Windows Codex Desktop: Computer Use / Chrome tools missing or unstable after intermittent helper-path failures, even when native pipe later starts ready

Open 💬 4 comments Opened Jun 8, 2026 by 1341699206

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

26.602.40724

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64 Additional Windows version information: Windows 11 Pro Version 25H2 OS build 26200.8457

What issue are you seeing?

What version of the Codex App are you using?

26.602.40724

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro
Version 25H2
OS build 26200.8457

What issue are you seeing?

I am seeing an issue on Windows Codex Desktop where Computer Use / Chrome related tools are missing, unavailable, or unstable.

This does not look like a normal project configuration problem. The issue appears related to Windows Computer Use helper/native-pipe initialization and/or runtime tool discovery.

Earlier logs showed repeated Computer Use native pipe startup failures:

warning [computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup failed errorMessage="Windows Computer Use helper paths are unavailable" platform=win32

Later, after restarting/retrying, the logs started showing Computer Use native pipe startup as ready:

info [computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup ready pipePath=\\.\pipe\codex-computer-use-... platform=win32

Browser Use native pipe also starts:

info [browser-use-native-pipe-server] browser-use native pipe listening pipePath=\\.\pipe\codex-browser-use-...

However, Computer Use / Chrome tool availability remains unreliable or not exposed in the Codex session/tool store.

So the problem seems intermittent or session-state dependent: the native pipe/helper may fail at first with helper paths are unavailable, then later report startup ready, but the Computer Use / Chrome tools are still not reliably exposed or usable.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Install or update Codex Desktop on Windows 11.
Sign in with a ChatGPT Plus account.
Open Codex Desktop.
Try to use Computer Use / Chrome related tools.
Observe that the Computer Use / Chrome tools are missing, unavailable, or not exposed in the tool store/session.
Check Codex desktop logs.
Logs may show earlier repeated failures:

Windows Computer Use helper paths are unavailable

After restarting/retrying, logs may later show:

computer-use native pipe startup ready

Despite the native pipe later being ready, Computer Use / Chrome tools are still not reliably exposed or usable.

What is the expected behavior?

If Windows Computer Use is supported for the current account/region/platform, Codex Desktop should reliably expose the Computer Use / Chrome tools and allow Computer Use to control Windows desktop apps.

If Computer Use is not available, the app should clearly distinguish between:

account/region/feature-flag not eligible;
plugin marketplace/cache issue;
helper path missing;
native pipe startup failure;
native pipe ready but runtime/tool discovery not exposing Computer Use;
sandbox/ACL setup failure.

The current behavior makes it difficult to tell whether the failure is caused by plugin discovery, feature availability, native helper startup, or session/runtime tool provisioning.

Additional information

Relevant log excerpts, with username redacted:

info [bundled-plugins] bundled_plugins_reconcile_skipped_features_unavailable reason=focus

info [browser-use-native-pipe-server] browser-use native pipe listening pipePath=\\.\pipe\codex-browser-use-...

warning [computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup failed errorMessage="Windows Computer Use helper paths are unavailable" errorName=Error platform=win32

info [computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup ready pipePath=\\.\pipe\codex-computer-use-... platform=win32

This looks related to other Windows Computer Use issues involving:

Computer Use / Chrome tools missing from the tool store;
Computer Use plugins unavailable;
Windows Computer Use helper paths unavailable;
native pipe startup instability;
Computer Use runtime/tool discovery not exposing the required tools.

The issue appears intermittent: earlier logs repeatedly show helper-path failures, while later logs show native pipe startup ready, but Computer Use / Chrome tool availability remains unreliable.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Install or update Codex Desktop on Windows 11.
Sign in with a ChatGPT Plus account.
Open Codex Desktop.
Try to use Computer Use / Chrome related tools.
Observe that Computer Use / Chrome tools are missing, unavailable, or not exposed in the session/tool store.
Check Codex desktop logs under:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Local\Codex\Logs
Logs may show earlier repeated failures:
Windows Computer Use helper paths are unavailable
After restarting/retrying, logs may later show:
computer-use native pipe startup ready
Despite the native pipe later being ready, Computer Use / Chrome tools are still not reliably exposed or usable.

What is the expected behavior?

If Windows Computer Use is supported for the current account, region, platform, and app version, Codex Desktop should reliably expose the Computer Use / Chrome tools and allow Computer Use to control Windows desktop apps.

If Computer Use is unavailable, the app should clearly distinguish between:

account / region / feature-flag not eligible;
plugin marketplace or bundled cache issue;
helper path missing;
native pipe startup failure;
native pipe ready but runtime/tool discovery not exposing Computer Use;
sandbox / ACL setup failure.

The current behavior makes it difficult to tell whether the failure is caused by plugin discovery, feature availability, native helper startup, or session/runtime tool provisioning.

Additional information

Current app version:

Codex App: 26.602.40724

Current OS:

Windows 11 Pro
Version 25H2
OS build 26200.8457
x64

Relevant log excerpts, with username redacted:

info [bundled-plugins] bundled_plugins_reconcile_skipped_features_unavailable reason=focus

info [browser-use-native-pipe-server] browser-use native pipe listening pipePath=\\.\pipe\codex-browser-use-...

warning [computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup failed errorMessage="Windows Computer Use helper paths are unavailable" errorName=Error platform=win32

info [computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use native pipe startup ready pipePath=\\.\pipe\codex-computer-use-... platform=win32

One earlier log stack trace referenced the installed WindowsApps package path:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.602.3474.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\app.asar\...

The current About Codex dialog now shows:

26.602.40724

This suggests the issue may have started on an earlier 26.602.x build and may still affect the current installation/session state.

This looks related to other Windows Computer Use issues involving:

Computer Use / Chrome tools missing from the tool store;
Computer Use plugins unavailable;
Windows Computer Use helper paths unavailable;
native pipe startup instability;
Computer Use runtime/tool discovery not exposing the required tools.

The issue appears intermittent: earlier logs repeatedly show helper-path failures, while later logs show native pipe startup ready, but Computer Use / Chrome tool availability remains unreliable.

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