[codex] Restore thread recency with compatible migration history

codex-rs/analytics/src/analytics_client_tests.rs

@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@ fn sample_thread_with_metadata(
         model_provider: "openai".to_string(),
         created_at: 1,
         updated_at: 2,
+        recency_at: Some(2),
         status: AppServerThreadStatus::Idle,
         path: None,
         cwd: test_path_buf("/tmp").abs(),

codex-rs/analytics/src/client_tests.rs

@@ -285,6 +285,7 @@ fn sample_thread(thread_id: &str) -> Thread {
         model_provider: "openai".to_string(),
         created_at: 1,
         updated_at: 2,
+        recency_at: Some(2),
         status: AppServerThreadStatus::Idle,
         path: None,
         cwd: test_path_buf("/tmp").abs(),

codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol/common.rs

@@ -2501,6 +2501,7 @@ mod tests {
                     model_provider: "openai".to_string(),
                     created_at: 1,
                     updated_at: 2,
+                    recency_at: Some(3),
                     status: v2::ThreadStatus::Idle,
                     path: None,
                     cwd: cwd.clone(),
@@ -2544,6 +2545,7 @@ mod tests {
                         "modelProvider": "openai",
                         "createdAt": 1,
                         "updatedAt": 2,
+                        "recencyAt": 3,
                         "status": {
                             "type": "idle"
                         },

codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol/v2/tests.rs

@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ fn thread_resume_response_round_trips_initial_turns_page() {
             model_provider: "openai".to_string(),
             created_at: 1,
             updated_at: 1,
+            recency_at: Some(1),
             status: ThreadStatus::Idle,
             path: None,
             cwd: absolute_path("tmp"),
@@ -3600,6 +3601,7 @@ fn thread_lifecycle_responses_default_missing_optional_fields() {
 
     assert_eq!(start.instruction_sources, Vec::<AbsolutePathBuf>::new());
     assert_eq!(start.thread.parent_thread_id, None);
+    assert_eq!(start.thread.recency_at, None);
     assert_eq!(resume.instruction_sources, Vec::<AbsolutePathBuf>::new());
     assert_eq!(fork.instruction_sources, Vec::<AbsolutePathBuf>::new());
     assert_eq!(start.active_permission_profile, None);
@@ -3608,6 +3610,14 @@ fn thread_lifecycle_responses_default_missing_optional_fields() {
     assert_eq!(fork.active_permission_profile, None);
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn thread_recency_sort_key_serializes_as_snake_case() {
+    assert_eq!(
+        serde_json::to_value(ThreadSortKey::RecencyAt).expect("sort key should serialize"),
+        json!("recency_at")
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn turn_start_params_preserve_explicit_null_service_tier() {
     let params: TurnStartParams = serde_json::from_value(json!({

codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol/v2/thread.rs

@@ -1086,6 +1086,7 @@ pub enum ThreadSourceKind {
 pub enum ThreadSortKey {
     CreatedAt,
     UpdatedAt,
+    RecencyAt,
 }
 
 #[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, JsonSchema, TS)]

codex-rs/app-server-protocol/src/protocol/v2/thread_data.rs

@@ -152,6 +152,9 @@ pub struct Thread {
     /// Unix timestamp (in seconds) when the thread was last updated.
     #[ts(type = "number")]
     pub updated_at: i64,
+    /// Unix timestamp (in seconds) used for thread recency ordering.
+    #[ts(type = "number | null")]
+    pub recency_at: Option<i64>,
     /// Current runtime status for the thread.
     pub status: ThreadStatus,
     /// [UNSTABLE] Path to the thread on disk.

codex-rs/app-server/README.md

@@ -364,7 +364,8 @@ Like `thread/resume`, experimental clients can pass `excludeTurns: true` to `thr
 
 - `cursor` — opaque string from a prior response; omit for the first page.
 - `limit` — server defaults to a reasonable page size if unset.
-- `sortKey` — `created_at` (default) or `updated_at`.
+- `sortKey` — `created_at` (default), `updated_at`, or `recency_at`.
+- `recencyAt` is initialized when the thread is created and advances when a turn starts. Unlike `updatedAt`, background output and other persisted mutations do not advance it.
 - `sortDirection` — `desc` (default) or `asc`.
 - `modelProviders` — restrict results to specific providers; unset, null, or an empty array will include all providers.
 - `sourceKinds` — restrict results to specific sources; omit or pass `[]` for interactive sessions only (`cli`, `vscode`).
@@ -386,8 +387,8 @@ Example:
 } }
 { "id": 20, "result": {
     "data": [
-        { "id": "thr_a", "preview": "Create a TUI", "modelProvider": "openai", "createdAt": 1730831111, "updatedAt": 1730831111, "status": { "type": "notLoaded" }, "agentNickname": "Atlas", "agentRole": "explorer" },
-        { "id": "thr_b", "preview": "Fix tests", "modelProvider": "openai", "createdAt": 1730750000, "updatedAt": 1730750000, "status": { "type": "notLoaded" } }
+        { "id": "thr_a", "preview": "Create a TUI", "modelProvider": "openai", "createdAt": 1730831111, "updatedAt": 1730831111, "recencyAt": 1730831111, "status": { "type": "notLoaded" }, "agentNickname": "Atlas", "agentRole": "explorer" },
+        { "id": "thr_b", "preview": "Fix tests", "modelProvider": "openai", "createdAt": 1730750000, "updatedAt": 1730750000, "recencyAt": 1730750000, "status": { "type": "notLoaded" } }
     ],
     "nextCursor": "opaque-token-or-null",
     "backwardsCursor": "opaque-token-or-null"

codex-rs/app-server/src/bespoke_event_handling.rs

@@ -2261,6 +2261,7 @@ mod tests {
             reasoning_effort: None,
             created_at,
             updated_at: created_at,
+            recency_at: created_at,
             archived_at: None,
             cwd: test_path_buf("/tmp").abs().into(),
             cli_version: "0.0.0".to_string(),

codex-rs/app-server/src/request_processors/thread_processor.rs

@@ -1897,6 +1897,7 @@ impl ThreadRequestProcessor {
         let store_sort_key = match sort_key.unwrap_or(ThreadSortKey::CreatedAt) {
             ThreadSortKey::CreatedAt => StoreThreadSortKey::CreatedAt,
             ThreadSortKey::UpdatedAt => StoreThreadSortKey::UpdatedAt,
+            ThreadSortKey::RecencyAt => StoreThreadSortKey::RecencyAt,
         };
         let sort_direction = sort_direction.unwrap_or(SortDirection::Desc);
         let (stored_threads, next_cursor) = self
@@ -1978,6 +1979,7 @@ impl ThreadRequestProcessor {
         let store_sort_key = match sort_key.unwrap_or(ThreadSortKey::CreatedAt) {
             ThreadSortKey::CreatedAt => StoreThreadSortKey::CreatedAt,
             ThreadSortKey::UpdatedAt => StoreThreadSortKey::UpdatedAt,
+            ThreadSortKey::RecencyAt => StoreThreadSortKey::RecencyAt,
         };
         let store_sort_direction = sort_direction.unwrap_or(SortDirection::Desc);
         let (allowed_sources, source_kind_filter) = compute_source_filters(source_kinds);
@@ -3695,6 +3697,7 @@ fn thread_backwards_cursor_for_sort_key(
     let timestamp = match sort_key {
         StoreThreadSortKey::CreatedAt => thread.created_at,
         StoreThreadSortKey::UpdatedAt => thread.updated_at,
+        StoreThreadSortKey::RecencyAt => thread.recency_at,
     };
     // The state DB stores unique millisecond timestamps. Offset the reverse cursor by one
     // millisecond so the opposite-direction query includes the page anchor.
@@ -4139,6 +4142,7 @@ pub(crate) fn thread_from_stored_thread(
         },
         created_at: thread.created_at.timestamp(),
         updated_at: thread.updated_at.timestamp(),
+        recency_at: Some(thread.recency_at.timestamp()),
         status: ThreadStatus::NotLoaded,
         path,
         cwd,
@@ -4344,6 +4348,7 @@ fn build_thread_from_snapshot(
         model_provider: config_snapshot.model_provider_id.clone(),
         created_at: now,
         updated_at: now,
+        recency_at: Some(now),
         status: ThreadStatus::NotLoaded,
         path,
         cwd: config_snapshot.cwd().clone(),

codex-rs/app-server/src/request_processors/thread_processor_tests.rs

@@ -478,6 +478,7 @@ mod thread_processor_behavior_tests {
             reasoning_effort: None,
             created_at: created_at.with_timezone(&Utc),
             updated_at: updated_at.with_timezone(&Utc),
+            recency_at: updated_at.with_timezone(&Utc),
             archived_at: None,
             cwd: PathBuf::from("/tmp"),
             cli_version: "0.0.0".to_string(),