Codex cli silently exits on fresh windows installs

What version of Codex CLI is running?

v0.117.0

What subscription do you have?

pro

Which model were you using?

_No response_

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

WT, Pwsh 7.6

What issue are you seeing?

starting "codex" didnt do anything. no ui, no error - nothing:

PS C:\Users\Jonas>  npm install -g @openai/codex@latest

changed 2 packages in 1s
PS C:\Users\Jonas> codex
PS C:\Users\Jonas> codex

What steps can reproduce the bug?

• Install fresh windows
• Install nvm
• Install npm: `nvm install latest && nvm use latest`
• type "codex"

What is the expected behavior?

codex opens

Additional information

Seems like some deps were missing.
Kinda awkward i had claude code fix the bug for me:

 Description:

  When the Visual C++ Redistributable (UCRT) is not installed, codex fails with a confusing error that gives no indication of
  the actual problem:

  C:/nvm4w/nodejs/node.exe: error while loading shared libraries: ?: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

  The root cause is that the native binary (codex.exe from @openai/codex-win32-x64) depends on
  api-ms-win-crt-utility-l1-1-0.dll, which is part of the Visual C++ Redistributable. When that DLL is missing, the error
  surfaces through the Node.js shim and doesn't mention the actual missing DLL at all.

  Steps to reproduce:

  1. Windows 11 machine without Visual C++ Redistributable installed
  2. npm install -g @openai/codex@latest
  3. codex -h

  Expected behavior:

  A clear error message like: "Missing required dependency: Visual C++ Redistributable. Install it from
  https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe"

  Actual behavior:

  Opaque shared library error with ? as the library name.

  Suggested fixes:

  - Add a pre-flight check in codex.js that attempts to spawn the native binary and catches the failure with a user-friendly
  message pointing to the VC++ Redistributable
  - Document the Visual C++ Redistributable as a prerequisite in the Windows installation instructions
  - Consider statically linking the CRT (/MT) in the native binary to avoid this dependency entirely

  Environment:
  - OS: Windows 11 Pro (10.0.26200)
  - Node: v25.8.2 (via nvm4w)
  - Codex: @openai/codex@0.117.0