Chrome plugin fails after reinstall: browser-client is not trusted / native pipe bridge unavailable

Open 💬 3 comments Opened May 21, 2026 by DG4ADRFT

What issue are you seeing?

The Codex Chrome plugin cannot connect to Chrome even after reinstalling the plugin multiple times.

When I ask Codex to use @chrome open browser, it fails with:

privileged native pipe bridge is not available; browser-client is not trusted

### What steps can reproduce the bug?

```markdown
1. On Windows, install or reinstall the Codex Chrome plugin.
2. Open Chrome and ensure it is running.
3. In Codex desktop, ask: `@chrome open browser`
4. Codex attempts to connect to Chrome through the Chrome plugin.
5. The connection fails with:

```text
privileged native pipe bridge is not available; browser-client is not trusted

### What is the expected behavior?

Codex should successfully connect to the Codex Chrome Extension/native bridge after the Chrome plugin is installed or reinstalled.

When I ask `@chrome open browser`, Codex should open or control Chrome through the plugin, or provide a diagnostic result that clearly identifies the missing/broken component.

### Additional information

Attempting to run the Chrome plugin diagnostic scripts also fails with:

Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, lstat 'C:\Users\GGPC'

Environment:
- OS: Windows
- Codex desktop app
- Chrome plugin: `openai-bundled/chrome/0.1.7`
- Workspace path: `C:\Users\GGPC\Documents\Codex\2026-05-22\chrome-plugin-chrome-openai-bundled-open`

Notes:
- I have reinstalled the Chrome plugin multiple times.
- Chrome is running; `chrome.exe` was detected.
- The failure persists after reinstall.
- The key error appears to be:

```text
privileged native pipe bridge is not available; browser-client is not trusted

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