ChatGPT Chrome extension had a nodePath bug and cannot be opened

What issue are you seeing?

Here is the message shown:
Unable to start ChatGPT
Codex app-server manifest entry is missing required path nodePath

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Just add the offical Chrome extension of ChatGPT on a Windows computer and click it.

What is the expected behavior?

It should be opened and work properly

Additional information

I have tried some methods on my PC to fix this problem, but none of those worked out. The same extension worked well on my MacOS computer.

also have this bug

Hi there! I have managed to solve this problem somehow. I deleted the .codex folder and Codex folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% and then reinstalled the GPT Chrome extension and restarted it, then the whole thing was fixed. Oh yes, also change your system variable "Path" to the one end with node.js.

Hi there! I have managed to solve this problem somehow. I deleted the .codex folder and Codex folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% and then reinstalled the GPT Chrome extension and restarted it, then the whole thing was fixed. Oh yes, also change your system variable "Path" to the one end with node.js.

Could you please explain step by step, to solve this for beginners?

I’m experiencing the same issue on Windows. The Chrome extension works only while the ChatGPT desktop app is running. Once I launch the app, the extension starts working normally.

Hi there! I have managed to solve this problem somehow. I deleted the .codex folder and Codex folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% and then reinstalled the GPT Chrome extension and restarted it, then the whole thing was fixed. Oh yes, also change your system variable "Path" to the one end with node.js.

Could you please explain step by step, to solve this for beginners?
Firstly open your settings, find system variables, change "Path" from that default one to the node.js one. Then, use Win + R and type %LOCALAPPDATA% to open your Appdata folder in Admin, find Codex folder and get rid of it. After that, get into Admin folder, delete that .codex folder. Remove the old extension and reinstall it. Bingo.

Chrome extension is completely unusable for me. This error keeps happening

I have this issue also

Same here

I ran into this Windows Codex/Chrome error:

"Unable to start ChatGPT"
"Codex app-server manifest entry is missing required path nodePath"

In my case, "nodePath" was actually present in:

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\chrome-native-hosts-v2.json"

The real problem was that the manifest contained stale paths from an older Codex installation after an update.

What I checked in Powershell window:

Test-Path "<nodePath-from-chrome-native-hosts-v2.json>"
Test-Path "<resourcesPath-from-chrome-native-hosts-v2.json>"

Both returned "False".

Then I checked the currently installed Codex version:

Get-AppxPackage -Name "Codex" |
Select-Object Name, Version, InstallLocation

And I checked which Codex Node runtimes still had a valid "node.exe":

Get-ChildItem "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node" -Directory |
ForEach-Object {
$node = Join-Path $_.FullName "bin\node.exe"

[PSCustomObject]@{
    Runtime    = $_.Name
    NodeExists = Test-Path $node
    NodePath   = $node
}

}

The manifest was pointing to an old runtime where "node.exe" no longer existed, and "resourcesPath" was pointing to an older Codex AppX version that had already been removed.

Fix that worked for me:

Back up:
"%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\chrome-native-hosts-v2.json"
Update these entries to the current valid paths:
- "nodePath"
- "nodeModuleDirs"
- "resourcesPath"
Fully close Codex and Chrome.
Restart Codex first, then Chrome.

After updating the stale paths, the Chrome integration started working again.

So if you see the “missing required path nodePath” error, don’t assume the field is literally missing. Check whether the path exists and whether the manifest still points to an older Codex version/runtime.

This looks like a stale native-host manifest left behind after an update, at least in my case.

The latest report here strongly matches one of the local Windows state failures that WinBridge Recovery is intended to diagnose: a stale chrome-native-hosts-v2.json entry whose nodePath / nodeModuleDirs / resourcesPath still point at a removed Codex runtime or older AppX package after an update.

I maintain WinBridge Recovery: https://github.com/zemeng5208/winbridge-recovery

For this specific error, the useful local checks are not just whether the nodePath field exists, but whether the paths recorded in the v2 native-host state actually resolve to the currently installed Codex package/runtime. WinBridge can help inspect/recover the local Chrome Native Host layer (v2 state, manifest/registration consistency, current runtime/resource paths, and related bundled cache/version drift) without modifying the protected WindowsApps source package.

A practical distinction for this issue is:

If chrome-native-hosts-v2.json contains paths to an AppX/runtime that no longer exists, that is a local stale-state case and is within WinBridge's repair/diagnostic scope.
If the v2 entry is current, all referenced files exist, the native-host manifest/registry state is valid, and the extension still rejects nodePath, then the remaining failure is likely in the current Codex/native-host handshake or manifest-generation logic upstream. WinBridge cannot guarantee a fix for that case.

So I would recommend checking path existence and version alignment before deleting the entire .codex / %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex state, since a full reset is much more destructive than repairing the stale native-host entry itself.

Additional Windows evidence (Codex Desktop 26.825.4187 / bundled plugin version 26.825.32147):

The native Chrome-host manifests were regenerated successfully and now point to existing current Node, node_repl, resources, extension-host and browser-client paths. The original nodePath startup error is therefore repaired locally.

However Chrome browser control is still unavailable: @chrome is absent from the composer despite Chrome and Browser being enabled. Direct initialization of the current bundled Chrome client fails with:

Trusted RPC dependency must resolve within a configured trusted code path:
.../openai-bundled/browser/26.825.32147/scripts/browser-service.mjs

The Browser and Chrome plugin directories, including that exact service file, are present in the currently materialized openai-bundled source. The local Codex plugin configuration contains enabled browser@openai-bundled and chrome@openai-bundled entries, but the official CLI plugin registry does not list the openai-bundled marketplace at all. Attempting to register the materialized source returns:

marketplace `openai-bundled` is reserved and cannot be added from this source

This looks like an app-side updater/catalog/trusted-RPC version mismatch, not a missing Chrome extension or a stale native-host manifest. A repair path that regenerates the reserved bundled marketplace and its trusted-service configuration would be needed.

Bug still there after a month, is there any update? :-/

This exact error is still reproducible on a newer Windows Store build.

Codex AppX: 26.825.6671.0
ChatGPT Chrome extension: 1.2.27268.51612
Date checked: 2026-08-30

Codex app-server manifest entry is missing required path nodePath

The extension is installed and enabled, and the Chrome native-host registry and JSON manifest exist. The break is in Codex's generated runtime state: %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\chrome-native-hosts-v2.json has only historical registrations, its recent nodePath targets have disappeared, and it has no registration for the current 26.825 runtime even though the current CUA Node executable is present on disk.

The bundled-plugin state is mismatched too: the source manifest expects Browser/Chrome 26.825.51511, but the local cache still contains Browser 26.727.40816 and Chrome 26.825.32147. The expected Browser service module is therefore missing before Codex can establish a browser session.

Updating all Store apps, restarting several times, reinstalling the Chrome extension, and reinstalling Computer Use did not repair this state. This appears to be the same stale-target validation described in #40357, plus the bundled marketplace/cache reconciliation failure tracked in #26792 and #30270—not a faulty Chrome extension by itself.

I created a more easily runnable workaround in form of a PowerShell script:

https://gist.github.com/CherryDT/1f6f1633adf1eed20d55a1ee72388410

@CherryDT

Works @CherryDT. Thank you so much

Workaround on Windows

I found a workaround for the nodePath error.

If I open the Codex desktop app on Windows and leave it running for around 30–60 seconds, the following error in the ChatGPT Chrome extension disappears:

Codex app-server manifest entry is missing required path nodePath

After that, the ChatGPT Chrome extension starts working normally without reinstalling anything.

This makes it look like the issue may be related to a startup/initialization timing problem, where the native host/app-server manifest is not fully available until the Codex desktop app finishes initializing.

Steps that work for me:

Open the Codex desktop app.
Wait roughly 30–60 seconds.
Return to the ChatGPT Chrome extension.
The nodePath error disappears and ChatGPT starts working.

Windows + Chrome.

openai开发者显然抛弃了他们写的桌面版和拓展这两坨狗屎唯一能凑合用的也就cli

Is this a duplicate of #41592 ?

@fricpa

@fricpa - The opposite, #41592 is a duplicate of this.

我碰到相同問題，Additional Windows reproduction:

Product: ChatGPT Windows desktop app / Codex
App version: 26.1007.9446.0
Windows: 26H2 (OS Build 26300.9711)
Agent environment: Windows native, not WSL

The official ChatGPT Chrome extension is installed, but it does not work.

I first saw this error:
“Unable to start ChatGPT — Codex app-server manifest entry is missing required path nodePath”

After opening the ChatGPT Windows desktop app, waiting about 60 seconds, and reopening the Chrome side panel, the error changed. The side panel now says:
“ChatGPT for Chrome is coming soon. The ChatGPT extension is rolling out gradually.”

The extension is still unusable.

Troubleshooting already tried:

Updated the ChatGPT Windows app
Used Windows Settings > Apps > ChatGPT > Advanced options > Repair
Used Reset

A read-only check showed that
%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\chrome-native-hosts-v2.json
points to a legacy Codex Offline Node path that no longer exists. A current bundled node.exe exists under:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node<runtime>\bin\node.exe

Expected result:
The Chrome extension should start and connect to the Windows desktop app.

Could you clarify whether the “coming soon” message means this account is not yet included in the rollout, or whether the stale app-server manifest is still preventing startup?

Thanks for testing this, this is interesting because it seems to reproduce the same behavior I was seeing with the workaround.
In my case, opening the desktop app and waiting ~30–60 seconds made the nodePath error disappear, and the Chrome extension then started working normally. So the fact that your nodePath error also disappears after the desktop app initializes suggests that part of the issue may indeed be getting past the native-host/app-server initialization problem.

The difference is that you're then reaching the “ChatGPT for Chrome is coming soon” screen. I didn’t encounter that screen, so I can’t confirm whether it represents a separate account/rollout gate or is still related to the Windows integration.

Your finding about chrome-native-hosts-v2.json pointing to an old Node path is also useful. Other reports in this thread seem to point toward stale native-host paths after Codex updates as one possible cause of the original nodePath error.

One thing that might help narrow this down: after opening the desktop app and waiting until the nodePath error disappears, could you check chrome-native-hosts-v2.json again and see whether nodePath gets updated to the current cua_node runtime?
If it does, that would suggest the desktop app is repairing/regenerating the native-host state during initialization, and the “coming soon” screen is probably a separate stage after that.

Hopefully someone from OpenAI can confirm what that rollout screen specifically means on Windows.

I checked the manifest after opening the ChatGPT desktop app and waiting for initialization. It was not updated.

The manifest's last modified time is July 14, 2026, and it still reports appVersion 26.623.70822. Its nodePath points to the old Codex Offline location, which no longer exists. A current node.exe does exist under %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node<runtime>\bin\node.exe.

The Chrome side panel now shows “ChatGPT for Chrome is coming soon,” but the manifest still contains the stale path. Could an OpenAI engineer clarify whether this message is a separate rollout gate, and whether the desktop app is expected to refresh this manifest during startup?

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ChatGPT Chrome extension had a nodePath bug and cannot be opened #35705

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ChatGPT Chrome extension had a nodePath bug and cannot be opened #35705

Description

What issue are you seeing?

What steps can reproduce the bug?

What is the expected behavior?

Additional information

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jdawgoat commented on Jul 31, 2026

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Workaround on Windows

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