Sometimes the Codex extension in VS Code can get stuck even though the Codex CLI still works normally.

In this case, the plugin UI did not finish startup. The Codex panel showed only the centered Codex icon, blinking about every three seconds:

• no session history appeared
• no prompt input appeared
• no usable chat UI appeared
• only the center icon kept blinking
• the CLI worked
• reloading VS Code did not fix it
• reinstalling the extension did not fix it

The final fix was deleting VS Code workspace storage:

rm -rf ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage

This resets VS Code’s per-workspace stored state. That can include extension state, cached webview data, and workspace UI/session data, so treat it as a reset, not a harmless refresh.

• 1. Problem summary
• 2. Quick fix
• 3. Things that did not fix it
• 4. The useful debugging entry point
• 5. The key log message
• 6. The real failure mode
• 7. Storage reset attempts
• 8. Why workspace storage mattered
• 9. Why the CLI still worked
• 10. Practical checklist
• 11. Final takeaway

1. Problem summary

The visible symptom was simple: the Codex extension UI froze in VS Code.

The confusing part was that everything around it looked mostly healthy:

• VS Code did not obviously crash
• the extension host did not visibly die
• the Codex CLI still worked
• the Codex plugin panel opened
• the plugin widget rendered only a centered blinking icon
• no previous sessions or prompt box appeared

That pattern matters. If the CLI works but the VS Code UI does not, the problem may be local VS Code extension state rather than the Codex service or the network.

2. Quick fix

The fix that resolved this case was:

rm -rf ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage

Then restart VS Code and try the Codex extension again.

On Linux, this is the normal VS Code user storage path. Other VS Code builds or platforms use different paths, for example:

• VS Code Insiders: ~/.config/Code - Insiders/User/workspaceStorage
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/workspaceStorage
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\workspaceStorage

If you want a reversible version, move the directory instead of deleting it:

mv ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage.bak

3. Things that did not fix it

The first attempts were the natural ones.

Reload the VS Code window:

Ctrl+Shift+P -> Developer: Reload Window

This did not resolve the issue.

Restart the extension host:

Ctrl+Shift+P -> Developer: Restart Extension Host

This gave no lasting improvement.

Uninstalling and reinstalling the Codex extension also did not solve it. That was the important clue: reinstalling the extension did not remove the broken workspace state that VS Code was restoring.

4. The useful debugging entry point

The most useful diagnostic step was opening the Extension Host logs:

Ctrl+Shift+P -> Developer: Show Logs... -> Extension Host

This was more useful than staring at the frozen UI. The UI only showed the symptom. The Extension Host log showed what kind of failure was happening underneath.

5. The key log message

The important log entry was:

OPENSSL_internal:BAD_DECRYPT
Cipher functions: BAD_DECRYPT

That points to a decryption failure while VS Code or the extension host is reading stored state.

In practical terms, that stored state can include things like:

• cached authentication/session data
• extension state
• encrypted tokens
• workspace-scoped extension data

The exact internal object does not matter much for the fix. The useful conclusion is that VS Code was trying to restore state, and some encrypted state could not be decrypted cleanly.

6. The real failure mode

The behavior was not a normal network failure.

The plugin appeared to start:

• the VS Code panel opened
• the Codex webview rendered something
• the centered icon blinked about every three seconds

But the UI never finished initializing:

• no session history appeared
• no prompt input appeared
• no usable controls appeared
• VS Code did not clearly crash
• the CLI remained usable

That suggests a broken extension-side startup or state-restoration path rather than a full service outage. The extension was alive enough to create the panel, but not healthy enough to restore state and show the normal chat interface.

7. Storage reset attempts

After seeing BAD_DECRYPT, the working hypothesis was corrupted VS Code extension storage.

The first reset was global storage:

rm -rf ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage

That did not fix the issue in this case.

The second reset was workspace storage:

rm -rf ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage

That fixed it completely.

8. Why workspace storage mattered

VS Code stores a lot of per-workspace extension state under workspaceStorage.

If the corrupted or inconsistent state is workspace-scoped, removing globalStorage will not help. VS Code may keep reloading the broken data every time that workspace opens.

That matches the observed behavior:

• extension reinstall did not help
• global storage reset did not help
• workspace storage reset did help

So the likely root cause was corrupted or inconsistent VS Code workspace storage that caused a decrypt failure and left the Codex extension stuck while initializing its UI.

9. Why the CLI still worked

The Codex CLI and the VS Code extension do not rely on exactly the same runtime state.

The CLI does not depend on VS Code’s Extension Host, webview state, or VS Code’s workspace storage. So it can remain healthy while the VS Code UI is broken.

In this case:

That split is an important diagnostic signal.

10. Practical checklist

If the Codex extension UI freezes but the CLI still works, use this order:

1. Reload the VS Code window.
2. Restart the extension host.

3. Check the Extension Host logs:

   Ctrl+Shift+P -> Developer: Show Logs... -> Extension Host
   

4. Look for decrypt or state-restoration errors, especially:

   BAD_DECRYPT
   

5. If the panel opens but shows only the blinking center icon, with no history and no prompt input, suspect extension-side state corruption.

6. Move or remove workspace storage:

   mv ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage.bak
   

7. Restart VS Code.

If the moved directory fixes the issue, you can delete the backup later.

11. Final takeaway

Do not assume this is a Codex outage just because the VS Code UI is stuck.

The strongest signal in this case was:

CLI works, VS Code Codex panel opens, but only the blinking center icon appears.

Together with OPENSSL_internal:BAD_DECRYPT, that pointed to broken VS Code extension state.

The effective fix was resetting workspace storage:

rm -rf ~/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage