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Codex Issues / #16903

Windows desktop app: Plus account shows only "Skills" while free account shows "Plugins"

Open 💬 4 comments Opened Apr 6, 2026 by carter6713
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

Summary

I am a ChatGPT Plus subscriber and installed the latest Codex desktop app for Windows from the Microsoft Store.

When I sign in with my Plus account, the app only shows "Skills" and does not show "Plugins".

However, when I sign out and sign in with another account on the same device and in the same app (a free account), "Plugins" appears normally.

This makes it look like the issue is account-related rather than device-related.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install the latest Codex desktop app for Windows from the Microsoft Store.
  2. Sign in with a ChatGPT Plus account.
  3. Open the app and check the left sidebar / available features.
  4. Observe that only "Skills" is shown, and "Plugins" is missing.
  5. Sign out.
  6. Sign in with a different account on the same device and app (in my case, a free account).
  7. Observe that "Plugins" is available for that account.

Expected behavior

If the Windows desktop app supports Plugins, my Plus account should also be able to see and use that feature, or there should be a clear explanation if access depends on account rollout, region, or another eligibility rule.

Actual behavior

On my Plus account, the app shows only "Skills" and does not show "Plugins".

On a free account using the same app and same device, "Plugins" is visible.

Environment

  • App: Codex desktop app for Windows
  • Installation source: Microsoft Store
  • App version: latest version currently available in Microsoft Store
  • OS: Windows
  • Affected account: ChatGPT Plus account
  • Comparison account: free account on the same device shows Plugins

Additional notes

  • I have already compared this on the same machine and in the same app installation.
  • The difference appears to be tied to the account, not the local installation.
  • I would like to know whether this is a bug, a rollout issue, or an account entitlement problem.

Screenshots

  • Screenshot 1: Plus account only shows Skills
  • Screenshot 2: Free account shows Plugins

<img width="671" height="441" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ac80e741-f7c8-4f0d-9e93-9e868b7053a3" />

<img width="1340" height="879" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6b99a340-b155-44b6-b3f4-4051eef1421c" />

View original on GitHub ↗

4 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 4 months ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • #16006
  • #16783
  • #15962
  • #16871

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carter6713 · 4 months ago

Additional account comparison:

I tested with another ChatGPT Plus account on the same Windows device and the same Codex desktop app version, and Plugins appeared normally.

So the comparison is now:

  • My Plus account → only Skills, no Plugins
  • Another Plus account → Plugins available normally
  • A free account → Plugins available normally

This seems to indicate the problem is tied specifically to my account, rather than:

  • the Windows device
  • the Microsoft Store app build
  • the operating system
  • or Plus subscription status in general

Because other accounts, including another Plus account, can access Plugins on the same installation, my account may have a feature-flag, entitlement, or account-state issue.

carter6713 · 4 months ago

Additional update:

I also tried the workaround mentioned in #16006 by manually enabling plugins in the Codex config file:
[features]
plugins = true
After doing that and restarting the app, the Codex UI correctly showed Plugins instead of Skills.

However, this did not fully solve the problem. In the plugin marketplace, I still cannot install plugins. The install dialog shows "App unavailable", and the Install button remains unavailable.

So in my case:

without the manual config change, my account only shows Skills
after manually setting plugins = true, the UI shows Plugins
but plugin installation still does not work and shows App unavailable

This makes it seem like there may be two separate issues:

the Plugins UI is not enabled automatically for my account
even after forcing the UI to appear, plugin installation is still unavailable for my account

For comparison, I have tested on the same device and app version with other accounts, and they do not show the same behavior.

<img width="671" height="442" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5cb1ba42-7be8-46c5-8699-0746a838add1" />

summer521521 · 4 months ago
Additional update:  补充更新： I also tried the workaround mentioned in #16006 by manually enabling plugins in the Codex config file:我还尝试了 #16006 中提到的解决方法，即在 Codex 配置文件中手动启用插件： [features]  [特征] plugins = true  插件 = true After doing that and restarting the app, the Codex UI correctly showed Plugins instead of Skills.完成上述操作并重启应用程序后，Codex UI 正确显示了“插件”而不是“技能”。 However, this did not fully solve the problem. In the plugin marketplace, I still cannot install plugins. The install dialog shows "App unavailable", and the Install button remains unavailable.然而，这并没有彻底解决问题。在插件市场，我仍然无法安装插件。安装对话框显示“应用不可用”，安装按钮也仍然无法点击。 So in my case:就我而言： without the manual config change, my account only shows Skills如果不手动更改配置，我的帐户只会显示技能。 after manually setting plugins = true, the UI shows Plugins手动设置 plugins = true 后，用户界面会显示“插件”。 but plugin installation still does not work and shows App unavailable但是插件安装仍然失败，并显示“应用不可用”。 This makes it seem like there may be two separate issues:这使得人们误以为存在两个独立的问题： the Plugins UI is not enabled automatically for my account我的帐户未自动启用插件界面 even after forcing the UI to appear, plugin installation is still unavailable for my account即使强制显示用户界面，我的帐户仍然无法安装插件。 For comparison, I have tested on the same device and app version with other accounts, and they do not show the same behavior.为了进行比较，我使用同一设备和应用程序版本，并登录其他帐户进行了测试，结果并未出现相同的问题。 <img alt="Image" width="670.9954223632812" height="441.9907531738281" src="https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/187933160/574134523-5cb1ba42-7be8-46c5-8699-0746a838add1.png?jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmF3LmdpdGh1YnVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImtleTUiLCJleHAiOjE3NzU4MDQxODIsIm5iZiI6MTc3NTgwMzg4MiwicGF0aCI6Ii8xODc5MzMxNjAvNTc0MTM0NTIzLTVjYjFiYTQyLTdiZTgtNDZjNS04Njk5LTA3NDZhODM4YWRkMS5wbmc_WC1BbXotQWxnb3JpdGhtPUFXUzQtSE1BQy1TSEEyNTYmWC1BbXotQ3JlZGVudGlhbD1BS0lBVkNPRFlMU0E1M1BRSzRaQSUyRjIwMjYwNDEwJTJGdXMtZWFzdC0xJTJGczMlMkZhd3M0X3JlcXVlc3QmWC1BbXotRGF0ZT0yMDI2MDQxMFQwNjUxMjJaJlgtQW16LUV4cGlyZXM9MzAwJlgtQW16LVNpZ25hdHVyZT0xOThmMjhlNjczMjcyMjY3YWFhNDVhMGJiNzA4NTQ2NGRhNTUxYWEzMzNlNzRjYWNjNTFkN2QxMDIwODBiYTU0JlgtQW16LVNpZ25lZEhlYWRlcnM9aG9zdCJ9.Za_ebgwjeck0QUWU4C-XmSBHOpkMCR9twlwRbld_aME">

Yes, I found that I need to manually download the plugin in Codex CLI to use it, while the desktop app does not support that.