Manage desktop tasks and projects

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Goal and preparation

Complete desktop basics. A project organizes shared files and tasks; each task has its own outcome and conversation. Use “Inventory the lab” and “Propose the edit” rather than naming everything “continue.” A ChatGPT project differs from a local project linked to a computer folder; verify that this exercise uses the latter.

Step 1: Attach the practice folder

Create codex-project-lab with separate note.txt and request.txt samples below. Add it as a local project using desktop basics, then verify folders in the project's Edit project menu. Attach only this lab, not your entire user directory. Use it as the primary folder and check the actual path before starting a task.

PROJECT-LAB
Revision: 1
Current title: Small Steps

Propose the title Daily Steps.
Do not edit note.txt until the proposal is reviewed.

The primary folder sets the starting location and default discovery for some project settings. Additional folders may also be readable/writable; they are not isolated copies. This lab has no Git or worktree, making shared files explicit. For concurrent code edits, use worktrees rather than assuming separate task entries are isolation.

Step 2: Create two tasks with distinct outcomes

Start the first task in this project and send the inventory prompt. Verify both files, PROJECT-LAB and revision 1, then rename it “PROJECT-LAB — Inventory.” Use the task menu to retain a shared marker plus outcome, making it searchable even when you remember only PROJECT-LAB. This task is read-only and needs no new document.

Inventory this practice folder. Read note.txt and request.txt. Report their filenames, the lab marker, revision and current title. Do not edit files or search other directories. This task's outcome is a verified inventory only.

Create another new task in the same project with the proposal prompt and name it “PROJECT-LAB — Title proposal.” Expect Small Steps to Daily Steps and only note.txt's title line as the proposed edit, without implementation yet. Switching back to Inventory should retain that task's conversation rather than merging both transcripts.

Read note.txt and request.txt. Propose the smallest title change that satisfies the request. Identify exactly which line would change and how to verify it. Do not implement yet; this task's outcome is a reviewable proposal.

Step 3: Reread files when switching tasks

Simulate work between tasks: manually change only note.txt's Revision to 2, leaving the title Small Steps and request.txt unchanged. In Inventory, send the fresh-read request. Old conversation says 1 while disk now says 2. Ask the proposal task to reread too; both should observe 2 in the same folder.

Read note.txt from disk again now. Compare its current revision with this task's earlier record. Report the actual directory, current revision and unchanged title. Do not repair the mismatch by restoring old contents.

The mismatch is intentional, not a request to revert it. Tasks can share files while retaining separate conversations; pinning, renaming and switching do not create another disk copy. If one still says 1, verify path, host and fresh reading, then possible worktree differences. Preserve such revision changes in a handoff for long work.

Step 4: Pin, find, archive and restore

Pin the frequently used Title proposal task and check that it remains easy to find after opening another task. Pinning should not change its transcript or files. Use sidebar Search chats for PROJECT-LAB, then distinguish by full title. Use the visible search entry because shortcuts vary by version.

Archive only the Inventory task through its menu after finishing it; avoid the project's bulk Archive chats action. Restore it from Settings → Archived chats and verify its transcript and note.txt revision 2 remain. Archiving organizes lists; it is not feature acceptance, backup or disk cleanup. Delete is unnecessary here.

Extension: the same task name in different projects

Create a separate codex-project-other folder beside codex-project-lab with only the note.txt below. Add it as another local project, not as an extra folder in the first project. Start a third task there, also named “PROJECT-LAB — Inventory”, and send the read-only request below. Matching titles do not prove that tasks use the same files.

PROJECT-OTHER
Revision: 100
Current title: Other Steps

Read only this project's note.txt from disk. Report the absolute path, marker, revision and current title. Do not infer content from this task's title, another task or another project. Do not edit or search outside this project.

The third task should read PROJECT-OTHER / 100 / Other Steps; the first two still use PROJECT-LAB / 2 / Small Steps. Record three rows with outcome, project, absolute path, latest file reading and active/archived state. If the third reports 2, check whether it was created in the wrong project; do not edit files to match the expected result. Then rename it “PROJECT-OTHER — Inventory” and archive or restore only the intended row.

Lessons and resources mentioned here: official worktree documentation · worktree lesson

When to resume, start fresh or stop

Continue the existing proposal when refining that same title change. Start a fresh task for a distinct outcome such as organizing test evidence, naming the files to read. Do not assume it has read verbal constraints from another conversation. Put durable rules such as unchanged tests in project AGENTS.md, current revisions and pending checks in a handoff, and reference them explicitly.

For running work, first use its visible stop control, verify no more edits are produced, then organize or archive. Stop and archive are distinct. Existing edits are not automatically undone, so reread and inspect changes. Before changing the primary folder, record the old path and verify the new starting location in a fresh task; do not assume existing tasks moved or attached folders are backups.

Troubleshooting and organizational habits

For a missing task, check another project, host or archive, then search its marker; do not create many duplicates. If both tasks want to edit the same file, keep one read-only while the other makes the change, then let the first review. For genuinely concurrent features, use the worktree and integration lessons.

As work grows, name tasks by outcome and scope, such as “Filters: complete Completed” or “Docs: startup steps.” End each with changes, verification and remaining work. Keep unfinished work in a task-list document as well as chat, so switching does not require retelling the whole project or equating archived with nothing pending.

Keep the three-task state table across two projects, fresh revision-2 reads from the first two tasks, revision 100 from the third, and the selected task's archive/restore result. Restore only codex-project-lab/note.txt to revision 1 and verify Small Steps; the other project stays at 100 / Other Steps. Unpin this exercise; no project or file deletion is needed. Diagram 1 sets scope, 2 separates outcomes, and 3 rechecks and organizes. Continue with understanding existing code.

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