## Summary
Add a server-owned `recencyAt` timestamp and `recency_at` thread-list
sort key for product recency ordering while preserving the existing
meaning of `updatedAt` as the latest persisted thread mutation.
This is the server-side alternative to #27697. Rather than narrowing
`updatedAt`, clients can sort the sidebar by `recency_at` and continue
treating `updatedAt` as mutation time.
Paired Codex Apps PR:
[openai/openai#1024599](https://github.com/openai/openai/pull/1024599)
## Contract
- `recencyAt` initializes when a thread is created.
- A turn start advances `recencyAt` monotonically.
- Commentary, agent output, tool results, token/accounting updates, turn
completion, archive, unarchive, resume, and generic metadata writes do
not advance it.
- `updatedAt` retains its existing behavior and continues to advance for
persisted thread mutations.
- Current servers populate `recencyAt`; the response field is optional
in generated TypeScript so clients connected to older servers can fall
back to `updatedAt`.
- Filesystem-only fallback uses existing updated/mtime ordering when
SQLite is unavailable.
## Persistence and compatibility
Migration 0038 adds second- and millisecond-precision recency columns,
backfills them from the existing updated timestamp, creates list
indexes, and includes an insert trigger so older binaries writing to a
migrated database seed recency without causing later mutations to
advance it.
Generic metadata upserts preserve existing recency values. Turn-start
updates use a dedicated monotonic touch, and process-local allocation
keeps millisecond cursor values unique. State DB list, search, read,
filtered-list repair, rollout fallback propagation, and app-server
conversions all carry the new field.
## API
`Thread` responses include:
```ts
recencyAt?: number
```
`thread/list` and `thread/search` accept:
```json
{ "sortKey": "recency_at" }
```
Generated TypeScript and JSON schemas are included.
## Validation
- `just test -p codex-state` — 146 passed
- `just test -p codex-rollout` — 69 passed
- `just test -p codex-thread-store` — 81 passed
- `just test -p codex-app-server-protocol` — 231 passed
- Focused app-server list ordering, response mapping, archive/unarchive,
and resume lifecycle tests passed
- Scoped `just fix` for state, rollout, thread-store,
app-server-protocol, and app-server
- `just fmt`
- `git diff --check`
- Independent correctness, simplicity, elegance, security, and
test-quality reviews; actionable ordering, lifecycle, query-projection,
and timestamp-uniqueness findings were addressed
## Why
This PR
https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/24161#discussion_r3325692763
revealed a subagent data modeling issue, where we overloaded
`forked_from_id` to also mean `parent_thread_id`. That's incorrect since
guardian and review subagents can be a subagent and NOT fork the main
thread's history.
The solution here is to explicitly store a new `parent_thread_id` on
`SessionMeta`, alongside `forked_from_id` which already exists. While
we're at it, also expose it in the app-server protocol on the `Thread`
object.
A thread->subagent relationship and a fork of thread history are
orthogonal concepts.
## What Changed
- Added top-level `parent_thread_id` persistence on `SessionMeta` and
runtime/session plumbing through `SessionConfiguredEvent`,
`CodexSpawnArgs`, `SessionConfiguration`, `ThreadConfigSnapshot`,
`TurnContext`, and `ModelClient`.
- Made turn metadata, request headers, analytics, and subagent-start
events read the separate runtime/top-level parent field instead of
deriving general parent lineage from `SessionSource` or
`forked_from_thread_id`.
- Passed parent lineage separately at delegated subagent, review,
guardian, agent-job, and multi-agent spawn construction sites;
copied-history fork lineage remains derived only from `InitialHistory`.
- Persisted and exposed parent lineage through rollout/thread-store
projections and app-server v2 `Thread.parentThreadId`.
- Updated app-server README text and regenerated app-server schema
fixtures for the additive `parentThreadId` response field.
## Summary
The client currently calls `thread/resume` to establish live updates and
immediately follows it with `thread/turns/list` to hydrate recent turns.
This lets `thread/resume` return that page directly, eliminating a round
trip and the ordering/deduplication gap between the two calls.
Experimental clients opt in with `initialTurnsPage: { limit,
sortDirection, itemsView }`. The response returns `initialTurnsPage` as
a `TurnsPage`, including cursors for paging further back in history.
Keeping the controls in a nested opt-in object provides the useful
`thread/turns/list` knobs without spreading page-specific parameters
across `thread/resume`.
## Verification
- `just fmt`
- `just write-app-server-schema --experimental`
- `just write-app-server-schema`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server
thread_resume_initial_turns_page_matches_requested_turns_list_page
--tests`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server
thread_resume_rejoins_running_thread_even_with_override_mismatch
--tests`
- `just fix -p codex-app-server-protocol -p codex-app-server`
Add owning plugin id to MCP tool call items so we can better filter them
at plugin level.
## Summary
- add optional `plugin_id` to MCP tool-call items and legacy begin/end
events
- propagate plugin metadata into emitted core items and app-server v2
`ThreadItem::McpToolCall`
- preserve plugin ids through app-server replay/redaction paths and
regenerate v2 schema fixtures
## Testing
- `just write-app-server-schema`
- `just fmt`
- `just fix -p codex-core`
- `cargo test -p codex-protocol -p codex-app-server-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server-protocol`
- `cargo test -p codex-core mcp_tool_call_item_includes_plugin_id --lib`
- `cargo check -p codex-tui --tests`
- `cargo check -p codex-app-server --tests`
- `git diff --check`
## Notes
- `just fix -p codex-core` completed with two non-fatal
`too_many_arguments` warnings on the touched MCP notification helpers.
- A broader `cargo test -p codex-core` run passed core unit tests, then
hit shell/sandbox/snapshot failures in the integration target.
- A broader app-server downstream run hit the existing
`in_process::tests::in_process_start_clamps_zero_channel_capacity` stack
overflow; `cargo test -p codex-exec` also hit the existing sandbox
expectation mismatch in
`thread_lifecycle_params_include_legacy_sandbox_when_no_active_profile`.
## Summary
Remote clients can still receive large `thread/resume` histories when
prior turns include MCP tool call payloads or image-generation results.
This adds a temporary response-only redaction path for the known remote
client names.
Longer term we will move towards fully paginated APIs backed by SQLite.
## Changes
- Redact MCP tool call payload-bearing fields in `thread/resume`
responses for `codex_chatgpt_android_remote` and
`codex_chatgpt_ios_remote`.
- Drop `imageGeneration` items from those `thread/resume` responses.
- Keep redaction out of persisted rollout files, `thread/read`,
`thread/turns/list`, live notifications, and token usage replay.
- Cover the behavior with app-server helper tests and a v2 resume
integration test that checks both remote clients plus a non-target
control client.
## Testing
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server thread_resume_redaction`
- `cargo test -p codex-app-server
thread_resume_redacts_payloads_for_chatgpt_remote_clients`