[Windows] Computer Use list_apps() fails with EnumWindows 0x80070002 after update to 26.730.8199.0 #37271

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

26.730.8199.0

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200 x64 (build 26200)

What issue are you seeing?

The bundled Computer Use plugin initializes, but its first lightweight Windows app-discovery call fails immediately:

EnumWindows failed: The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)

The localized Windows message returned on this machine is:

EnumWindows failed: 系统找不到指定的文件。 (0x80070002)

Computer Use worked normally on the same machine the previous day. The failure started after the Codex desktop app updated on 2026-08-06. It occurs before any app/window object is returned, so no Windows application can be inspected or controlled.

The plugin remains installed and available to the turn. The native helper executable is present locally.

Observed component versions:

• Codex Windows package: 26.730.8199.0
• Bundled Computer Use plugin cache: 26.730.61639
• @oai/sky: 0.6.2
• @oai/cua: 0.1.1
• codex-computer-use.exe: present, x64 helper size 1,851,904 bytes

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Start Codex Desktop on Windows 11.

2. Open a task where the bundled Computer Use plugin is enabled and available.

3. Follow the current bundled Computer Use initialization instructions:

   if (!globalThis.sky) {
     const { sky } = await import("@oai/sky");
     globalThis.sky = sky;
   }
   globalThis.apps = await sky.list_apps();

4. sky.list_apps() fails immediately with:

   EnumWindows failed: The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)
   

5. Waiting two seconds and retrying produces the same result.

6. Resetting the JavaScript kernel, re-importing @oai/sky, and retrying produces the same result.

The failure also persists after all of the following:

• Fully restarting Codex Desktop.
• Rebooting Windows.
• Running Windows “Repair” for the Codex app.
• Moving the per-user cua_node runtime and Computer Use plugin cache aside so Codex regenerates both.
• Uninstalling and reinstalling the Codex desktop app.

What is the expected behavior?

sky.list_apps() should return the available Windows applications and their current targetable windows. If native enumeration cannot start, the product should report which required file or native dependency is missing instead of returning only the generic 0x80070002 message.

Additional information

• The problem is not specific to the application being automated; it occurs before target selection.
• No private application data, credentials, or project files are involved.
• The native Computer Use pipe is created after Codex starts, and the helper returns the error promptly; this is not a missing-pipe bootstrap error or a timeout.
• The helper executable exists after repair, cache regeneration, and reinstall.
• This appears related to, but distinct from:
  • Windows Computer Use helper times out on list_apps and launch_app while list_windows works #25314: list_windows() works while list_apps() times out.
  • Windows Computer Use plugin fails to bootstrap: native pipe path is unavailable #25391: native pipe path is unavailable during bootstrap.

In this case, the native pipe is available and list_apps() reaches the helper, but the helper itself returns an EnumWindows file-not-found error.