Bundled plugins (chrome, browser, computer-use) become unavailable after Microsoft Store auto-update
Environment
- Codex version: 26.527.7698.0 (auto-updated from 26.527.3686.0 via Microsoft Store)
- Platform: Windows 11 Home China (24H2, build 26200)
- Installation: Microsoft Store (winget package:
9PLM9XGG6VKS)
### Description
After the Codex desktop app is auto-updated via Microsoft Store, all openai-bundled plugins (chrome, browser, computer-use) become unavailable. Codex shows them
as "not installable in current channel" or silently fails to load them.
This has happened twice — once on 2026-06-01 and again on 2026-06-02 — each time triggered by a Microsoft Store auto-update.
### Root Cause
The update process has a version mismatch bug:
- MS Store updates the app (e.g.,
26.527.3686.0→26.527.7698.0) - The bundled plugin marketplace source at
%CODEX_HOME%\.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\openai-bundled\is NOT refreshed — it stays at the old version and may
even be incomplete
- The plugin cache at
%CODEX_HOME%\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\stays at the old plugin version (e.g.,26.527.31326) while bundled plugins in the updated
app package have a new version (e.g., 26.527.60818)
latestsymlinks point to the stale/incomplete.tmpmarketplace sourcechrome-native-hosts.jsonreferences old binary hash paths (e.g.,bin\7dea4a003bc76627\codex.exe) that no longer exist after the update
As a result, Codex cannot resolve any @openai-bundled plugins.
### Steps to Reproduce
- Install Codex desktop app from Microsoft Store (version A)
- Ensure chrome, browser, computer-use plugins are installed and working
- Wait for Microsoft Store to push an automatic update to version B
- Open Codex — observe that the bundled plugins show as unavailable
### Expected Behavior
After an app update, Codex should:
- Detect the version change and trigger a re-sync of bundled marketplaces
- Refresh the
.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\openai-bundled\source from the updated app package (WindowsApps\<new-version>\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled\) - Rebuild plugin caches with the new plugin version
- Update
chrome-native-hosts.jsonwith current binary paths - Re-register the managed plugin IDs in the global state
### Actual Behavior
None of the above happens automatically. The user must:
- Kill all Codex processes (including lingering
extension-host.exeandnode.exe) - Delete stale
.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\openai-bundled\andplugins\cache\openai-bundled\ - Manually copy fresh plugins from
WindowsApps\<new-version>\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled\ - Recreate cache directories and
latestsymlinks - Update
chrome-native-hosts.jsonwith correct binary paths - Update
config.tomlnotify path to match the new plugin version - Reset
electron-chrome-extension-sync-managed-plugin-idsin.codex-global-state.json
This is not a reasonable manual fix for end users.
### Impact
- Plugins silently break after every Microsoft Store update
- Users cannot use core features (Chrome browser control, in-app browser, Computer Use)
- Each update requires 30+ minutes of manual forensic repair work
### Suggested Fix
- On app startup after a version change, automatically re-sync or re-copy the bundled marketplace from the new app package to
%CODEX_HOME%\.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\
- Detect plugin version mismatches between cache and the current app, and trigger a re-sync
- Update
chrome-native-hosts.json(and similar config files) during the update migration step - Or, alternatively: do not require the
.tmpmarketplace cache to exactly match the app version — use the bundled plugins directly from the app package as the
canonical source
### Workaround (for affected users)
See the detailed manual repair steps above. A PowerShell script could automate most of it, but this should not be necessary.
### Related
- Issue #15179 (Windows Store app crashes after update — may share a root cause around update migration logic)
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