Computer Use plugin is unavailable in Codex Desktop on Windows

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

• #26536
• #26561
• #26204
• #26078
• #25962

Powered by Codex Action

检测到可能重复的问题。请核实并关闭您的问题。 Windows Codex 应用：尽管现有文档表明 Windows 受支持，但“计算机使用”应用显示“计算机使用插件不可用”  #26536 计算机使用工具缺失 #26561 Windows Codex Desktop：重装后“计算机使用”功能不可用；插件市场中缺少“计算机使用”插件 #26204 Windows Codex 应用：计算机使用功能不可用，/feedback 命令不可用 #26078 * Codex桌面应用程序在Windows系统上显示“计算机使用插件不可用”  #25962 _由Codex Action提供支持_

转人工

我与楼主的问题一样，但我是用过computer use的，用了几天后就不能用了，并且@[$computer-use:computer-use]是可以的，对应skill文件也存在(C:\\Users\\xxxx\\.codex\\plugins\\cache\\openai-bundled\\computer-use\\26.527.31326\\skills\\computer-use\\SKILL.md) ，就是不可用了。
Title:
Computer Use plugin is unavailable in Codex Desktop on Windows

Environment:

• OS: Windows
• Codex App version: 26.602.3474.0
• Computer Use plugin cache version: 26.527.31326
• Plugin config: computer-use@openai-bundled enabled = true

Problem:
In Codex App Settings > Computer Use, it shows:
"Computer Use 插件不可用" / "Computer Use plugin unavailable"

I previously used Computer Use successfully on this machine. The allowed apps config still shows a previous allowed app:
allowed = ["QQ"]

What I tried:

• Fully quit and reopened Codex App
• Checked Task Manager to make sure no old Codex process remained
• Started a new thread
• Asked Codex to use computer-use to open Notepad

Observed error:
Computer Use native pipe path is unavailable

Expected:
Computer Use should be available in Settings and should be able to request permission to control apps such as Notepad.

Screenshot:
Attached screenshot of Settings > Computer Use showing "Computer Use 插件不可用".

I am seeing the same Computer Use failure on Codex Desktop for Windows, with additional diagnostics. I am also seeing a separate maximized/fullscreen transparency issue on the same Codex install, tracked in / related to https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/25513.

Feedback ID from the Codex issue template link:

019e9721-8ddb-7d43-8f06-70b2993fe7e7

Environment

• Codex package: OpenAI.Codex_26.602.3474.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Codex release shown in app logs: codex@26.602.30954
• OS: Windows 10 x64, build 19045

Symptoms

• Computer Use is not visible in the global/plugin list after restart.
• On startup, many plugin connection/linking options briefly appear and then disappear.
• Previously, Settings > Computer Use showed: Computer Use plugin is unavailable.
• Typing @ in the composer does not show @computer / @电脑.
• Reinstalling Codex and rebooting Windows did not fix the issue.

Runtime error

Trying the Computer Use runtime bootstrap fails with:

Computer Use native pipe path is unavailable

Codex Desktop app log contains:

[computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use notify config ensure finished platform=win32 reason=missing-helper-path status=skipped
[computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup failed errorMessage="Windows Computer Use helper paths are unavailable" errorName=Error platform=win32

File/cache observations

The persistent plugin cache exists and contains the expected Computer Use files:

<codex-home>\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\computer-use\26.602.30954\.codex-plugin\plugin.json
<codex-home>\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\computer-use\26.602.30954\scripts\computer-use-client.mjs
<codex-home>\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\computer-use\26.602.30954\node_modules\@oai\sky\bin\windows\codex-computer-use.exe

The helper executable is present in the persistent plugin cache and has size:

1691648 bytes

Relevant config marks the plugin enabled:

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

However, after restarting Codex, the temporary bundled marketplace path is regenerated without the Computer Use subtree:

<codex-home>\.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\openai-bundled\plugins\computer-use
missing

<codex-home>\.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\openai-bundled\.agents\plugins\marketplace.json
missing

At the same time, the temporary bundled marketplace directory does contain Chrome helper files, for example:

<codex-home>\.tmp\bundled-marketplaces\openai-bundled\plugins\chrome\extension-host\windows\x64\extension-host.exe

This seems consistent with the app log reason=missing-helper-path.

Attempted recovery

• Rebooted Windows.
• Reinstalled Codex Desktop.
• Confirmed persistent Computer Use plugin cache and helper executable exist.
• Manually copied the bundled Computer Use plugin from the Codex install resources into the temporary bundled marketplace location.

After manual copying, the files existed, but the already-running process still returned:

Computer Use native pipe path is unavailable

After restarting Codex, the temporary bundled marketplace source was regenerated without Computer Use again.

Related issue that appears similar:

• https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/26561

yes its happening for me for both browser and computer use. the plugs are ther in the cache on my windows laptop. but they dont show up in codex windows app under plugins, and its not able to use what its not seeing. just got the latest update, and they vanished after loading. though i hadnt enabled them yet. i tried deleting the cache. and doing a repair. i didnt try windows app reset or uninstall. as it doenst seem like anyone else was having much luck fixing it from these other bug reports

soo does the maintainer just doesnt give a fuck about windows?? how the fuckk is this bug still exist

seeing the same issue

are we going to fix this or does it have to be this way forever?

I am seeing the same issue on Windows.

Codex Desktop package:
OpenAI.Codex_26.602.4764.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

Computer Use plugin files exist locally:
C:\Users\soperbp\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\computer-use\26.601.21317\scripts\computer-use-client.mjs

config.toml still has:
[plugins."computer-use@openai-bundled"]
enabled = true

But Computer Use no longer appears in the plugin/@ picker, and attempting to bootstrap it from the bundled skill fails with:
Computer Use native pipe path is unavailable

Named pipes show browser-use pipes and codex-ipc, but no codex-computer-use pipe.

This was working previously, then disappeared from the UI. It now looks like the plugin is installed/enabled in config but the desktop app is not exposing the native Computer Use backend/helper pipe to the runtime.

i see the same on macos too

I am seeing the same issue on Windows. Codex Desktop package: OpenAI.Codex_26.602.4764.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0 Computer Use plugin files exist locally: C:\Users\soperbp.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\computer-use\26.601.21317\scripts\computer-use-client.mjs config.toml still has: [plugins."computer-use@openai-bundled"] enabled = true But Computer Use no longer appears in the plugin/@ picker, and attempting to bootstrap it from the bundled skill fails with: Computer Use native pipe path is unavailable Named pipes show browser-use pipes and codex-ipc, but no codex-computer-use pipe. This was working previously, then disappeared from the UI. It now looks like the plugin is installed/enabled in config but the desktop app is not exposing the native Computer Use backend/helper pipe to the runtime.

same issue on my WIndows 11 26H1 28000.1836

latest update that happened earlier today, resolved the issue for me. the computer use plugin finally showup again, i clicked it install. it failed. restarted codex, on open suddenly there was non greyout options int settings for browser use and plugin. back to plugins click install again, and then it installed sucessfully.

Follow-up to my earlier diagnostics comment: after comparing this with another community repair guide/video, I think this "Computer Use plugin unavailable" symptom can have at least two different Windows-side causes. The UI symptom can look almost identical, but the logs and repair path are different.

Related community repair video / guide:

• https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1wsVB6mEFY?p=1&unique_k=2333

Failure mode A: Windows sandbox / node_repl elevation problem

This is the case described by the community guide/video and related reports.

Typical log/error keywords include:

node_repl kernel exited unexpectedly
windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh
setup refresh: failed to spawn ... codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe: The requested operation requires elevation. (os error 740)

A reported workaround is to change the Windows sandbox mode in <codex-home>\\config.toml and then fully restart Codex:

[windows]
sandbox = "unelevated"

This appears to help when the failure is caused by the Windows sandbox setup path trying to perform an elevated setup operation.

Failure mode B: bundled marketplace rebuild fails because a temp Chrome helper directory is locked

This is the case I reproduced and fixed locally.

In my case, the important extra log line was not only missing-helper-path, but also a bundled marketplace rebuild failure during startup:

bundled_plugins_marketplace_resolve_failed errorCode=EBUSY
EBUSY: resource busy or locked, rmdir '<codex-home>\\.tmp\\bundled-marketplaces\\openai-bundled\\plugins\\chrome\\extension-host\\windows\\x64'

What appeared to be happening:

• The persistent plugin cache under <codex-home>\\plugins\\cache\\openai-bundled\\computer-use\\... was intact.
• The temporary bundled marketplace under <codex-home>\\.tmp\\bundled-marketplaces\\openai-bundled was incomplete after restart.
• A stale extension-host.exe process was holding the temporary Chrome extension-host directory open, so Codex could not fully rebuild the bundled marketplace.
• Because the temporary marketplace was incomplete, Computer Use was not exposed to the app/runtime even though the persistent cache contained the helper executable.

The local workaround that restored the runtime in my session was:

1. Fully quit Codex.
2. Stop the stale extension-host.exe process if it is still running.
3. Move/delete only the stale temporary bundled marketplace Chrome subtree, for example:

<codex-home>\\.tmp\\bundled-marketplaces\\openai-bundled\\plugins\\chrome

1. Rebuild/copy the bundled marketplace from the installed Codex app resources into:

<codex-home>\\.tmp\\bundled-marketplaces\\openai-bundled
including .agents\\plugins\\marketplace.json and bundled plugin folders such as browser, chrome, computer-use, latex, and sites.

1. If the rebuilt computer-use folder does not contain the native helper dependencies, copy/overlay node_modules from the existing persistent cache version.
2. Start Codex again.

After doing this, the Computer Use runtime was callable again in the current Codex session. This suggests at least one failure mode is a client-side temporary bundled marketplace rebuild problem caused by a locked Chrome extension-host directory, not an account entitlement problem and not a missing persistent Computer Use cache.

So there may be at least two independent root causes behind the same Settings > Computer Use "plugin unavailable" state:

• sandbox/elevation setup failure, where sandbox = "unelevated" may help;
• bundled marketplace rebuild failure, where clearing the locked/incomplete temp marketplace and rebuilding it may help.

I would still consider both product bugs: Codex should either recover from these states on startup, or surface a clear repair action instead of leaving Settings > Computer Use in the generic unavailable state.

I can reproduce the same issue on Windows with the current Microsoft Store Codex desktop app.

What I see

• Codex desktop app: OpenAI.Codex 26.623.5546.0 from Microsoft Store / AppX
• OS: Windows 11, Windows 10.0.26100, zh-CN locale
• Settings > Computer Use / 电脑操控 shows: Computer Use 插件不可用 / Computer Use plugin unavailable
• The Computer Use settings page exists, but there is no Install / Enable flow.
• @Computer / @电脑 is not available as a usable app/tool in the current Codex session.
• Using Codex from mobile also cannot use Computer Use, which is consistent with the host-side Computer Use configuration being unavailable.

Local diagnostics

• codex doctor from the VS Code bundled CLI reports overall OK: 17 ok · 1 idle · 0 warn · 0 fail
• Codex CLI version: 0.142.5
• Auth mode: ChatGPT tokens configured
• WebSocket connectivity: OK, HTTP 101 Switching Protocols
• codex features list reports computer_use stable true
• Local config does not contain [features].computer_use = false
• No $CODEX_HOME/requirements.toml was present
• winget upgrade --name Codex --accept-source-agreements reports no available upgrade
• AppX package status is OK: OpenAI.Codex_26.623.5546.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

Notable mismatch

The CLI-side feature flag appears enabled (computer_use stable true), and local diagnostics are healthy, but the desktop UI still says the Computer Use plugin is unavailable and does not expose any install/repair/enable action.

Expected: Settings > Computer Use should either show a working install/enable path, or explain the actual blocking reason such as account/workspace eligibility, region, admin policy, rollout state, missing bundled plugin, or stale plugin cache.

I also encountered the issue and resolved it by changing the installation drive to drive C

I am seeing the same failure on Windows, and local diagnostics suggest this is not simply a missing plugin installation.

Environment

• Codex Windows Store package: OpenAI.Codex_26.707.8168.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Windows 11
• The bundled Computer Use cache is present (version 26.707.61608).
• [plugins."computer-use@openai-bundled"] is set to enabled = true.

Observed behavior

• In a newly created task, the Computer Use control channel is not exposed, so the desktop cannot actually be controlled.
• Restarting Codex and confirming that the local plugin files and helper executable exist did not restore the capability.

Relevant local evidence

• A previous desktop log showed that the native bridge itself started successfully:

[computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup ready ... platform=win32

• However, the same startup later failed while rebuilding the temporary bundled marketplace:

[BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugins_marketplace_resolve_failed ... copyfile ... plugins\\chrome\\.codex-plugin\\backend-specific-skill.md -> %USERPROFILE%\\.codex\\.tmp\\bundled-marketplaces\\... ... UNKNOWN error

This appears consistent with the situation where the cached plugin exists and the native pipe can start, but the active runtime/plugin marketplace is not rebuilt correctly, leaving Computer Use unavailable to tasks.

Expected behavior
Computer Use should be exposed in a new task after the bundled plugin is installed and enabled. If the temporary marketplace rebuild fails, the app should surface a clear diagnostic and recover or fall back safely.

I can provide a redacted full log if needed.