Codex Desktop on Windows cannot use Browser / Computer Control despite account access in ChatGPT

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

26.601.2237.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26100.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Desktop on Windows cannot use Browser / Computer Control despite account access in ChatGPT.

I am using the same account in ChatGPT and Codex Desktop. The capability is available in ChatGPT, so this does not appear to be a pure account-entitlement issue. However, Codex Desktop still cannot use Browser / Computer Control.

What I confirmed:

• I am using a ChatGPT Plus account
• The relevant capability is available in ChatGPT on the same account
• In Codex Desktop on Windows, Browser and Computer Control still do not work
• Re-login did not fix it
• Repair/reset did not fix it
• Full uninstall and reinstall did not fix it
• My conversation history remained intact after reinstall

Browser-side findings:

• In Chrome, the official Codex extension is installed and enabled
• The extension name is: Codex
• The extension description is: "Control Chrome with Codex."
• The extension manifest includes nativeMessaging permission
• The extension background code expects a native host named:

com.openai.codexextension

Local system findings:

• On this Windows machine, Chrome Native Messaging Hosts currently include:
• com.kingsoft.chrome.extension.host
• com.microsoft.browsercore
• But com.openai.codexextension is missing
• This strongly suggests the local native host bridge required by the Codex Chrome extension was not installed or registered correctly

Additional observation:

• Codex plugin sync / plugin discovery also appears unstable on this machine
• However, since the capability is available in ChatGPT on the same account, I suspect the primary issue is that Codex Desktop is not correctly attaching the already-enabled capability to the local desktop/browser bridge

Current visible symptoms:

• Browser settings still show the browser plugin as unavailable
• Computer Control remains unavailable in the desktop app
• This persists even after reinstall

Please investigate:

1. Whether Codex Desktop on Windows should install/register the native host com.openai.codexextension for Chrome integration
2. Whether the missing native host registration is a known issue in the current Windows build
3. Whether Codex Desktop requires additional activation beyond what is already enabled in ChatGPT for the same account
4. Whether there is a known issue with plugin sync / plugin discovery in Codex Desktop 26.601 on Windows

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Install or reinstall Codex Desktop on Windows.
2. Sign in with the same ChatGPT Plus account that already has the relevant capability available in ChatGPT.
3. Install and enable the official Codex Chrome extension.
4. Open Codex Desktop settings and check Browser / Computer Control.
5. Observe that Browser remains unavailable in Codex Desktop and Computer Control is also unavailable.
6. This persists after re-login, repair/reset, and full reinstall.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex Desktop on Windows should detect the installed official Codex Chrome extension, correctly register or connect to the required native host bridge, and enable Browser / Computer Control for an account that already has access to the capability in ChatGPT.

Additional information

<img width="2560" height="1515" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/70d7d8fc-808c-41e4-86c0-a7f4c313cca1" />
<img width="2525" height="1457" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f2e0d779-0cd4-4892-9809-0a4ffa4ce352" />
<img width="2554" height="1515" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/158379c8-658c-4824-ad37-9cd1a2098b97" />