From fb7cfc813a4fa09a3fe479a33ca071c4c4f97fc3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Owen Lin <owenlin0@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 13 May 2026 12:38:34 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix: prevent codex-backend from stealing originator (#22533)

## Why

Remote control starts by letting `codex-backend` initialize against the
app-server as an infrastructure health/proxy client before the real
remote client connects. App-server initialization also sets the
process-wide `originator` from `client_info.name`, so `codex-backend`
could become the sticky originator for later model/API requests even
after the real client initialized.

## What changed

- Treat `codex-backend` as a non-originating initialize client,
alongside the existing `codex_app_server_daemon` probe client.
- Preserve normal per-connection initialize behavior, including session
metadata and initialize analytics.
- Add regression coverage that verifies `codex-backend` initialize does
not replace the default originator.

## Testing

- `cargo test -p codex-app-server --test all
initialize_codex_backend_does_not_override_originator`
---
 .../initialize_processor.rs                   |  4 +--
 .../app-server/tests/suite/v2/initialize.rs   | 27 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/codex-rs/app-server/src/request_processors/initialize_processor.rs b/codex-rs/app-server/src/request_processors/initialize_processor.rs
index c33af189cf..a40007db11 100644
--- a/codex-rs/app-server/src/request_processors/initialize_processor.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/app-server/src/request_processors/initialize_processor.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use super::*;
 use crate::message_processor::ConnectionSessionState;
 use crate::message_processor::InitializedConnectionSessionState;
 
-const DAEMON_PROBE_CLIENT_NAME: &str = "codex_app_server_daemon";
+const NON_ORIGINATING_CLIENT_NAMES: &[&str] = &["codex_app_server_daemon", "codex-backend"];
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub(crate) struct InitializeRequestProcessor {
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ impl InitializeRequestProcessor {
         }
         let originator = name.clone();
         let user_agent_suffix = format!("{name}; {version}");
-        let mutates_global_identity = name != DAEMON_PROBE_CLIENT_NAME;
+        let mutates_global_identity = !NON_ORIGINATING_CLIENT_NAMES.contains(&name.as_str());
         let codex_home = self.config.codex_home.clone();
         if session
             .initialize(InitializedConnectionSessionState {
diff --git a/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/v2/initialize.rs b/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/v2/initialize.rs
index 3d3a473fab..47cacdb20e 100644
--- a/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/v2/initialize.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/app-server/tests/suite/v2/initialize.rs
@@ -89,6 +89,33 @@ async fn initialize_probe_does_not_override_originator() -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn initialize_codex_backend_does_not_override_originator() -> Result<()> {
+    let responses = Vec::new();
+    let server = create_mock_responses_server_sequence_unchecked(responses).await;
+    let codex_home = TempDir::new()?;
+    create_config_toml(codex_home.path(), &server.uri(), "never")?;
+    let mut mcp = McpProcess::new(codex_home.path()).await?;
+
+    let message = timeout(
+        DEFAULT_READ_TIMEOUT,
+        mcp.initialize_with_client_info(ClientInfo {
+            name: "codex-backend".to_string(),
+            title: Some("Codex Backend".to_string()),
+            version: "0.1.0".to_string(),
+        }),
+    )
+    .await??;
+
+    let JSONRPCMessage::Response(response) = message else {
+        anyhow::bail!("expected initialize response, got {message:?}");
+    };
+    let InitializeResponse { user_agent, .. } = to_response::<InitializeResponse>(response)?;
+
+    assert!(user_agent.starts_with("codex_cli_rs/"));
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn initialize_respects_originator_override_env_var() -> Result<()> {
     let responses = Vec::new();