Codex Provider Switcher: keep Codex Desktop history visible

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When Codex Desktop hits a usage limit and you switch to an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, the project sidebar can become empty or show the wrong conversations. This tool switches provider profiles and repairs the session history metadata that Codex Desktop uses to index those conversations.

Is this for you?

Use cps for local provider configuration and Codex Desktop history metadata that no longer matches the selected provider. It cannot recover deleted transcripts, migrate ChatGPT cloud conversations, increase a subscription quota, or repair another computer remotely. A third-party API has its own billing and must support the protocol and model used by your Codex version. This is an independent community tool, not an OpenAI product.

The problem

Changing config.toml alone does not update the provider value stored in state_5.sqlite and the first session_meta line in sessions/rollout-*.jsonl. That model_provider mismatch can make the Codex Desktop sidebar empty even though the conversation files still exist.

What this does

The tool backs up Codex state, switches a profile, synchronizes provider values in both stores, repairs project workspace hints, and normalizes Windows \\?\ paths. repair-history runs the metadata repair without changing the active profile.

Install

Requires Python 3.10 or newer. Use the same OS user that runs Codex so the tool accesses the correct configuration and history.

macOS / Linux standalone installer

This installs the released Python source from GitHub without using pip or modifying system Python packages. It works on Ubuntu/Debian with PEP 668 enabled; it still requires an existing Python 3.10+ installation and curl or wget.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RomaCredit/codex-provider-switcher/v0.3.2/install.sh | sh
cps --version

Both cps and codex-provider-switcher are installed. No manual symlink is needed. Rerun the command to reinstall that version; use a newer release's installer URL to upgrade. Installation does not switch providers or touch Codex data.

If cps is not found after a user installation:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
cps --version

Add that PATH setting to your shell configuration for future sessions. The installer prints the appropriate setting but does not edit your shell files.

Set CODEX_SWITCHER_BIN_DIR and CODEX_SWITCHER_DATA_DIR to customize the directories. For a different version, set the variable on sh, not on curl:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RomaCredit/codex-provider-switcher/v0.3.2/install.sh | CODEX_SWITCHER_VERSION=v0.3.0 sh

PyPI

Direct pip installation is supported in a virtual environment or another pip-managed Python environment:

python -m pip install --upgrade codex-provider-switcher

If Ubuntu/Debian reports externally-managed-environment, use the standalone installer above, pipx, or a virtual environment. pip install --user may also be blocked by PEP 668; do not disable this protection with --break-system-packages.

Homebrew

brew tap RomaCredit/codex
brew install codex-provider-switcher

pipx

With pipx installed:

pipx install codex-provider-switcher

From source

git clone https://github.com/RomaCredit/codex-provider-switcher.git
cd codex-provider-switcher
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install .
.venv/bin/cps --version

Windows PowerShell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RomaCredit/codex-provider-switcher/v0.3.2/install.ps1 | iex

Linux server installations operate on that server's local Codex data only. They do not repair the Desktop sidebar on a separate Windows/macOS computer.

Quick start

Fully quit Codex Desktop before changing its files:

cps profile list
cps status
cps use openrouter
cps use official
cps repair-history

codex-provider-switcher remains an equivalent executable name.

Profiles

The first run creates ~/.codex-provider-switcher/profiles.toml (Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.codex-provider-switcher\profiles.toml) with three ordinary profiles:

[profiles.official]
type = "subscription"

[profiles.apimaster]
type = "api"
base_url = "https://apimaster.ai/v1"
default_model = "gpt-5.6-sol"

[profiles.openrouter]
type = "api"
base_url = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
default_model = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6"

Built-in profiles can be edited, removed, or replaced like any custom profile:

cps profile add local
cps profile remove local
cps profile test openrouter

profile add prompts for the type, base URL, model, and API key. Keys are not stored in profiles.toml: macOS uses Keychain when available, Windows uses the Credential Manager integration when available, and the fallback credentials.toml is restricted to the current user (0600 on POSIX). Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint can be represented by an API profile; OpenRouter is included as a neutral example, alongside the APIMaster preset.

How it works

Before a switch, timestamped backups are written below the Codex provider-switcher directory. The SQLite threads.model_provider values and the JSONL session_meta.payload.model_provider values are changed to the active API profile name, or to Codex's openai value for a subscription profile. Workspace hints are rebuilt from session metadata and extended Windows paths are normalized.

The tool never rewrites conversation content. It only updates the index and metadata fields needed by Codex Desktop.

An API profile uses its profile name as the provider ID; subscription profiles use openai. The JSONL change is limited to the metadata record, not message content. Windows extended paths such as \\?\D:\work\app are normalized to D:\work\app. These are implementation details of the local formats handled by this release, not a stable upstream storage API.

The default profile wire protocol is responses; wire_api = "chat" can be configured where the client supports it. An "OpenAI-compatible" label or a successful /models response alone does not establish Responses API, streaming, tool-use, or model compatibility.

Troubleshooting

Codex Desktop history disappeared after switching provider

If conversation files still exist, a model_provider mismatch between the configuration, thread index, and session metadata is one possible cause. Quit Codex Desktop, retain the original data, and run:

cps repair-history

Codex conversations missing after switching provider, or sidebar still empty

Confirm that you are using the same OS account and Codex home as Desktop, then restart Desktop after the repair. Missing files, a different home directory, and a changed client storage format require separate investigation. Do not repeatedly repair unknown formats or post private session files in an issue.

Codex usage limit reached: does switching add subscription quota?

No. Switching selects a separately billed API provider. It does not bypass subscription limits, supply a free API key, or guarantee model availability.

Why does the provider connectivity test fail?

Verify the profile base_url, credentials, and whether the gateway exposes a models-list endpoint:

cps profile test openrouter
cps status

The connectivity check only requests the configured provider's /v1/models endpoint (a base URL ending in /v1 is expected).

Safety

The tool creates backups before changing Codex files, never deletes conversation content, and never logs a complete API key. It collects no telemetry and sends no requests to third parties except the /v1/models probe explicitly requested by the user.

Compatibility

The old commands remain available with a deprecation message:

cps apimaster   # equivalent to cps use apimaster
cps official    # equivalent to cps use official

Verification and related tools

The test workflow runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with Python 3.10 and 3.13. Tests use temporary fixtures; POSIX installer checks run on Linux/macOS. This does not establish compatibility with every Desktop release or live provider. No universal upstream-client compatibility claim is made.

For Claude Code, see Claude Provider Switcher. It uses the Anthropic Messages protocol and has different history semantics; the tools do not share credentials or migrate each other's conversations.

Contributing | Report an issue | Security

License

MIT. See LICENSE.