ChatGPT and Codex Desktop Apps Add Custom Sidebar Sections

In late August, OpenAI shipped custom sidebar Sections for the ChatGPT desktop app and Codex, letting users organize chats, tasks, and projects into groups and reorder them by dragging. Users can even ask Codex to organize the sidebar via natural language — a clear sign of the desktop apps evolving toward productivity tooling.

Confirmed

• Both the ChatGPT and Codex desktop apps support custom sidebar sections for grouping and drag-and-drop reordering of chats (@gabrielchua)
• Projects can be added directly to sections, and ChatGPT projects and Codex sessions can be combined for a tidier interface (@gabrielchua, @koltregaskes)
• Section creation and editing is exposed to Codex as a tool: users can ask Codex to create sections, update existing ones, or start new conversations in the right section — managing layout via natural language (@gabrielchua)
• Settings sync between desktop and Remote (@Dimillian)
• @koltregaskes spotted a minor bug when attempting alphabetical sorting of sessions

Why it matters

• Sections address the long-standing problem of organizing accumulated conversations and projects, unifying ChatGPT and Codex workflows in one customizable interface. Exposing section management to the AI itself means interface organization can be driven by natural language, further lowering the barrier to use.

2026-08-29 ~ 2026-08-30 · 6 related posts

• [source] ChatGPT Desktop adds custom sidebars, syncs with Remote — Dimillian · 2026-08-29
• ChatGPT Desktop App Adds Custom Sidebar Sections — SIGKITTEN · 2026-08-29
• [source] ChatGPT desktop app now supports custom sections and reordering — gabrielchua · 2026-08-30
• ChatGPT Desktop and Codex add custom sections for better organization — gabrielchua · 2026-08-30
• [source] Codex can now create and manage custom sections via tools — gabrielchua · 2026-08-30
• ChatGPT Desktop Update Adds Sections for Organizing Chats with AI — koltregaskes · 2026-08-30