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Windows Codex Desktop 26.707.9981.0 exits during startup without reporting a crash #33119

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Description

@drewjackl

Title: Windows Codex Desktop 26.707.9981.0 exits during startup without reporting a crash

Codex app package:
OpenAI.Codex 26.707.9981.0 x64
Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.707.9981.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

Windows:
x64, build 26200

Behavior:
The app opens, displays “Thinking,” and then closes after several seconds.
Windows Event Viewer records the AppX process/container being created and
destroyed but does not record an Application Error or crash.

Troubleshooting completed:

  • Repaired, reset, uninstalled and reinstalled the Store application
  • Restarted Windows
  • Renamed/backed up %USERPROFILE%.codex
  • Cleared and rebuilt the application cache
  • Signed out and authenticated again
  • Confirmed that no newer Microsoft Store package is available
  • Initial desktop log showed:
    primary_runtime_install_failed
    TypeError: fetch failed
  • Network testing identified:
    CRYPT_E_NO_REVOCATION_CHECK (0x80092012)
  • Downloaded the official runtime manually, bypassing revocation checking for
    that request only
  • Verified the archive against OpenAI’s published SHA-256 checksum
  • Extracted runtime 26.709.12203 successfully to:
    C:\Users\Drewj.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime
  • The latest startup log no longer shows any runtime installation attempt or
    runtime failure, confirming that the installed runtime is recognized
  • The app still exits during startup
  • Remaining WSL-not-installed and fs/readFile os error 3 messages appear
    nonfatal
  • winget reports:
    “No available upgrade found. No newer package versions are available.”

Latest desktop log:
C:\Users\Drewj\AppData\Local\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0
LocalCache\Local\Codex\Logs\2026\07\14
codex-desktop-3a71d1a4-51c6-4294-afa9-a68a0ad95663-37996-t0-i1-174530-0.log

Activity

  1. added
    bugSomething isn't working
    appIssues related to the Codex desktop app
    windows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems
    connectivityIssues involving networking or endpoint connectivity problems (disconnections)
    on Jul 14, 2026
  2. github-actions commented on Jul 14, 2026

    @github-actions
    Contributor

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

    Powered by Codex Action

  3. drewjackl commented on Jul 14, 2026

    @drewjackl
    Author
  4. paulgriggs commented on Jul 15, 2026

    @paulgriggs

    Additional confirmation from a Windows 11 ARM64 install:

    • Same affected desktop package: OpenAI.Codex_26.707.9981.0_arm64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
    • The AppX UI process starts, then the bundled ARM64 worker app\\resources\\codex.exe starts about five seconds later.
    • That worker exits cleanly with 0x00000000 after 9.83 seconds; Windows destroys the AppX container shortly afterward.
    • No Application Error/Event ID 1000, Crashpad dump, out-of-memory event, or GPU fault is recorded.
    • Re-registering the MSIX package did not change the behavior.

    This demonstrates the regression is not x64-specific. The duplicate report is #33376; closing it in favor of this issue.

  5. jamesp-alt commented on Jul 15, 2026

    @jamesp-alt

    Issue title

    Windows ARM64 Codex desktop app exits 7-12 seconds after launch after primary runtime manifest 404

    Description

    The standalone Codex desktop app briefly opens and then exits completely after approximately 7-12 seconds on Windows 11 ARM64. The Codex terminal CLI continues to work normally on the same machine.

    The desktop log shows that the packaged app launches successfully, starts the app-server transport, completes the initialization handshake, initializes the bundled Codex CLI, and reaches window ready-to-show. WSL detection reports that WSL is not installed. Shortly afterward, the primary runtime update check fails with 404 Not Found.

    The runtime configuration logged for the selected primary runtime includes windows-x86_64, but no windows-aarch64 platform entry. Because the installed desktop package is ARM64, this may indicate a Windows ARM64 runtime packaging or platform-selection problem. This is a suspected correlation, not a confirmed root cause: the log contains no explicit fatal exception or exit reason.

    The process disappears completely rather than leaving a blank or unresponsive window. No matching Windows Application Error event is recorded.

    Reproduction steps

    1. On a Windows 11 ARM64 computer, install the Microsoft Store ARM64 package OpenAI.Codex 26.707.9981.0.
    2. Authenticate with ChatGPT.
    3. Launch the standalone Codex desktop app.
    4. Wait approximately 7-12 seconds.
    5. Observe that the window closes and the desktop process exits completely.
    6. Launch Codex from Windows Terminal and observe that the CLI continues to work normally.

    Expected behavior

    The Codex desktop app should remain open and usable on Windows ARM64. A missing or unavailable optional primary runtime update should not cause the desktop process to exit without an error message.

    Actual behavior

    The main window appears briefly, then the entire Codex desktop process exits after approximately 7-12 seconds. There is no visible error dialog and no Windows Application Error event. The terminal CLI remains functional.

    Environment

    • OS: Windows 11 Core, build 26200
    • Architecture: ARM64
    • Codex desktop package: OpenAI.Codex 26.707.9981.0 ARM64
    • Bundled app-server version reported by the desktop log: 0.144.2
    • Separately installed Codex CLI: 0.144.4 aarch64-pc-windows-msvc
    • Git: 2.55.0.windows.2
    • Terminal: Windows Terminal
    • Authentication: ChatGPT
    • codex doctor: 17 ok, 1 idle, 1 note, 0 warnings, 0 failures
    • MCP servers: none
    • config.toml: loads successfully
    • Windows sandbox: unelevated
    • WSL: not installed; WSL execution disabled

    Troubleshooting performed

    • Reinstalled the Codex desktop app.
    • Repaired and reset the app.
    • Removed all MCP configuration.
    • Tested with the unrelated workspace temporarily renamed; behavior was unchanged.
    • Disabled WSL execution.
    • Switched to the unelevated Windows sandbox.
    • Removed a UTF-8 BOM that previously made config.toml invalid.
    • Verified the corrected configuration with codex doctor.
    • Confirmed that the terminal CLI works while the desktop app still exits.
    • Checked Windows events; no matching Windows Application Error event was present.

    Sanitized desktop log excerpt

    The originally identified t1 log contains only Git-origin worker messages. The relevant startup events are in the same session's matching t0 companion log. Identifiers and unrelated fields have been omitted.

    2026-07-15T16:39:51.148Z info  [AppServerConnection] Initializing app-server transport
    2026-07-15T16:39:51.148Z info  [AppServerConnection] Starting app-server connection hostId=local transport=stdio
    2026-07-15T16:39:53.093Z info  [AppServerConnection] Transport start success connectionId=1 hostId=local transport=stdio
    2026-07-15T16:39:53.259Z info  [AppServerConnection] initialize_handshake_result durationMs=165 outcome=success transportKind=stdio
    2026-07-15T16:39:53.259Z info  [AppServerConnection] Codex CLI initialized
    2026-07-15T16:39:53.500Z info  [window-manager] window ready-to-show appearance=primary hostId=local startupElapsedMs=160
    2026-07-15T16:39:54.981Z error [wsl] error retrieving eligible distro error="Windows Subsystem for Linux is not installed"
    2026-07-15T16:39:55.555Z info  [electron-message-handler] Codex runtime config selected artifact=codex-primary-runtime
        latest platforms: linux-x86_64, macos-aarch64, macos-x86_64, windows-x86_64
        windows-aarch64 entry: absent
    2026-07-15T16:39:55.683Z warning [install-primary-runtime] primary_runtime_update_poll_failed errorMessage="Failed to download primary runtime manifest (404 Not Found)."
    

    The log ends without an explicit fatal exception, shutdown reason, or process-exit event.

    Possible duplicate issues

    Additional note

    I can provide a longer, manually reviewed and sanitized excerpt if maintainers need more context. I will not upload the complete unreviewed log because it may contain private account, conversation, or local-environment data.

  6. PAULJ-CLOUD commented on Jul 16, 2026

    @PAULJ-CLOUD

    Additional confirmation from my environment

    Environment:

    Windows 11 ARM running in Parallels Desktop on Apple Silicon
    OpenAI.Codex 26.707.9981.0 ARM64
    Same physical Mac also running the macOS Chatgpt Work (codex) desktop app successfully

    Behavior:

    Codex launches and displays the main UI ("What should we work on?")
    After approximately 1-2 seconds, the entire process exits without an error dialog
    Windows records AppX container creation/destruction only; no Application Error event or crash dump is generated
    Launching ChatGPT.exe directly exits with 0xC06D007F

    Troubleshooting performed:

    Reinstalled Codex
    Reset application state
    Rebuilt %USERPROFILE%.codex
    Tested with a completely different OpenAI account
    Removed all local projects and Git repositories from the machine
    Tested with and without Windows sandbox (elevated and unelevated)
    Disabled GPU
    Removed Windows update KB5101650 (this resolved unrelated Teams/Outlook authentication issues but had no effect on Codex)

    Control comparison:

    The same ChatGPT account works correctly in the macOS Codex desktop application on the same physical computer.
    ChatGPT Classic also works correctly in the Windows VM.
    Browser access works normally.

    This strongly suggests the issue is specific to the Windows ARM64 desktop application rather than my account, local projects, Git repositories, or the underlying Apple Silicon hardware.

  7. sgniws commented on Jul 18, 2026

    @sgniws

    I can reproduce the same silent startup exit on a newer integrated ChatGPT/Codex Windows build.

    Environment

    • App package: OpenAI.Codex_26.715.3651.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
    • App version: 26.715.3651.0
    • OS: Windows 10 Home x64, build 19045
    • Codex CLI: 0.144.5
    • Package manifest minimum OS: 10.0.19041.0

    Behavior

    The app window appears, initializes for roughly 10–15 seconds, and then all ChatGPT.exe processes disappear. This reproduces on every launch.

    • No Application Error or WER crash event
    • No crash dump
    • No Defender, AppLocker, or Code Integrity block
    • The activated main process ends with exit status 0x00000000
    • The desktop log ends on normal request-routing entries, with no graceful shutdown marker and no fatal error

    Diagnostics and mitigations tested

    1. Removed the older Codex package, reset Roaming/AppX local state, and installed the current official Microsoft Store MSIX.
    2. Verified the MSIX Authenticode signature and installed package status.
    3. The original startup showed a primary-runtime download beginning and then the app exited. I downloaded the exact official archive manually:
      • Bundle: 26.715.12143
      • Size: 382,909,956 bytes
      • SHA-256: b9f2234ec901bf58ec14279d5dfa7304622fd0aeda975eb472fa9b64760063ed
    4. Extracted it to the runtime location expected by the app:
      %USERPROFILE%\.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime
    5. Subsequent launches recognize the runtime and no longer start a runtime download, but the app still exits.
    6. Removed stale local and account-side remote-control environments. Logs then showed connectionCount=0 and hostId=local; the exit persisted.
    7. Launched with --disable-gpu; the exit persisted.
    8. Disabled the built-in browser and Browser Use with:
      [features]
      in_app_browser = false
      browser_use = false
      Logs confirmed available=false browserPane=false reason=browser-pane-disabled and no IAB backend startup; the exit persisted.
    9. Restored the browser feature settings after the test.
    10. Windows version satisfies the package manifest minimum requirement.

    Remaining log signal

    A nonfatal-looking request sometimes returns:

    fs/readFile: 系统找不到指定的路径。 (os error 3)
    

    Initialization otherwise succeeds: the local app-server connects, account/config/model/thread reads complete, and the log ends without a fatal entry.

    This looks like a clean application-initiated or window-lifecycle exit rather than a conventional native crash. I can provide targeted sanitized log excerpts if useful.

  8. globaljpq commented on Aug 25, 2026

    @globaljpq

    Additional ARM64 evidence on a newer August build that may help separate the primary-runtime 404 from the startup-exit issue.

    Environment:

    • Windows 11 ARM64
    • Current Codex Desktop package: OpenAI.Codex_26.818.8289.0_arm64
    • Codex is currently remaining open and functioning normally

    The current desktop t0 log repeatedly records:

    [install-primary-runtime] primary_runtime_update_poll_failed errorMessage="Failed to download primary runtime manifest (404)"

    The failure repeats approximately every 30 seconds while Codex continues to remain open and usable.

    On the previous OpenAI.Codex_26.810.7004.0_arm64 build, the logged primary-runtime configuration contained a windows-x86_64 platform entry but no windows-aarch64 entry. The newer 26.818.8289.0_arm64 build continues to produce the primary-runtime manifest 404.

    This appears to show two things:

    1. The primary-runtime 404 / Windows ARM64 runtime-selection issue is still present in a substantially newer August build.
    2. The 404 alone does not appear sufficient to cause the Codex desktop process to exit, because the current ARM64 app continues operating normally while these failures repeat.

    This may help distinguish the primary-runtime packaging/selection issue from the separate silent process-exit/startup failure being investigated in this thread.

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