reconnect and confirm those choices persist
through the app server.
- Clear the service tier back to default and confirm `service_tier` is
cleared while `notice.fast_default_opt_out = true` is persisted
remotely.
- Repeat one setting change with an active profile and confirm the write
lands under `profiles.<profile>.*`.
## Stack
1. [#22913](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22913) `[1 of 4]`
primary settings writes
2. [#22914](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22914) `[2 of 4]` app
and skill enablement
3. [#22915](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22915) `[3 of 4]`
feature and memory toggles
4. [#22916](https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/22916) `[4 of 4]`
startup and onboarding bookkeeping
