Codex Windows app: top menu dropdown items remain in English when Windows and Codex UI language are set to Simplified Chinese

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

• #26437
• #25763

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Root Cause Analysis (Deep Dive)

After extensive source code analysis of the Codex Desktop app.asar, I've identified the exact root cause:

The Problem: Hardcoded English labels in Electron main process

The Electron native menu items use hardcoded English strings instead of i18n translation calls.

Evidence from main process code:

// Menu item definitions in main-*.js
{label:`Log Out`, click: async () => { ... }}   // Hardcoded, NOT formatMessage()
{label:`File`, id: t.kn.file, submenu: []}       // Hardcoded
{label:`View`, id: t.kn.view, submenu: []}       // Hardcoded

What IS translated vs What ISN'T

✅ Translated (via i18n system):

• Top-level menu titles: windowsMenuBar.file → 文件, windowsMenuBar.edit → 编辑, windowsMenuBar.view → 查看, windowsMenuBar.help → 帮助, windowsMenuBar.window → 窗口
• Sidebar items, dialog text, settings pages — 6,908 translation keys in zh-CN locale
• common.close → 关闭 (exists in locale but not used for menu items)

❌ NOT translated (hardcoded in Electron main process):

• File menu: Close, New Window, New Chat, Quick Chat, Open Folder..., Settings..., Log Out
• Edit menu: standard Electron role-based items
• View menu: Reload Window, Toggle Full Screen, Actual Size, Zoom In/Zoom Out
• Help menu: Codex Documentation, Send Feedback, Check for Updates…
• These labels use template literals directly: label:Log Out``

Missing i18n keys

The zh-CN locale file (zh-CN-CwNof08D.js) has no keys for: newWindow, newChat, quickChat, openFolder, logOut, settings (as menu label), or any of the View/Help menu items.

The native-menu-locales/zh-CN.json in app.asar only contains browser error page and dialog translations — zero menu item translations.

Fix Required

The menu item definitions in the Electron main process need to:

1. Replace hardcoded label:English Text` with formatMessage('menu.item.key')` calls
2. Add corresponding i18n keys to all locale files (zh-CN, ja-JP, etc.)
3. Ensure the main process loads the correct locale from config.toml desktop.localeOverride

Environment (for reference)

• Codex Desktop v26.602.9276.0
• Windows 11 x64 (Build 26200)
• Display: 3840×2160 @ 150% scaling
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
• System language: zh-CN
• Config: localeOverride = zh-CN

Still reproducible in the current Microsoft Store build 26.616.5445.0 on Windows (verified June 20, 2026).

The top-level menu is localized into Simplified Chinese, but the File dropdown still shows English entries such as New Window, New Chat, Quick Chat, Open Folder..., Close, Settings..., and Log Out. This confirms that the issue remains after multiple releases since the originally reported 26.602 build.

This is also part of a broader localization-completeness problem: settings, tooltips, option descriptions, and other smaller UI strings can still fall back to English, as tracked in #27255.

Could the team please prioritize:

1. Localizing all native Windows menu items instead of leaving hardcoded English labels.
2. Auditing all user-facing zh-CN strings across the desktop app, including settings, dialogs, tooltips, onboarding, plugins/integrations, and newly added features.
3. Adding an automated localization-completeness check so new hardcoded or missing strings do not regress into mixed-language UI.

The mixed Chinese/English interface has persisted for months and makes the Windows app feel unfinished for Chinese users. Please provide a status update or target release if possible.