Computer Use MCP fails to start on macOS 14.8.1 because bundled client requires macOS 15

Open 💬 8 comments Opened Apr 29, 2026 by xowenx

💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

Computer Use MCP fails to start on macOS 14.8.1 because bundled client requires macOS 15

Summary

The bundled computer-use plugin fails during MCP startup on macOS 14.8.1. Codex reports an MCP handshake failure, but the underlying process exits immediately because the bundled
SkyComputerUseClient binary was built for macOS 15.0 and depends on a Swift runtime library unavailable on macOS 14.

Environment

Codex CLI: codex-cli 0.125.0
macOS: 14.8.1
Build: 23J30
Architecture: arm64
Plugin: computer-use@openai-bundled
Plugin version path: computer-use/1.0.758

Error shown by Codex

``text MCP client forcomputer-use` failed to start:
MCP startup failed: handshaking with MCP server failed:
connection closed: initialize response

MCP startup incomplete (failed: computer-use)
```

Direct reproduction

Run the bundled MCP binary directly:

cd ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/computer-use/1.0.758
./Codex\ Computer\ Use.app/Contents/SharedSupport/SkyComputerUseClient.app/Contents/MacOS/SkyComputerUseClient mcp

Actual result

dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/lib/swift/libswift_errno.dylib
Referenced from: .../SkyComputerUseClient
(built for macOS 15.0 which is newer than running OS)
Reason: tried: '/usr/lib/swift/libswift_errno.dylib' ... no such file

Expected result

Either:

computer-use starts successfully on macOS 14, or
Codex detects the minimum OS requirement before startup and reports a clear compatibility message instead of an MCP handshake failure.

Impact

computer-use is unusable on macOS 14.8.1, and Codex shows the startup warning on each session until the plugin is disabled manually.

Workaround

Disable the plugin in ~/.codex/config.toml:

[plugins."computer-use@openai-bundled"]
enabled = false

Suggested fix

Please either publish a macOS 14-compatible build, bundle the required Swift runtime if macOS 14 is intended to be supported, or gate the plugin by minimum OS version with a clearer
diagnostic.

View original on GitHub ↗

8 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

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

#18755
#19641
#19025

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m13v · 2 months ago

this is the MCP-as-native-binary problem nobody's solved yet. the spec says nothing about platform targets, so hosts just see 'process exited' when it's really a dyld mismatch from a Swift binary built against the SDK on the maintainer's machine. i hit this doing accessibility-API work on mac, swift silently picks up your local Xcode SDK and bumps the minimum OS every Sequoia point release. fix is a MIN_OS field in the plugin manifest checked before spawn, or pinning -target arm64-apple-macosx13.0 in the bundling step. the handshake-failure log buries the real cause.

juanpabloaj · 2 months ago

same problem, macOS 12.6.5

MatthewTt · 2 months ago

same problem 14.8.1

IgorGanapolsky · 2 months ago

If the bundled SkyComputerUseClient was built for macOS 15, it won't run on
14.8.1. Confirmable with:

/usr/bin/otool -l /Applications/Codex.app/Contents/Resources/plugins/openai-bundled/computer-use/*/SkyComputerUseClient \
| grep -A3 LC_BUILD_VERSION

Look for minos. If it's 15.x, you need either an older Codex version that
shipped a 14-compatible client, or an OS upgrade — no reinstall will fix it.

Full breakdown of the macOS-version-mismatch case and 5 other root causes
for "Computer Use unavailable":
https://igorganapolsky.github.io/openclaw-mac-ai-workstation-setup/computer-use-plugin-unavailable.html

If you want me to confirm from your otool output whether it's the OS gate
or a different cause, the $19 quick read on that page handles it same-day.

gkiely · 2 months ago

Same class of dyld failure, but on macOS 15.7.7 with plugin 1.0.791.

Details:

Environment:
- macOS: 15.7.7, build 24G720
- Architecture: arm64 / Apple Silicon
- Codex app/server: 26.506.31421 observed in process list
- Plugin path: ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/computer-use/1.0.791
- Helper binary:
  Codex Computer Use.app/Contents/SharedSupport/SkyComputerUseClient.app/Contents/MacOS/SkyComputerUseClient

Direct repro:
cd ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/computer-use/1.0.791
./Codex\ Computer\ Use.app/Contents/SharedSupport/SkyComputerUseClient.app/Contents/MacOS/SkyComputerUseClient mcp

Actual result:
dyld: Symbol not found: _swift_task_addPriorityEscalationHandler
  Referenced from: .../SkyComputerUseClient
  Expected in: /usr/lib/swift/libswift_Concurrency.dylib

Additional evidence:
codesign -dv Codex\ Computer\ Use.app reports:
- Identifier=com.openai.sky.CUAService
- TeamIdentifier=2DC432GLL2
- Runtime Version=26.4.0

xc1427 · 10 days ago

This now reproduces on macOS 15.7.5 (Darwin 24.6.0, arm64) after today's Codex/ChatGPT app update.

Environment:

ChatGPT app (bundle ID com.openai.codex): 26.707.31428 (build 5059)
Codex CLI: 0.144.1
Record & Replay plugin: 1.0.1000366

Before the update, Record & Replay 1.0.857 successfully exposed all three event-stream tools. After the plugin refresh, new event-stream launches fail before MCP initialization:

dyld: Symbol not found: _swift_task_addPriorityEscalationHandler
Referenced from: .../record-and-replay/1.0.1000366/.../SkyComputerUseClient
Expected in: /usr/lib/swift/libswift_Concurrency.dylib

Codex surfaces this as:

MCP client for `event-stream` failed to start: MCP startup failed: handshaking with MCP server failed: connection closed: initialize response

This suggests the Swift-runtime compatibility problem also affects the current Record & Replay helper, not only older Computer Use builds. A macOS 15.7.x-compatible helper build, or accurate OS gating with a clearer diagnostic, would help.

adamcooper · 10 days ago

The same native Swift-runtime compatibility class has now regressed on supported macOS 15.7.x with the current Computer Use plugin 1.0.1000366 / helper 26.708.1000366.

Tracking issue: #32032

I independently reproduced it on macOS 15.7.3 (M1, arm64) with the exact failure:

Symbol not found: _swift_task_addPriorityEscalationHandler
Expected in: /usr/lib/swift/libswift_Concurrency.dylib

I also posted a tested, reversible user-local workaround using the previous official Computer Use build 857, without modifying or re-signing /Applications/ChatGPT.app:

https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/32032#issuecomment-4937043587

That workaround backs up the config and current helpers, installs the older client and service together, configures the older SkyComputerUseClient mcp directly, and verifies both list_apps and get_app_state.