Codex Desktop 26.707.71524: Browser and Chrome plugins fail with Cannot redefine property: process

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

26.707.71524 (Build 5263)

What subscription do you have?

Unknown (signed-in ChatGPT account)

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Both bundled browser integrations fail before browser runtime setup:

In-app Browser plugin
Chrome plugin

Importing either bundled browser-client.mjs immediately throws:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process

Affected paths:

~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser/26.707.71524/scripts/browser-client.mjs
~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/26.707.71524/scripts/browser-client.mjs

This happens before extension handshake, page navigation, or application code runs. The same environment worked with plugin version 26.707.62119 before the bundled plugin update.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Run Codex Desktop 26.707.71524 (Build 5263) on Apple Silicon macOS.
Install/enable the bundled Browser or Chrome plugin version 26.707.71524.
In a Codex task, initialize the Node REPL and import the plugin client as instructed by the plugin skill:

const { setupBrowserRuntime } = await import(
  "~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser/26.707.71524/scripts/browser-client.mjs"
);
await setupBrowserRuntime({ globals: globalThis });

The import fails immediately with TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process.
Repeat with the Chrome plugin path; it fails with the same error.

Troubleshooting already attempted, with no change:

Restarted Codex Desktop
Reinstalled the bundled Codex browser plugin
Reinstalled the Chrome extension
Reset the Codex workspace
Retried with a fresh signed-in page/session

No application URL or authentication state is required to reproduce because the exception occurs during module import.

What is the expected behavior?

The bundled client should import successfully, register the browser backend, and allow setupBrowserRuntime to complete. Existing globalThis.process metadata provided by the Node REPL should not cause plugin initialization to fail.

Additional information

The generated client appears to initialize a process shim at module load time, including assignments equivalent to:

globalThis.process = processShim;
globalThis.global = globalThis.global ?? globalThis;
globalThis.global.process = processShim;

The Node REPL runtime already exposes a protected/non-configurable process property, so this appears to be a compatibility regression in the current bundled plugin.

Regression information:

Working plugin version: 26.707.62119
Failing plugin version: 26.707.71524
Codex Desktop: 26.707.71524 (Build 5263)
Both Browser and Chrome integrations are affected

Possibly related reports:

same here

Independent reproduction confirmed on macOS (Darwin 25.5.0, arm64).

Environment:

Codex Desktop: 26.707.71524 (Build 5263)
Bundled Browser plugin: 26.707.71524
Bundled Chrome plugin: 26.707.71524
The two installed browser-client.mjs files are byte-identical (same SHA-256)

Observed result:

Import fails before browser discovery, extension handshake, page attachment, or authentication.
Exact exception: TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process
Stack points to browser-client.mjs:33:22, at globalThis.process = processShim.
Both Browser and Chrome integrations fail identically.

Troubleshooting confirmed:

Restarting Codex does not help.
Reinstalling Browser/Chrome installs the same 26.707.71524 bundle and does not help.
The failure is independent of the target website or login state.

Impact: all workflows that require the in-app browser or the user's signed-in Chrome session are blocked in this build.

I've noticed this happened in the latest release just few hours ago.

Feedback ID: 019f5e63-f4d0-7c40-bc96-8cfa8ba629bd

I hit the same issue on macOS with ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.707.71524 (Build 5263):

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process

Both the Chrome plugin and the built-in Browser plugin were affected.

Root cause

The generated browser-client.mjs attempts to overwrite globalThis.process:

globalThis.process = processShim;
globalThis.global = globalThis.global ?? globalThis;
globalThis.global.process = processShim;

In the current Codex Node REPL runtime, process is protected/non-configurable, so the plugin fails during initialization.

Simply removing those assignments is not enough. That gets past the first error, but bundled dependencies later fail with:

global.process.on is not a function

Temporary local patch

I asked Codex/AI to patch the two cached plugin files:

~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/<version>/scripts/browser-client.mjs
~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser/<version>/scripts/browser-client.mjs

For me, <version> was 26.707.71524.

First, make backups of both files. Then replace:

globalThis.process = processShim;
globalThis.global = globalThis.global ?? globalThis;
globalThis.global.process = processShim;

with:

const process = processShim;
const global = Object.create(globalThis, {
  process: {
    value: processShim,
    writable: true,
    configurable: true,
  },
});

This keeps process and global module-scoped and gives bundled dependencies the expected process shim without attempting to redefine the protected globalThis.process.

Prompt you can give to Codex/AI

The Chrome and Browser plugins fail with:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process

Please inspect the current cached browser-client.mjs files under:

~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/
~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser/

Do not modify /Applications/ChatGPT.app, the Chrome extension, my projects,
Codex configuration, or any unrelated files.

Before making changes:

1. Locate the active plugin version.
2. Back up both browser-client.mjs files with a timestamped .bak suffix.
3. Confirm both original files have the same relevant process shim code.
4. Patch only the startup shim.

Replace:

globalThis.process = processShim;
globalThis.global = globalThis.global ?? globalThis;
globalThis.global.process = processShim;

with:

const process = processShim;
const global = Object.create(globalThis, {
  process: { value: processShim, writable: true, configurable: true },
});

After patching:

1. Run `node --check` on both files.
2. Confirm the two patched files are identical if their originals were identical.
3. Reset the Node REPL/browser runtime.
4. Load the Chrome plugin and connect to the existing Chrome extension.
5. Open https://www.google.com/ in a new tab.
6. Verify the resulting page title and URL.
7. If plugin initialization still fails, restore both backups immediately.
8. Report every modified file and the rollback path.

Do not use a naive patch that merely deletes the globalThis.process assignment,
because dependencies may then fail with `global.process.on is not a function`.

Verification

After applying the patch, I verified:

Both files pass node --check.
The Chrome plugin initializes successfully.
Codex connects to the Chrome extension.
A new Chrome tab opens Google successfully.
The resulting page is https://www.google.com/ with the title Google.

Impact and risks

This is an unsupported local workaround, not an upstream fix.

It only changes cached browser plugin bootstrap files. It does not modify:

The signed /Applications/ChatGPT.app bundle
Core Codex code
The Chrome extension
Project repositories
Codex configuration

Normal Codex functionality should therefore remain unaffected, but the Chrome/Browser plugins should still be tested after applying it.

A future ChatGPT/Codex update or plugin cache refresh may overwrite the patched files. That is expected and is preferable to permanently modifying the application bundle. After an update:

Test the plugin before doing anything—the upstream issue may already be fixed.
Do not blindly reapply the old patch.
If the same error remains, ask AI to inspect the new generated file and verify that the same code pattern and failure still exist.
Reapply only if the new bundle has the same compatibility issue.
Keep backups so the patch can be rolled back easily.

Downgrading the entire application was not necessary in my case. This cache-only patch restored Chrome control while keeping the application bundle untouched.

I ran into this after updating as well. It completely broke Chrome usage.

Additional reproduction with a useful version/OS control:

macOS 26.5.2 (Build 25F84; Darwin 25.5.0, arm64)
Codex Desktop / bundled Chrome plugin: 26.707.71524 (Build 5263)
Google Chrome: 150.0.7871.115
Codex Chrome extension: 1.2.27203.26575_0

Checks completed:

Chrome is installed and running.
The Codex Chrome extension is installed and enabled in the Default profile.
The native messaging host manifest exists, uses the expected host name/origin, and points to an existing host.
Reinstalling the bundled plugin installs the same 26.707.71524 files and does not change the failure.
Import still fails immediately at browser-client.mjs:33:22 on globalThis.process = processShim, before any Chrome/native-messaging handshake or macOS accessibility interaction.

Regression control:

The older bundled plugin 26.707.62119 imported and reached browser setup on this same Mac before the Codex/plugin update.
The new 26.707.71524 bundle fails deterministically during module evaluation.

Because the exception occurs before browser discovery or OS permission checks, this reproduction strongly points to a bundled browser-client / Node REPL compatibility regression rather than a Chrome extension, native-host, or macOS privacy-permission failure.

I can reproduce the same regression on Windows.

Environment:

OS: Windows x64
Codex Desktop package: OpenAI.Codex_26.707.9564.0_x64
Bundled Chrome plugin: 26.707.71524
Bundled Browser plugin: 26.707.71524
Both plugins are reported as installed and enabled by codex plugin list
Node REPL itself accepts basic JS tool calls

Failure:

Importing the current bundled chrome/.../scripts/browser-client.mjs fails immediately with:
Cannot redefine property: process
The failure occurs before agent.browsers.get("extension"), tab discovery, extension handshake, navigation, or authentication.
Therefore Codex cannot open, inspect, or control any Chrome tab. Browser-dependent work is completely blocked.

Regression evidence:

Bundled Chrome plugin version 26.707.62119 worked earlier in the same environment.
After the bundled cache updated to 26.707.71524, the old version directory was removed and the new version began failing with this exception.
The current cache and latest junction both point to 26.707.71524.

Troubleshooting attempted without improvement:

Fully restarted Codex Desktop.
Fully restarted Chrome.
Reinstalled the Codex Chrome extension in Chrome.
Confirmed the bundled Chrome and Browser plugins remain installed/enabled.
The Codex plugin UI does not allow the bundled Chrome plugin to be disabled or removed.
Retested after the above steps; the same exception occurs.

This appears to be a cross-platform compatibility regression in the generated browser client/process shim rather than a Chrome extension, tab, login, or native-host problem. On Windows it prevents all Chrome-backed Codex workflows, so no browser work can proceed.

Could an OpenAI maintainer please confirm whether this is a known regression in 26.707.71524, and advise whether there is a supported workaround, rollback path, or fixed plugin/app version available? This currently blocks all Chrome-dependent work on the affected Windows installation, so a response or recommended recovery procedure would be greatly appreciated.

Independent reproduction on macOS arm64 with Codex Desktop 26.707.71524 (build 5263).

Importing the app-bundled Chrome client alone fails before browser discovery, extension handshake, or navigation:
/Applications/ChatGPT.app/Contents/Resources/plugins/openai-bundled/plugins/chrome/scripts/browser-client.mjs:33:22
TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process
The currently cached Chrome client also fails at the same source line. The cached Browser and Chrome clients are byte-identical, so the in-app browser path is affected too.
This persists with Chrome running and after restarting Chrome, Codex, and the machine.
A direct assignment to globalThis.process in the ordinary REPL succeeds; the failure appears specifically while the imported module is evaluated in SourceTextModule. That points to a compatibility change in the module sandbox/runtime interaction, rather than Chrome or extension state.

The app-bundled client reproducing the fault means a stale plugin cache alone is not a workaround.

Additional reproduction details from a Chrome-extension setup:

Codex Desktop: 26.707.71524 (Build 5263)
Bundled Chrome plugin: 26.707.71524
Official ChatGPT Chrome extension: 1.2.27203.26575
Chrome extension is installed, enabled, and registered in the selected Default profile
Native messaging host manifest is present and matches com.openai.codexextension and the expected extension origin
Chrome is running

The Chrome plugin still fails during browser-client.mjs import with:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process

The failure occurs before agent.browsers.get("extension"), tab enumeration, or any page interaction.

The error persists after:

fully quitting and reopening Chrome and Codex Desktop
reinstalling the official Chrome extension
reinstalling the bundled Chrome plugin
resetting the Node REPL session

No browsing history, page URL, or authenticated-site state is involved in reproducing the failure.

Still reproducible on a newer ChatGPT desktop build:

ChatGPT app: 26.707.72221 (build 5307)
Bundled Codex CLI: 0.144.2
macOS / Apple Silicon
Cached Chrome browser client: ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/26.707.51957/scripts/browser-client.mjs

The in-app browser itself opens http://127.0.0.1:8000/ and renders correctly when operated manually. Agent control fails before browser discovery while importing the bundled client:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process
    at .../scripts/browser-client.mjs:33:22
    at SourceTextModule.evaluate (node:internal/vm/module:233:26)

The failing module lines assign the process shim through both globalThis.process and globalThis.global.process. Resetting the Node-backed JavaScript kernel and retrying produces the same error. This confirms the regression affects agent-to-browser control, not the browser UI or target localhost app.

Thanks for the bug reports. We've published an updated version (26.707.72221) that addresses this problem.

This issue is closed, but I am still experiencing the same issues on

ChatGPT app: 26.707.72221
Bundled Codex CLI: 0.144.2
macOS / Apple Silicon

If you're still seeing this with 26.707.72221, you may need to quit and restart the app to update the plugin.

I uninstalled and re-installed the plugins, rebooted... no avail.

If you're able to share /feedback, we can take a look and see what might be wrong

Done, 019f61b9-e2c3-7463-84b1-8ef83806f1e3

Thank you

Looking into why this may have happened to you, but in the meantime, deleting (or asking codex to delete) ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser/26.623.141536/ and restarting codex should help -- looks like an outdated browser plugin sticking around

Feedback ID: 019f5e36-bb0a-78f3-9128-f5a04e1f6312

Still reproducible on macOS / Apple Silicon after the ChatGPT app reports 26.707.72221 (build 5307) as the newest available.

The app-bundled Chrome client now works when loaded explicitly, but the normal openai-bundled marketplace snapshot still advertises only chrome@26.707.51957. Deleting its cache directory causes Codex to recreate that same version; a clean standard bootstrap of the recreated cached client still fails at browser-client.mjs:33 with Cannot redefine property: process.

This appears to be a stale bundled-marketplace snapshot rather than a browser, extension, or app-update problem.

I can confirm it is fixed, at least it can control Chrome now.

Btw, because of this issue, I tried to have the model review the .mjs file: Review the .mjs file from your "Chrome Control/Browser Use" skill., but it was blocked by the security policy (It thinks I'm conducting cybersecurity research but I'm just an end user).

I only want to review a file that already exists on my local machine, as a user, to check whether it poses any supply chain security risks, or any other bugs. I'm not sure I understand why this is being blocked.

Codex Chrome Plugin Repair Guide

Overview

This document summarizes a successful repair of the bundled Chrome plugin in the Codex desktop application. The failure occurred when newly created tasks could not load the Chrome control skill, even though the Chrome extension itself was installed and enabled.

The main lesson is that a damaged plugin cache may be only a symptom. Codex can repeatedly rebuild that cache from an outdated bundled marketplace copy, so the entire plugin loading chain must be inspected.

Observed Symptoms

Newly created tasks did not include the chrome:control-chrome skill.
Only generic tools such as node_repl were available.
Reloading bundled plugins did not resolve the issue.
Restarting Codex did not initially resolve the issue.
The Chrome extension appeared installed and enabled.

Root Cause

Several Codex plugin layers were out of sync:

The current Codex application bundled Chrome plugin version was 26.707.72221.
The temporary bundled marketplace still contained version 26.707.62119.
The installed plugin cache was therefore repeatedly rebuilt as version 26.707.62119.
The latest directory junction continued to point to the old cache directory.
An old extension-host process remained alive across a Codex restart and continued using the old path.

The original cache had also been incomplete and was missing a valid .codex-plugin/plugin.json. Repairing that file alone was insufficient because Codex continued sourcing the plugin from the stale marketplace copy.

Component Model

The relevant loading chain is:

Codex task
  -> chrome:control-chrome skill
  -> node_repl
  -> browser-client.mjs
  -> extension-host
  -> Chrome native messaging
  -> Chrome extension

Each layer must reference a compatible and current plugin installation.

Modern versions of the bundled Chrome plugin may use a skill plus node_repl rather than exposing a separate Chrome MCP server. Therefore, the absence of a server_name=chrome entry is not sufficient evidence of failure. The decisive signal is whether a newly created task receives the chrome:control-chrome skill and can establish a real browser connection.

Diagnostic Procedure

1. Verify the Chrome extension

Confirm that:

The expected extension ID is installed.
The extension is enabled in the intended Chrome profile.
Chrome preferences contain the extension registration.
The installed extension version is visible.

If these checks pass, do not assume the browser extension is the source of the problem.

2. Verify native messaging

Check both:

The Windows registry entry under Chrome native messaging hosts.
The corresponding native messaging manifest file.

The manifest should contain:

The correct native host name.
The expected extension origin.
A path to extension-host.exe through the plugin's latest directory.

3. Inspect Codex plugin loader logs

Look for messages such as:

failed to load plugin: missing or invalid plugin.json

Record the exact plugin ID and cache path shown in the log. This establishes which cache directory Codex is actually trying to load.

4. Compare all plugin versions

Compare the manifests in these locations:

Codex application resources
Codex temporary bundled marketplace
Codex plugin cache
Codex plugin cache latest junction

The application resource version is the reference version. If the temporary marketplace is older, cache reloads will continue reproducing the old installation.

5. Inspect the running extension host

Check whether extension-host is still running and determine which plugin path it uses. A surviving old process can keep the old junction or binaries in use even after Codex restarts.

Repair Procedure

1. Preserve rollback copies

Before changing plugin state, back up:

The damaged plugin cache.
The stale temporary marketplace plugin directories.

Keep these backups until an end-to-end browser test succeeds.

2. Replace stale marketplace content

Replace the outdated temporary marketplace copies of the affected bundled plugins with the versions shipped in the current Codex application resources.

The related components may include:

browser
chrome
computer-use

This corrects the source from which Codex rebuilds its cache.

3. Restart Codex

Fully exit and reopen Codex after replacing the stale marketplace content. Then verify that Codex creates a cache directory matching the current bundled plugin version.

4. Stop the old extension host

If an old extension-host process is still running, stop it before changing the latest directory junction.

5. Update the `latest` junction

Point the plugin's latest junction to the current version directory.

On Windows PowerShell 5.1, Remove-Item may fail when removing a directory junction and can produce a null-reference error. A safe alternative is to remove only the junction with the .NET directory API, after validating the absolute path and confirming that the target is a junction:

[System.IO.Directory]::Delete($latest, $false)

The second argument must remain false so that the operation removes the junction itself rather than recursively deleting the target directory.

6. Reinstall the native host manifest

Run the current plugin's official installManifest.mjs script with the active Codex, Node.js, and Node REPL runtime paths.

This updates:

The native messaging manifest.
The Windows registry entry.
extension-host-config.json.

7. Run the bundled verification scripts

Use the plugin's official checks to confirm:

The Chrome extension is installed and enabled.
The native host registry entry exists.
The manifest path is correct.
The allowed extension origin is correct.

End-to-End Verification

File and registry checks are necessary but not sufficient. The final test must reproduce the original user workflow:

Create a completely new Codex task.
Explicitly select or reference the bundled Chrome plugin.
Confirm that the task loads chrome:control-chrome from the current version directory.
Establish a real Chrome session.
Open a harmless test page.
Read the actual page title and URL.

The issue is resolved only when this complete workflow succeeds. A repaired directory tree alone does not prove that task-level plugin injection is working.

What Did Not Solve the Problem

The following actions were insufficient by themselves:

Restarting Chrome.
Restarting Codex before correcting the stale marketplace copy.
Reinstalling or verifying only the Chrome extension.
Restoring the missing plugin manifest in the old cache.
Reloading bundled plugins while the bundled marketplace source remained outdated.
Creating a new latest junction before correcting the source version and stopping the old extension host.

Operational Lessons

Trace the complete data flow instead of repairing only the first broken file.
Treat the bundled marketplace as the cache source of truth used by Codex during reconciliation.
Compare explicit version numbers at every layer.
Check for long-lived helper processes after application restarts.
Do not use MCP server count alone to determine Chrome skill availability.
Keep rollback backups until an end-to-end task succeeds.
Verify the original user-visible behavior before declaring the repair complete.
Delete repair backups only after the current version has passed a real browser-control test.

Quick Troubleshooting Checklist

This is still a problem. MacOS, ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.715.31925. After removing both Chrome/Browser plugins/directories and reinstalling I get version 26.707.51957 of Chrome/Browser plugin. I patched the code as described above and then it works.

This is still reproducible on Windows with a newer Codex Desktop build.

Environment:

Windows x64
Codex Desktop: 26.715.4045.0
Installed bundled Chrome/Browser plugin: 26.623.141536
chrome/latest still resolves to 26.623.141536

From a fresh browser-control runtime, importing the bundled client fails immediately with:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process
at browser-client.mjs:33:22

The failing statement is:

globalThis.process = processShim;

Resetting the browser-control runtime and retrying produces the same result. The failure occurs before the in-app Browser can enumerate or access any tabs.

Although this issue was marked completed after 26.707.72221, the newer desktop app is still resolving an outdated bundled plugin. This may be related to the stale managed marketplace/cache behavior reported in #33738:

#33738

Could this issue be reopened, or could you point us to the current tracking issue for the stale bundled-plugin update problem?

Update: I submitted in-app feedback with the conversation diagnostics.

Feedback ID: 019f7748-53cb-78f3-80e0-ec9225d47b9b

Please associate this feedback with the issue.

Still facing it on my windows

Codex Desktop 26.707.71524: Browser and Chrome plugins fail with Cannot redefine property: process #32925

Description

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

What subscription do you have?

What platform is your computer?

What issue are you seeing?

What steps can reproduce the bug?

What is the expected behavior?

Additional information

Activity

yana9i commented on Jul 14, 2026

kawalalin800 commented on Jul 14, 2026

Jerrynet commented on Jul 14, 2026

ostomachion commented on Jul 14, 2026

wuziqian-coder commented on Jul 14, 2026

Root cause

Temporary local patch

Prompt you can give to Codex/AI

Verification

Impact and risks

mmcco commented on Jul 14, 2026

vincent-lwj commented on Jul 14, 2026

katsuyasunake-hash commented on Jul 14, 2026

katsuyasunake-hash commented on Jul 14, 2026

mmcco commented on Jul 14, 2026

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Codex Chrome Plugin Repair Guide

Overview

Observed Symptoms

Root Cause

Component Model

Diagnostic Procedure

1. Verify the Chrome extension

2. Verify native messaging

3. Inspect Codex plugin loader logs

4. Compare all plugin versions

5. Inspect the running extension host

Repair Procedure

1. Preserve rollback copies

2. Replace stale marketplace content

3. Restart Codex

4. Stop the old extension host

5. Update the latest junction

6. Reinstall the native host manifest

7. Run the bundled verification scripts

End-to-End Verification

What Did Not Solve the Problem

Operational Lessons

Quick Troubleshooting Checklist

CoffeeSith commented on Jul 18, 2026

MurphyPotato commented on Jul 18, 2026

sushant96702 commented on Jul 23, 2026

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Codex Desktop 26.707.71524: Browser and Chrome plugins fail with `Cannot redefine property: process` #32925

5. Update the `latest` junction