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Codex Windows app will not launch after a clean reinstall. #25489

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Codex Windows app will not launch after a clean reinstall.#25489
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appIssues related to the Codex desktop appbugSomething isn't workingwindows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems

Description

@alexie-debug
alexie-debug
opened on Jun 1, 2026

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

Codex app version: 26.527.3686.0

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

No response

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Windows app will not launch after a clean reinstall.

Error:
“Error launching app”
“Unable to find Electron app at C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\codex\thr...\new”
“Cannot find module ...\new”

I have already tried:

  • Repair
  • Reset
  • Uninstall/reinstall
  • Restart
  • Run as administrator
  • Booted into Safe Mode
  • Renamed the .codex folder to Codex.old
  • Reinstalled again

The same launch error still appears on a fresh install.

This appears to be a Microsoft Store / WindowsApps / Electron app packaging or app registration issue, not a local config issue. Please advise how to fully remove and reinstall the Windows Codex app package, or confirm whether build 26.527.3686.0 has a known Windows launch issue.

Image

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Install Codex Windows app from the Microsoft Store.
  2. Open Codex from the Start Menu.
  3. Try to launch the Codex app.
  4. The app fails to launch and shows: “Error launching app”.
  5. Error message says: “Unable to find Electron app at C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\codex\thr...\new”
  6. It also says: “Cannot find module ...\new”.
  7. I tried Repair, Reset, Uninstall, Reinstall, Restart, Run as administrator, Safe Mode, and renaming the local .codex folder.
  8. After a clean reinstall, the same launch error still appears.

No code snippet is applicable because this is not a code execution bug. It is a Windows desktop app launch/package error.

Session ID: Not available because the app does not launch.
Token limit usage: Not applicable.
Context window usage: Not applicable.

What is the expected behavior?

connecting to chrome ia th e plugin - which now is no longer in the plugin store

Additional information

No response

Activity

  1. alexie-debug
    added
    appIssues related to the Codex desktop app
    on Jun 1, 2026
  2. github-actions
    added
    bugSomething isn't working
    windows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems
    on Jun 1, 2026

  3. github-actions commented on Jun 1, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsbot
    on Jun 1, 2026 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

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

    Powered by Codex Action

  4. SoundGuyAzure commented on Jun 1, 2026

    @SoundGuyAzure
    SoundGuyAzure
    on Jun 1, 2026

    happening to me as well. any workaround?

  5. 0xc0dec0ffee commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @0xc0dec0ffee
    0xc0dec0ffee
    on Jun 2, 2026

    UPDATE to 26.527.60818. it works.

  6. SoundGuyAzure commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @SoundGuyAzure
    SoundGuyAzure
    on Jun 2, 2026

    still not working for me after update

    Image

  7. willycotes commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @willycotes
    willycotes
    on Jun 2, 2026

    I'm still struggling with this, do you know if Codex CLI works properly?

  8. wscjz1 commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @wscjz1
    wscjz1
    on Jun 2, 2026

    same problem

  9. menghehe commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @menghehe
    menghehe
    on Jun 2, 2026

    plus one

  10. MatinDawn commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @MatinDawn
    MatinDawn
    on Jun 2, 2026

    I have met the same issue.

  11. xk8703 commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @xk8703
    xk8703
    on Jun 2, 2026

    same problem; how to do fix it?

  12. Cassie1010 commented on Jun 2, 2026

    @Cassie1010
    Cassie1010
    on Jun 2, 2026

    same problem

  13. shwork336 commented on Jun 3, 2026

    @shwork336
    shwork336
    on Jun 3, 2026

    same problem; how to do fix it?

  14. Cassie1010 commented on Jun 3, 2026

    @Cassie1010
    Cassie1010
    on Jun 3, 2026

    It's working fine after today's update.

  15. DennisdeJager commented on Jun 4, 2026

    @DennisdeJager
    DennisdeJager
    on Jun 4, 2026

    Same problem here for days now..
    Paying $200 a month for an app that does not work... wow
    cli kind of does the job, but my daily office work without the desktop feels like walking with a stone in my shoe..

  16. rlking1985 commented on Jun 10, 2026

    @rlking1985
    rlking1985
    on Jun 10, 2026

    Same issue here for a week now.

  17. pjh4560-design commented on Jun 12, 2026

    @pjh4560-design
    pjh4560-design
    on Jun 12, 2026

    Codex desktop (Windows / MS Store) crashes ~0.3s after launch — unhandled C++ exception (0xE06D7363), no window ever shown

    Summary

    The Codex desktop app (Microsoft Store / MSIX) crashes almost immediately on every launch. No window is ever displayed. The main/browser process starts, logs two lines, begins the local app-server connection, then dies ~0.3s in, writing a ~34 MB Crashpad minidump on every attempt. The Codex CLI works perfectly on the same machine.

    This looks like the same class of problem as #25489, #24998, #27175, #17485 — posting a fully-diagnosed instance with a crash signature.

    Environment

    • App: OpenAI.Codex (MS Store), version 26.609.3341.0 (AUMID OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App)
    • Bundled Chromium: 149.0.7827.54
    • Backend: codex-cli 0.130.0-alpha.5 (works fine)
    • OS: Windows 11 Pro 26200 (LG gram laptop)
    • CPU/GPU: Intel Core Ultra (Lunar Lake) with Intel Arc 140T iGPU + NVIDIA RTX 4050 Laptop dGPU (hybrid)

    Crash signature (parsed from the minidump)

    • Exception code: 0xE06D7363 — i.e. an unhandled C++ exception (raised via KERNELBASE!RaiseException), not an access violation / driver fault.
    • A new ~34 MB minidump is written on every launch to:
      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Roaming\Codex\web\Codex\Crashpad\reports

    Logs before the crash

    Main process log (...\LocalCache\Local\Codex\Logs\...) ends identically every time after 2 lines:

    info Launching app ... buildFlavor=prod packaged=true platform=win32
info Appshot hotkey inactive configured=true enabled=true platform=win32

    With --enable-logging=stderr --v=1, stdout reaches the app-server stage and then the process dies:

    [AppServerConnection] Starting app-server connection hostId=local transport=stdio
[AppServerConnection] app_server_connection.state_changed ... next=connecting ...
[remote-connections/window-context] remote_project_connection_restore_skipped reason=no_remote_projects

    No FATAL / CHECK / ERROR line is logged before death (only a benign google_update_settings_win.cc usagestats key warning).

    What was ruled out (extensive)

    • GPU drivers: updated Intel Arc → 32.0.101.8826 (2026-05) and NVIDIA → 32.0.16.1047 (2026-05). No change.
    • Rendering backend: crashes with default, --no-sandbox, --use-angle=d3d11, --disable-features=Vulkan/SkiaGraphite/Dawn, --use-angle=swiftshader, --disable-gpu, --in-process-gpu. Only --disable-gpu --disable-software-rasterizer together avoid the crash — but then no window is ever shown (rendering fully disabled).
    • Chromium profile: deleting/recreating the web\Codex profile → fresh profile still crashes.
    • Caches: clearing GPUCache / GrShaderCache / ShaderCache → no change.
    • Clean reinstall: full uninstall + removal of package data + reinstall of the same Store version → still crashes.
    • Windows security policy: Exploit Protection / ACG / CIG / WDAC / Smart App Control all OFF or default.
    • 3rd-party security agent: stopping the endpoint-security service entirely → still crashes.
    • Config: moving ~/.codex aside (clean config) → still crashes.
    • System Chromium baseline: Microsoft Edge launches and keeps a healthy GPU process on the same machine → system graphics stack is fine; the problem is Codex-specific.

    Reproducibility

    100% — every launch crashes (8+ consecutive attempts, each producing a minidump).

    Notes for triage

    The crash is a C++ exception thrown during early startup, correlated with graphics/compositor initialization (only fully disabling rendering avoids it, but that also suppresses the window). A symbolicated stack from any of the attached minidumps should pinpoint the throw site. Happy to upload a minidump.

  18. Easy10010 commented on Jul 4, 2026

    @Easy10010
    Easy10010
    on Jul 4, 2026

    Codex desktop (Windows / MS Store) crashes ~0.3s after launch — unhandled C++ exception (0xE06D7363), no window ever shown

    Summary

    The Codex desktop app (Microsoft Store / MSIX) crashes almost immediately on every launch. No window is ever displayed. The main/browser process starts, logs two lines, begins the local app-server connection, then dies ~0.3s in, writing a ~34 MB Crashpad minidump on every attempt. The Codex CLI works perfectly on the same machine.

    This looks like the same class of problem as #25489, #24998, #27175, #17485 — posting a fully-diagnosed instance with a crash signature.

    Environment

    • App: OpenAI.Codex (MS Store), version 26.609.3341.0 (AUMID OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App)
    • Bundled Chromium: 149.0.7827.54
    • Backend: codex-cli 0.130.0-alpha.5 (works fine)
    • OS: Windows 11 Pro 26200 (LG gram laptop)
    • CPU/GPU: Intel Core Ultra (Lunar Lake) with Intel Arc 140T iGPU + NVIDIA RTX 4050 Laptop dGPU (hybrid)

    Crash signature (parsed from the minidump)

    • Exception code: 0xE06D7363 — i.e. an unhandled C++ exception (raised via KERNELBASE!RaiseException), not an access violation / driver fault.
    • A new ~34 MB minidump is written on every launch to:
      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Roaming\Codex\web\Codex\Crashpad\reports

    Logs before the crash

    Main process log (...\LocalCache\Local\Codex\Logs\...) ends identically every time after 2 lines:

    info Launching app ... buildFlavor=prod packaged=true platform=win32
info Appshot hotkey inactive configured=true enabled=true platform=win32

    With --enable-logging=stderr --v=1, stdout reaches the app-server stage and then the process dies:

    [AppServerConnection] Starting app-server connection hostId=local transport=stdio
[AppServerConnection] app_server_connection.state_changed ... next=connecting ...
[remote-connections/window-context] remote_project_connection_restore_skipped reason=no_remote_projects

    No FATAL / CHECK / ERROR line is logged before death (only a benign google_update_settings_win.cc usagestats key warning).

    What was ruled out (extensive)

    • GPU drivers: updated Intel Arc → 32.0.101.8826 (2026-05) and NVIDIA → 32.0.16.1047 (2026-05). No change.
    • Rendering backend: crashes with default, --no-sandbox, --use-angle=d3d11, --disable-features=Vulkan/SkiaGraphite/Dawn, --use-angle=swiftshader, --disable-gpu, --in-process-gpu. Only --disable-gpu --disable-software-rasterizer together avoid the crash — but then no window is ever shown (rendering fully disabled).
    • Chromium profile: deleting/recreating the web\Codex profile → fresh profile still crashes.
    • Caches: clearing GPUCache / GrShaderCache / ShaderCache → no change.
    • Clean reinstall: full uninstall + removal of package data + reinstall of the same Store version → still crashes.
    • Windows security policy: Exploit Protection / ACG / CIG / WDAC / Smart App Control all OFF or default.
    • 3rd-party security agent: stopping the endpoint-security service entirely → still crashes.
    • Config: moving ~/.codex aside (clean config) → still crashes.
    • System Chromium baseline: Microsoft Edge launches and keeps a healthy GPU process on the same machine → system graphics stack is fine; the problem is Codex-specific.

    Reproducibility

    100% — every launch crashes (8+ consecutive attempts, each producing a minidump).

    Notes for triage

    The crash is a C++ exception thrown during early startup, correlated with graphics/compositor initialization (only fully disabling rendering avoids it, but that also suppresses the window). A symbolicated stack from any of the attached minidumps should pinpoint the throw site. Happy to upload a minidump.

    I'm experiencing the exact same issue. I was ultimately able to successfully launch the Codex app using this command:

    "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.623.13972.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\Codex.exe" --enable-logging=stderr --disable-gpu --disable-gpu-compositing
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