The app settings show Integrated terminal shell = PowerShell, but the agent runtime for my thread reports shell=cmd. Because of that, PowerShell commands like Get-Content fail unless they are explicitly wrapped in powershell -Command ....
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.306.996.0
What subscription do you have?
Plus
What platform is your computer?
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.7840] x64
What issue are you seeing?
The app settings show Integrated terminal shell = PowerShell, but the agent runtime for my thread reports shell=cmd.
Because of that, PowerShell-native commands such as Get-Content fail unless they are explicitly wrapped or rewritten for cmd. In my case, this made the configured shell behavior feel inconsistent and confusing.
It is unclear whether the PowerShell setting only affects the visible integrated terminal while agent/tool execution still uses cmd, or whether this is an actual bug.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Steps to reproduce:
- Open Codex settings and set
Integrated terminal shelltoPowerShell. - Start a thread.
- In the thread/runtime context, the shell is reported as
cmd. - Run a PowerShell-native command such as
Get-Content somefile.txt. - The command fails as if it is being executed in
cmd.
What is the expected behavior?
Expected behavior:
If PowerShell is selected, agent command execution should either use PowerShell consistently, or the app should clearly distinguish between the shell used for the integrated terminal and the shell used for agent/tool execution.
Additional information
_No response_
5 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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I can reproduce a very similar issue on Windows.
In Codex settings,
Integrated terminal shellis set toPowerShell, but in the thread/runtime context the shell is reported ascmd.Because of that, PowerShell-native commands like
Get-Contentfail unless explicitly invoked through PowerShell, which makes the shell behavior feel inconsistent.Why do you close this without linking the solution @Dj-Shortcut
sorry i don't fully remember, i think it's a Windows issue and not codex? would you like me to re open for you?
No, this is certainly a Codex issue. Codex has (for some reason I can't really comprehend) hardcoded the shell to Powershell. From GPT 5.5 xHigh investigation itself:
"You cannot make the Windows-native Codex agent use Git Bash as its actual command runner. Git Bash is only supported as the integrated terminal choice. OpenAI’s Windows docs say the Windows-native agent runs commands in PowerShell, while the integrated terminal can separately be PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash, or WSL."
The verbiage is kinda weird but, TL;DR: You cannot change the shell Codex uses.