Windows sandbox: setup helper launch fails with "orchestrator_helper_launch_canceled: ShellExecuteExW failed to launch setup helper: 1223"

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

26.417.5275.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

On Windows, Codex fails before the requested command runs, with this error:

execution error: Io(Custom { kind: Other, error: "windows sandbox: orchestrator_helper_launch_canceled: ShellExecuteExW failed to launch setup helper: 1223" })
This appears to happen while launching the Windows sandbox setup helper, not while running the actual shell command itself.

In my case, even simple commands such as:

• Get-ChildItem -Force

fail with the error above.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Run Codex on native Windows with Windows sandbox enabled.
2. Ask Codex to run a simple shell command such as:

• Get-ChildItem -Force
• Get-Location

1. Observe that the command does not execute.
2. Codex returns:

windows sandbox: orchestrator_helper_launch_canceled: ShellExecuteExW failed to launch setup helper: 1223

What is the expected behavior?

Codex should either:

1. successfully launch the Windows sandbox setup helper and run the requested command, or
2. fail with a clear actionable message explaining why the helper launch was canceled and how to recover.

The current error is too low-level and does not make clear whether the problem is:

• UAC / elevation cancellation,
• missing helper binary,
• helper path resolution,
• ShellExecute launch failure,
• or a Windows policy / permission issue.

Additional information

_No response_