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Codex Windows app: top menu dropdown items remain in English when Windows and Codex UI language are set to Simplified Chinese #26890

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Description

@TBtree227

Codex Windows localization feedback

Title

Codex Windows app: top menu dropdown items remain in English when Windows and Codex UI language are set to Simplified Chinese

Environment

  • App: Codex Windows desktop app, Microsoft Store/MSIX
  • Installed package: OpenAI.Codex_26.602.4764.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
  • App version: 26.602.4764.0
  • OS UI culture after restart: zh-CN
  • Windows UI language override: zh-CN
  • Codex config: localeOverride = "zh-CN"

Issue

The Codex Windows app is partially localized into Simplified Chinese, but the top application menu dropdown items remain in English. For example, the menu bar labels such as File/Edit/View/Window/Help may appear localized, but opening their dropdown menus still shows English items.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Set Windows display language/UI culture to Simplified Chinese (zh-CN).
  2. Set Codex UI language override to Simplified Chinese (localeOverride = "zh-CN").
  3. Restart Windows.
  4. Open Codex Windows desktop app.
  5. Open the top menu dropdowns, such as File/Edit/View/Window/Help.

Expected behavior

All menu bar and dropdown menu items should be localized consistently in Simplified Chinese.

Actual behavior

Some or all dropdown menu items remain in English even after both Windows and Codex UI language settings are set to Simplified Chinese and the system has been restarted.

Additional notes

Local checks confirmed:

Get-UICulture = zh-CN
Get-WinUILanguageOverride = zh-CN
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop\PreferredUILanguages = zh-CN
Codex config [desktop].localeOverride = "zh-CN"

This appears to be an application-side localization gap in the Windows desktop app menu resources rather than a Windows language setting issue.

Activity

  1. added
    bugSomething isn't working
    appIssues related to the Codex desktop app
    windows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems
    on Jun 7, 2026
  2. github-actions commented on Jun 7, 2026

    @github-actions
    Contributor
  3. niuwenkui commented on Jun 9, 2026

    @niuwenkui

    Root Cause Analysis (Deep Dive)

    After extensive source code analysis of the Codex Desktop app.asar, I've identified the exact root cause:

    The Problem: Hardcoded English labels in Electron main process

    The Electron native menu items use hardcoded English strings instead of i18n translation calls.

    Evidence from main process code:

    // Menu item definitions in main-*.js
    {label:`Log Out`, click: async () => { ... }}   // Hardcoded, NOT formatMessage()
    {label:`File`, id: t.kn.file, submenu: []}       // Hardcoded
    {label:`View`, id: t.kn.view, submenu: []}       // Hardcoded

    What IS translated vs What ISN'T

    ✅ Translated (via i18n system):

    • Top-level menu titles: windowsMenuBar.file → 文件, windowsMenuBar.edit → 编辑, windowsMenuBar.view → 查看, windowsMenuBar.help → 帮助, windowsMenuBar.window → 窗口
    • Sidebar items, dialog text, settings pages — 6,908 translation keys in zh-CN locale
    • common.close → 关闭 (exists in locale but not used for menu items)

    ❌ NOT translated (hardcoded in Electron main process):

    • File menu: Close, New Window, New Chat, Quick Chat, Open Folder..., Settings..., Log Out
    • Edit menu: standard Electron role-based items
    • View menu: Reload Window, Toggle Full Screen, Actual Size, Zoom In/Zoom Out
    • Help menu: Codex Documentation, Send Feedback, Check for Updates…
    • These labels use template literals directly: label:Log Out``

    Missing i18n keys

    The zh-CN locale file (zh-CN-CwNof08D.js) has no keys for: newWindow, newChat, quickChat, openFolder, logOut, settings (as menu label), or any of the View/Help menu items.

    The native-menu-locales/zh-CN.json in app.asar only contains browser error page and dialog translations — zero menu item translations.

    Fix Required

    The menu item definitions in the Electron main process need to:

    1. Replace hardcoded label:English Text`` with formatMessage('menu.item.key') calls
    2. Add corresponding i18n keys to all locale files (zh-CN, ja-JP, etc.)
    3. Ensure the main process loads the correct locale from config.toml desktop.localeOverride

    Environment (for reference)

    • Codex Desktop v26.602.9276.0
    • Windows 11 x64 (Build 26200)
    • Display: 3840×2160 @ 150% scaling
    • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
    • System language: zh-CN
    • Config: localeOverride = zh-CN
  4. summer521521 commented on Jun 20, 2026

    @summer521521

    Still reproducible in the current Microsoft Store build 26.616.5445.0 on Windows (verified June 20, 2026).

    The top-level menu is localized into Simplified Chinese, but the File dropdown still shows English entries such as New Window, New Chat, Quick Chat, Open Folder..., Close, Settings..., and Log Out. This confirms that the issue remains after multiple releases since the originally reported 26.602 build.

    This is also part of a broader localization-completeness problem: settings, tooltips, option descriptions, and other smaller UI strings can still fall back to English, as tracked in #27255.

    Could the team please prioritize:

    1. Localizing all native Windows menu items instead of leaving hardcoded English labels.
    2. Auditing all user-facing zh-CN strings across the desktop app, including settings, dialogs, tooltips, onboarding, plugins/integrations, and newly added features.
    3. Adding an automated localization-completeness check so new hardcoded or missing strings do not regress into mixed-language UI.

    The mixed Chinese/English interface has persisted for months and makes the Windows app feel unfinished for Chinese users. Please provide a status update or target release if possible.

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