Uninstalling Codex Desktop App (Microsoft Store) breaks Codex CLI — no response to any prompt

Environment

• Codex CLI version: v0.112.0 (installed via npm i -g @openai/codex@latest)
• Codex Desktop App: Installed from Microsoft Store, then uninstalled
• Subscription: Pro
• Model: gpt-5.3-codex medium (also tested with gpt-5.4 xhigh)
• Platform: Windows 10 (10.0.19045.6456)
• Terminal: Windows CMD / PowerShell

Description

After uninstalling the Codex Desktop App (installed from the Microsoft Store), the Codex CLI stops responding to all prompts. The CLI launches normally, displays the UI, accepts input, but never generates any response — no streaming output, no error, no timeout.

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Codex CLI globally via npm:

``
npm i -g @openai/codex@latest
``

1. Install the Codex Desktop App from the Microsoft Store
2. Verify both CLI and App work correctly
3. Uninstall the Codex Desktop App from the Microsoft Store (Settings > Apps > Codex > Uninstall)
4. Launch the CLI with codex
5. Send any prompt (e.g., "salut", "hello", or any command)
6. Observe: The prompt is accepted and displayed, but no response is ever generated

Expected behavior

The CLI should continue to work normally after uninstalling the Desktop App, since they are supposed to be independent installations.

Observed behavior

• CLI launches and displays the UI normally
• Model selection, configuration, and authentication all appear to work
• Prompts are accepted and displayed in the conversation
• No streaming output begins
• No error message or timeout
• Status bar remains unchanged, as if no tokens are being consumed
• This affects all prompt types (simple greetings, questions, codebase analysis)
• This affects all models tested (gpt-5.3-codex, gpt-5.4)

Workaround / Fix

Reinstalling the Codex Desktop App from the Microsoft Store immediately restores CLI functionality. The CLI starts responding to prompts again as soon as the App is reinstalled — no further action needed (no codex logout, no config reset, no npm reinstall).

What I already tried (before finding the workaround)

All of the following did NOT fix the issue:

• npm uninstall -g @openai/codex + npm i -g @openai/codex@latest
• codex logout + codex login
• codex debug clear-memories
• Deleting ~/.codex/ folder manually
• Switching models (gpt-5.3, gpt-5.4, different reasoning levels)
• Restarting terminal / rebooting PC

Root cause hypothesis

The Codex Desktop App and the CLI share configuration/state in ~/.codex/ (authentication tokens, session data, possibly socket/IPC configuration). When the Desktop App is uninstalled via the Microsoft Store, the uninstaller likely removes or corrupts shared dependencies or configuration that the CLI relies on to communicate with OpenAI's servers.

The CLI still launches correctly because the npm-installed binary is untouched, but the underlying connection to the API is broken because critical shared state has been removed by the App uninstaller.

Additional context

• Windows 10 Build 19045.6456
• Node.js version: v25.2.1
• npm version: 11.11.0

This may be related to:

• #14048 (CLI hangs indefinitely on all prompts)
• #7156 (Codex hangs during CLI command execution)
• #7187 (CLI hangs on "Working…" forever)

Some users reporting similar symptoms in those issues may have unknowingly triggered the same bug by uninstalling the Desktop App.