Windows: Pets do not respond to clicks or drag input

[suica-cat]

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.825.6671.0 (Windows package); ChatGPT Desktop app: 1.2026.190

What subscription do you have?

Business

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro 25H2; OS build 26200.9168; Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.344.0; x64

What issue are you seeing?

The Pets feature is visible, but pets do not respond to mouse or touchpad input.

I cannot drag a pet to move it, and clicking a pet does not return me to ChatGPT. Other elements of the application respond normally to clicks and other input.

The issue affects multiple built-in pets and persists after resetting the Windows app and signing back into the same account.

My normal setup uses multiple monitors at 150% display scaling, but the issue also occurs with a single monitor and 100% scaling.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Launch the ChatGPT/Codex desktop app on Windows.
2. Enable Pets and display a pet.
3. Left-click the pet, or hold the left mouse button and attempt to drag it.
4. Observe that the pet does not respond, move, or return the user to ChatGPT.

Feedback ID: no-active-thread-01a05abb-23da-7fb1-816e-518266e99561

What is the expected behavior?

• Dragging a pet should move it to an arbitrary position.
• Clicking a pet should return the user to ChatGPT.
• The pet's position should persist after restarting the application.

Additional information

The following troubleshooting steps did not resolve the issue:

• Hid the pet with "Tuck Away Pet" and displayed it again.
• Used "Wake Pet" and tested immediately afterward.
• Switched to other built-in pets.
• Restarted the ChatGPT/Codex app.
• Restarted the computer.
• Reset the ChatGPT app through Windows Settings and signed in again.
• Tested with both a mouse and a touchpad.
• Tested in windowed and maximized modes.
• Changed display scaling from 150% to 100%.
• Changed from a multi-monitor setup to a single monitor and restarted the app.
• Tested with Windows "Animation effects" enabled and disabled.

The behavior suggests that the pet surface may not be receiving pointer input.

[github-actions]

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

• [Windows][Pets] Transparent overlay captures a large screen area, blocks Codex controls, and pet cannot be dragged #41596
• Windows: Pet overlay reacts to hover but ignores clicks, dragging, and voice controls #41506
• [Windows][Pets] Built-in and custom floating pets become click-through and cannot be dragged #41513
• Windows floating pet remains click-through and cannot be dragged #41465
• Windows desktop pet overlay reacts to mouse but cannot be dragged #41920

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[jin-0628]

Additional independent report: this issue is still reproducible on Windows as of September 1, 2026. The pet remains visible/animated, but it cannot be clicked-and-dragged to reposition it, so the normal placement behavior is effectively broken.

This is user-facing and highly noticeable because Pets are always-on desktop UI. Please consider prioritizing a fix or regression check for the pet overlay/pointer-input handling. If useful, I can provide further reproduction details from the affected setup.

[DrWhy44]

Still experiencing this issues as of 9/1. Pet won't activate and cannot be dragged and dropped/moved

[wjddnjsclrhk-ai]

Reproduced on a newer Windows desktop build: 26.831.1445.0.

Additional reproduction details:

• The pet is visible and animated, but does not respond to click or drag input.
• Reproduces with the built-in Dewey pet as well as a valid custom v2 pet, so this is not specific to custom pet assets.
• Persists after fully quitting all ChatGPT/Codex processes and relaunching.
• Reproduces on a dual-monitor setup with two aligned 1920×1080 displays.
• The desktop log records: [avatar-overlay] Discarding pending pet move for display change.
• During local diagnostics, the overlay window was in a click-through state using the Windows WS_EX_TRANSPARENT extended style (0x002800A8). A temporary style change did not provide a lasting workaround because the application reapplied its pointer-passthrough state.

This confirms the issue remains present in build 26.831.1445.0 and affects built-in pets too.

[kirito002]

same problem here.

[Harvey-Will]

same problem and can not fix it.

[teemk]

same issue

[eemateer]

Still reproducible on the newer Windows desktop package OpenAI.Codex 26.831.2377.0.

The floating pet is visible but stuck and cannot be repositioned by click-hold-drag. The user has already tried updating the app, fully quitting/relaunching it, and tucking away/waking the pet again; the problem persists.

This confirms the pointer/drag failure remains present in build 26.831.2377.0. No local paths, conversation contents, logs, or account identifiers are included.