Codex Session Tabs

A Codex-focused JetBrains plugin for the Reworked Terminal in 2026.2 IDEs.

It is aimed at one specific workflow:

• keep the terminal tab title synchronized with Codex's session name;
• use the Codex session name directly as the tab title;
• show JetBrains' native progress animation while Codex is working;
• restore recorded Codex sessions after an IDE restart while retaining reusable launch flags.

How it works

The plugin uses the public experimental Reworked Terminal API. It associates a terminal tab with Codex by looking at the terminal process tree. For a standalone Codex process it reads the rollout JSONL file opened by that process; when app-server remote control owns the rollout instead, it resolves an explicit resume <name-or-UUID> selector or Codex's unique application title against local Codex state. The human title comes from $CODEX_HOME/session_index.jsonl. Only the session ID, title, working directory, rollout path, and reusable CLI flags are persisted in the project's workspace state; transcript contents, positional prompts, and one-shot inputs are never copied. Codex's transient terminal-title updates drive the activity animation without replacing the synchronized session name.

On startup it lets JetBrains restore the terminal layout, then associates saved sessions with those tabs using the persisted command, unique title, and requested working directory. Dormant tabs therefore do not need to start before they can be matched. Commands injected into restored shell tabs use the currently unique session name and minimal quoting so shell history remains readable; duplicate or unavailable names fall back to the exact UUID. When application titles were not persisted, a complete group of idle tabs can be matched only when its size and saved working directory make the association deterministic. Ambiguous tabs are left alone, and the plugin never creates speculative replacement tabs. Closing a tab removes it from the restore set; IDE shutdown does not.

Requirements

• A JetBrains IDE based on build 262 or newer with the Reworked Terminal
• The Codex CLI
• lsof on the system path

Getting started

1. Install Codex Session Tabs from JetBrains Marketplace, or install a release ZIP with Settings → Plugins → Install Plugin from Disk.
2. In Settings → Tools → Terminal, select the Reworked Terminal engine.
3. Open a terminal tab and start or resume Codex normally.
4. Leave a Codex tab open when exiting the IDE to have that session restored on the next launch.

No configuration is required. The tab name and activity indicator may take a few seconds to update after Codex starts.

Build from source

The default build downloads the configured GoLand SDK. To use an installed IDE instead, set JETBRAINS_IDE_PATH or pass -PlocalIdePath=/path/to/IDE.

./gradlew buildPlugin

Install the ZIP from build/distributions/ with Settings → Plugins → Install Plugin from Disk.

Development

This plugin is built against the documented JetBrains terminal API and the local Codex CLI/state format. It has no network service or external runtime dependency.

The JetBrains terminal API is explicitly experimental, so a future IDE release may require a small compatibility update. This initial version intentionally targets build 262 rather than carrying a Classic Terminal compatibility layer.

License

MIT