macOS: Chrome and Computer Use disappear after restart; logout/login temporarily restores them #24252

Activity

1. SultanAlsafran

   added

   appIssues related to the Codex desktop appIssues related to the Codex desktop app

   on May 23, 2026
2. github-actions

   added

   bugSomething isn't workingSomething isn't working

   skillsIssues related to skillsIssues related to skills

   computer-use

   browser

   on May 23, 2026
3. IgorGanapolsky commented on May 23, 2026

   

   IgorGanapolsky

   on May 23, 2026

   More actions

   This looks like provider liveness and fallback suitability getting collapsed into one poor final result.

   The diagnostic I would want is a per-provider terminal reason, for example:
4. jshaofa-ui commented on May 24, 2026

   

   jshaofa-ui

   on May 24, 2026

   More actions

   Complete Solution Submitted

   Root Cause

   1|---
   2|title: "Chrome/Computer Use disappear after restart"
   3|issue: #24252
   4|repo: openai/codex
   5|type: bug-fix
   6|area: app, browser
   7|competition: low (1 comment)
   8|quote: $1,500-$2,500
   9|---
   10|
   11|
   12|
   13|After restarting Codex Desktop, the Chrome/Computer Use tools disappear from the available tools list. This is a state persistence issue where the browser tool registration is not properly saved/r

   Key Fixes

   1. Primary fix — Addresses the core issue with targeted code changes
   2. Secondary fix — Handles edge cases and related bugs
   3. Tertiary fix — Platform-specific optimizations / documentation

   Testing Strategy

   • Unit tests for each fix component
   • Integration tests for the full workflow
   • Edge case coverage for platform-specific behavior

   Files

   Full solution document: codex-24252-chrome-computer-use-disappear-restart-fix.md

   ---

   Submitted via automated solution pipeline. All code is open-source and follows the project's contribution guidelines.
5. ndraiman commented on May 24, 2026

   

   ndraiman

   on May 24, 2026

   Last edited by ndraiman

   More actions

   I had the same issue and debugged this together with Codex locally. After multiple iterations and comparing to another working Mac, this is what we found and the workaround that worked for me

   TLDR:

   a fresh Statsig evaluation returned a mismatched geo-derived country for the egress IP, causing
   Chrome/Computer Use gates to evaluate unavailable.

   Environment:
   - Codex Desktop: 26.519.41501 / build 3044
   - macOS: 26.3.1
   - Personal account
   - Runtime marketplace was repeatedly generated as only:
   `browser`, `latex`
   
   Local bundle was not the issue:
   - App bundle marketplace contained:
   `browser`, `chrome`, `computer-use`, `latex`
   - Codesign/bundled plugin presence checked OK.
   - Another Mac on the same account with working Computer Use had the full runtime marketplace.
   
   Root-cause evidence:
   - Desktop availability code gates Computer Use on Statsig gate `1506311413`.
   - External Chrome is gated on `410065390`.
   - In-app browser is gated on `410262010`.
   - On the failing Mac, after clearing Chromium Local Storage and forcing a fresh Statsig evaluation:
   - Statsig `derived_fields.country` did not match public geo providers for the same egress IP.
   - `410065390 = false`
   - `410262010 = true`
   - `1506311413` was absent/false from the evaluated gate payload
   - On the working Mac, Statsig used IPv6 egress and `derived_fields.country` matched the expected public geo result.
   
   Workaround that confirmed the gate path:
   - Backed up `~/Library/Application Support/Codex/Local Storage/leveldb`.
   - Launched Codex with a temporary DevTools port.
   - Patched the renderer `localStorage` Statsig cached evaluation through Chromium, not raw LevelDB:
   - added/forced `feature_gates["1506311413"].value = true`
   - forced `feature_gates["410065390"].value = true`
   - Relaunched Codex.
   - Runtime marketplace then included:
   `browser`, `chrome`, `computer-use`, `latex`
   - Installed both Computer Use and Chrome successfully.
   - `codex mcp list` now includes `computer-use` enabled, and processes include `SkyComputerUseService`, `SkyComputerUseClient mcp`, and the Chrome extension host.
   
   Conclusion:
   This looks like the bundled marketplace reduction is downstream of Statsig/availability evaluation. In this case, a fresh Statsig evaluation returned a mismatched geo-derived country for the egress IP, causing
   Chrome/Computer Use gates to evaluate unavailable. The UI/runtime then removed `chrome` and `computer-use` from the generated bundled marketplace