Playwright/browser automation in Codex App on Windows hijacks the physical mouse cursor

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

26.325.3894.0

What subscription do you have?

Unknown from the agent side while filing; the human user can correct this if needed.

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

When Codex App uses Playwright/browser automation in a visible browser on Windows, it appears to take over the real OS mouse cursor rather than staying isolated from normal desktop input.

The practical effect is that the machine becomes hard to use while browser automation is running:

• the physical cursor visibly moves on its own
• local mouse control feels stolen or fought over
• clicks/focus can get redirected while the automation is active

This is especially disruptive on a workstation that is also being used interactively at the same time.

I noticed the same general symptom earlier with Claude's browser automation on the same machine, which makes me suspect this may be a broader class of visible-browser automation behavior on Windows, but I am filing this issue specifically for Codex App because I reproduced the user-facing symptom here.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Use Codex App on Windows.
2. Ask Codex to perform a browser task that uses Playwright/browser automation in a visible (non-headless) browser.
3. Keep using the machine locally while the automation runs.
4. Observe that the physical desktop mouse cursor is moved/hijacked by the automation instead of remaining independent.

I observed this on a Windows workstation while using Codex interactively in the desktop app. I do not currently have a smaller public repro than "run a visible Playwright-style browser task and watch the real cursor get taken over," but the symptom is obvious when it happens.

What is the expected behavior?

Browser automation should not steal the user's real mouse cursor on the local desktop.

Any of these would be much better:

• input is isolated from the physical cursor
• automation defaults to a mode that does not move the real cursor
• Codex clearly warns that visible browser automation on Windows will take over local mouse input

Additional information

This was disruptive enough that it made the machine frustrating to use for normal local work while automation was active.

I did a quick issue search before filing and did not find an obvious existing Codex issue specifically about visible Playwright/browser automation hijacking the physical mouse cursor on Windows.