Codex unexpected status 503 Service Unavailable
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A 503 from chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex/responses with biscuit_baker_service_me_circuit_open points to temporary Codex backend degradation. Check OpenAI Status before changing local settings.
Snapshot
This 503 is usually server-side, not a bad API key. Pause repeated retries and troubleshoot locally only if OpenAI reports no incident.
Codex reports:
Error running remote compact task: unexpected status 503 Service Unavailable: Service Unavailable, url: https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex/responses, cf-ray: ..., auth error: 503, auth error code: biscuit_baker_service_me_circuit_open
What It Means
chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex/responses is the official ChatGPT-authenticated Codex backend. HTTP 503 and circuit_open mean that backend is temporarily unavailable; this is not the usual invalid-credential error.
Was This an OpenAI Outage?
Yes. OpenAI reported elevated error rates affecting APIs, ChatGPT, and Codex. GitHub issues #35322 and #35323 recorded the same 503 and WebSocket fallback during that incident.
How To Fix It
- Check OpenAI Status and stop repeated retries during an active incident.
- Save current work, then restart Codex after recovery.
- If status is clear and the 503 persists, test another network and update Codex.
Do not delete ~/.codex, revoke credentials, or reinstall Codex during a confirmed outage.