Windows Codex app deep link / OAuth callback fails: "Unable to find Electron app"

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• #25157

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I'm seeing the same Windows/AppX deep-link failure on Codex App 26.527.3686.0, with a separate reproduction path from Linear's "Open in -> Codex desktop" integration.

Environment:

• Windows 11
• Codex App: 26.527.3686.0
• Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Codex CLI: 0.130.0-alpha.5
• Workspace path: C:\Users\kukha\Desktop\saiden.ai
• Linear desktop app is installed and its own protocol association looks normal: "C:\Users\kukha\AppData\Local\Programs\Linear\Linear.exe" "%1"

Repro from Linear:

1. In Linear desktop, right click an issue.
2. Choose Open in -> Codex desktop.
3. Windows/Electron shows an error dialog:

• Error launching app
• Unable to find Electron app at C:\Program ...?prompt=Work%20on%20Linear%20issue...
• Cannot find module 'C:\Program ...?prompt=Work%20on%20Linear%20issue...'

Additional local checks:

• codex://new?prompt=...&path=C%3A%5CUsers%5Ckukha%5CDesktop%5Csaiden.ai also fails the same way.
• Directly starting the packaged app with a project path / --open-project produced the same class of error, where Electron treated C:\Users\kukha\Desktop\saiden.ai as the Electron app path/module.
• Extracting the app bundle showed code paths that appear to parse codex://new?... and path, so this looks like the Windows/AppX/Electron activation path is passing the URL/path to Electron before the app's own deep-link parser can handle it.

Impact:
Linear's Codex Desktop integration can't create/open a desktop thread on Windows. We had to fall back to a workaround that opens Codex Desktop without args and copies the Linear prompt to the clipboard.

This is especially relevant for teams running the desktop app on Windows now and migrating agent execution into WSL later: the failure happens before workspace runtime choice matters, so WSL doesn't avoid it.

I can reproduce this with Gmail connector OAuth on Windows.

Additional confirmation:

• Codex was already open and focused.
• Reproduces in both Chrome and Brave.
• Full uninstall/reinstall did not fix it.
• Also reproduces with Codex Beta after changing the CODEX link type to Codex Beta in Windows default apps.
• OAuth callback URL is codex://oauth_callback?state=...
• Electron error treats the callback as a filesystem path:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\...\oauth_callback?state=...

This blocks plugin/connector OAuth setup, including Gmail.

I’m seeing the same Windows OAuth/deep-link failure when connecting Codex marketplace plugins/connectors.

Environment:

• Windows 11
• Codex Windows app: OpenAI.Codex_26.527.7698.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• ChatGPT Windows app: OpenAI.ChatGPT-Desktop_1.2026.133.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Browser: Chrome

Repro:

1. Install a plugin from the Codex plugin marketplace.
2. Try to connect/authorize a provider.
3. Browser authorization succeeds and attempts to return via a desktop deep link.
4. Windows launches the desktop app, but Electron shows:

Error launching app
Unable to find Electron app at C:\Program ...\oauth_callback?code=...
Cannot find module 'C:\Program ...\oauth_callback?code=...'

Providers reproduced:

• Slack plugin/connect flow
• Convex plugin/connect flow
• OpenAI Developers plugin/connect flow

What I tried locally:

• Re-registered the Codex AppX package with Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register ...\OpenAI.Codex...\AppxManifest.xml
• Installed ChatGPT from Microsoft Store via winget install --id=9NT1R1C2HH7J --source=msstore
• Re-registered the ChatGPT AppX package with Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register ...\OpenAI.ChatGPT-Desktop...\AppxManifest.xml
• Verified chatgpt:// is registered under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\chatgpt
• Verified ChatGPT’s AppX handler exists as AppX3tncadb9jesbf7n7rdjbat6deztktxgp
• Rebooted and retried from a fresh plugin connection flow

Result: still fails the same way. The desktop app receives chatgpt://oauth_callback?... / OAuth callback handoff, but Electron appears to treat the callback URL/path as the app path instead of passing it into the running app.

I reproduced this on Windows with Codex App 26.527.7698.0.

Error:
Unable to find Electron app at:
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.7698.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\codex:

Context:

• Plugin/connector OAuth callback failed when the browser opened codex://...
• Re-registering the AppX package did not fix it.

Workaround that fixed it:
Set the protocol handler to launch Electron with app.asar first, then the callback URL:

"C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.7698.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\Codex.exe" "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.7698.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\app.asar" "%1"

same error for Chrome plugin 😢

Also in 26.527.60818

Partial fix script below. Plugins work, but still throws the error when Codex notifications are clicked in the Windows notification bar:

$pkg = Get-AppxPackage OpenAI.Codex |
  Sort-Object Version -Descending |
  Select-Object -First 1

if (-not $pkg) {
  throw "OpenAI.Codex package not found"
}

$codexExe = Join-Path $pkg.InstallLocation "app\Codex.exe"
$appAsar = Join-Path $pkg.InstallLocation "app\resources\app.asar"
$command = "`"$codexExe`" `"$appAsar`" `"%1`""

$codexAppxProgId = "AppXybfp6cjpb1wf0pftw0fd4bz59gzn1401"

$keys = @(
  "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex\shell\open\command",
  "HKCU:\Software\Classes\$codexAppxProgId\Shell\open\command"
)

foreach ($key in $keys) {
  New-Item -Path $key -Force | Out-Null
  Set-Item -Path $key -Value $command
}

New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex" -Force | Out-Null
Set-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex" -Value "URL:Codex Protocol"
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex" -Name "URL Protocol" -Value "" -PropertyType String -Force | Out-Null

Write-Host "Set handler command:"
Write-Host $command

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Verify:"
reg query HKCU\Software\Classes\codex\shell\open\command /ve
reg query HKCU\Software\Classes\$codexAppxProgId\Shell\open\command /ve

Read-Host "Press Enter to test codex://new"
Start-Process "codex://new"

Read-Host "Press Enter to close"

Also in 26.527.60818 Partial fix script below. Plugins work, but still throws the error when Codex notifications are clicked in the Windows notification bar: `` $pkg = Get-AppxPackage OpenAI.Codex | Sort-Object Version -Descending | Select-Object -First 1 if (-not $pkg) { throw "OpenAI.Codex package not found" } $codexExe = Join-Path $pkg.InstallLocation "app\Codex.exe" $appAsar = Join-Path $pkg.InstallLocation "app\resources\app.asar" $command = ""$codexExe" "$appAsar" "%1"" $codexAppxProgId = "AppXybfp6cjpb1wf0pftw0fd4bz59gzn1401" $keys = @( "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex\shell\open\command", "HKCU:\Software\Classes\$codexAppxProgId\Shell\open\command" ) foreach ($key in $keys) { New-Item -Path $key -Force | Out-Null Set-Item -Path $key -Value $command } New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex" -Force | Out-Null Set-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex" -Value "URL:Codex Protocol" New-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\codex" -Name "URL Protocol" -Value "" -PropertyType String -Force | Out-Null Write-Host "Set handler command:" Write-Host $command Write-Host "" Write-Host "Verify:" reg query HKCU\Software\Classes\codex\shell\open\command /ve reg query HKCU\Software\Classes\$codexAppxProgId\Shell\open\command /ve Read-Host "Press Enter to test codex://new" Start-Process "codex://new" Read-Host "Press Enter to close" ``

This fix worked for me on Win11 attempting to install Linear plugin. Thank you!

Confirming the workaround posted above also fixes connector/plugin OAuth callbacks on my machine.

Tested with:

OpenAI.Codex_26.601.1994.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
Windows 11

The key part is the same as already reported: the protocol handler needs to launch Electron with resources/app.asar before the deep-link argument:

"...\app\Codex.exe" "...\app\resources\app.asar" "%1"

One additional detail: this only fixes the normal codex:// protocol path. Clicking Codex notifications from the Windows notification center still throws the same Electron error for me.

That remaining failure appears to bypass the codex:// shell command and activate the packaged app through the MSIX AppUserModelID/package metadata instead, e.g.:

OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App
PackageRelativeExecutable = app\Codex.exe

So the notification path still seems to launch something equivalent to:

Codex.exe "?type=click&tag=..."

instead of:

Codex.exe "...\resources\app.asar" "?type=click&tag=..."

So the workaround is useful for connector/plugin OAuth, but the long-term product fix likely needs to cover every Windows activation path, including toast notification activation, not only the codex:// URL association.

I'm getting reports of the issue being solved in 26.601.21317

Additional repro/evidence from another Windows machine, specifically with Figma remote MCP OAuth.

Environment:

• Codex Desktop package: OpenAI.Codex_26.527.7698.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• App executable: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.7698.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\Codex.exe
• Platform: Windows, Store/MSIX install
• Connector: Figma remote MCP server, https://mcp.figma.com/mcp

Repro:

1. In Codex Desktop, start connecting/authorizing Figma MCP.
2. Browser opens the Figma authorization page.
3. Click Agree & Allow Access.
4. Browser redirects to codex://connector/oauth_callback?code=...&state=codex_scheme_oauth....
5. Windows opens an Electron error dialog instead of the running Codex Desktop app completing OAuth.

Observed dialog:

Error launching app

Unable to find Electron app at C:\Program
...\oauth_callback?code=[REDACTED]&state=codex_scheme_oauth...

Cannot find module 'C:\Program
...\oauth_callback?code=[REDACTED]&state=codex_scheme_oauth...'

Local investigation:

• The MSIX/AppX package manifest declares the codex protocol.
• The AppX ProgID seen locally was AppXybfp6cjpb1wf0pftw0fd4bz59gzn1401.
• Process inspection showed the failing activation starts a new process with the callback URL as a bare positional argument, effectively like:

``text
Codex.exe codex://connector/oauth_callback?code=...&state=...
``

• Extracting app.asar showed Codex has code that scans process.argv for codex://... and maps connector/oauth_callback into a connector OAuth callback route, but the cold-start Electron/Owl path appears to interpret the URL as an app path before that handler succeeds.
• A local registry experiment that launches the same executable with -- "%1" changed the process command line to:

``text
Codex.exe -- "codex://diagnostic-appx-progid-double-dash/"
`
which suggests the missing --` / activation argument handling is part of the failure mode.

Workaround validated:

• Authorizing the same Figma MCP through Codex CLI works because it uses localhost loopback OAuth instead of the codex:// desktop callback.
• Command used:

``bash
codex mcp add figma --url https://mcp.figma.com/mcp
``

• After authorization, codex mcp list showed:

``text
figma https://mcp.figma.com/mcp enabled OAuth
``

Expected:
The existing/running Codex Desktop app should receive codex://connector/oauth_callback?... and complete connector OAuth.

Actual:
The Store/MSIX Windows desktop app opens a new Electron error dialog and treats the callback URL/path as an Electron app module path, so Figma MCP desktop authorization cannot complete.