codex unable to use googlechrome browser

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

26.602.30954

What subscription do you have?

20_dollar_month

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Bug Report: Codex Chrome Extension Connected but Browser Automation Crashes on Windows

Summary

The Codex Chrome Extension is installed and shows Connected in Chrome, but Codex Desktop cannot control Chrome through the extension.

When initializing Chrome browser automation, the node_repl kernel crashes:

node_repl kernel exited unexpectedly
windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh
reason: stdout_eof

Environment

• OS: Windows
• App: Codex Desktop
• Browser: Google Chrome
• Chrome Extension: Codex Chrome Extension
• Extension status: Connected
• Extension version: v1.1.5
• Codex tool user:

DESKTOP-MV8K9FM\CodexSandboxOffline
SID: S-1-5-21-4161781511-4062681986-406441398-1005

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install the Codex Chrome Extension.
2. Open Chrome.
3. Confirm the extension shows Connected.
4. In Codex Desktop, run:

const { setupBrowserRuntime } = await import(
  "C:/Users/Rockit/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/latest/scripts/browser-client.mjs"
);

await setupBrowserRuntime({ globals: globalThis });
globalThis.browser = await agent.browsers.get("extension");
await browser.user.openTabs();

1. The node_repl kernel crashes before returning any Chrome tab data.

Expected Behavior

Codex should connect to the Chrome extension and read existing Chrome tabs using:

await browser.user.openTabs();

Actual Behavior

The runtime crashes with:

node_repl kernel exited unexpectedly
windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh
reason: stdout_eof

Diagnostics

The Chrome plugin files exist:

C:\Users\Rockit\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\chrome\latest

The native host executable exists:

C:\Users\Rockit\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\chrome\latest\extension-host\windows\x64\extension-host.exe

The native messaging manifest exists:

C:\Users\Rockit\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json

The manifest points to the native host executable:

{
  "allowed_origins": [
    "chrome-extension://hehggadaopoacecdllhhajmbjkdcmajg/"
  ],
  "description": "Codex chrome native messaging host",
  "name": "com.openai.codexextension",
  "path": "C:\\Users\\Rockit\\.codex\\plugins\\cache\\openai-bundled\\chrome\\latest\\extension-host\\windows\\x64\\extension-host.exe",
  "type": "stdio"
}

The Native Messaging Host registry key was initially missing under HKCU:

HKCU\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.openai.codexextension

A global HKLM key was manually added:

HKLM\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.openai.codexextension

Value:

C:\Users\Rockit\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json

Codex can confirm that the HKLM key exists.

Chrome is installed at:

C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

PowerShell can see Chrome processes using:

Get-Process chrome

However, the plugin helper script:

scripts\chrome-is-running.js --json

fails with:

tasklist ... ERROR: Access denied

Suspected Cause

The issue appears to be in the Codex Windows sandbox / node_repl runtime layer, not in the target website.

Possible causes:

1. CodexSandboxOffline cannot access required Chrome/native messaging resources.
2. Native Messaging Host registration is not correctly handled for the sandbox user.
3. The installer writes registry entries only for the normal user, not for the sandboxed Codex user.
4. The helper script depends on tasklist, but tasklist fails with Access denied inside the Codex sandbox.
5. windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh indicates a lower-level sandbox process spawning failure.

Questions

1. Should the Codex Chrome Native Messaging Host be registered under HKCU, HKLM, or both on Windows?
2. Does the CodexSandboxOffline user require its own NativeMessagingHosts registry entry?
3. What does windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh mean?
4. Is there an official way to reset or rebuild the Codex Windows sandbox environment?
5. Is there an official repair command for reinstalling the Chrome Native Messaging Host registration?
6. Why does the extension show Connected while Codex browser automation still crashes before reading tabs?

Requested Help

Please provide the recommended repair flow for restoring Chrome browser automation in Codex Desktop on Windows when:

• the Chrome extension shows Connected,
• the native host executable and manifest exist,
• the HKLM NativeMessagingHosts registry key exists,
• but node_repl crashes with:

windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Try Using Chrome Browser

What is the expected behavior?

111

Additional information

111