Codex GUI exits immediately on Windows when user profile path contains Korean characters

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

v0.140.0-alpha.2

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

_No response_

What issue are you seeing?

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• Codex Version: v0.140.0-alpha.2
• Installation: Microsoft Store
• User Profile Path: C:\Users\김혜진

Issue

Codex CLI works normally, but Codex GUI exits immediately after launch.

The process appears briefly in Task Manager and then disappears.

No visible error message is shown.

What I tested

• Reinstalled Codex
• Reset / Repair from Windows Apps settings
• Removed ~/.codex
• Removed %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex
• Removed runtime cache
• Reinstalled multiple times

None of the above resolved the issue.

Important Finding

I created a new Windows account with an English-only profile path:

C:\Users\codextest

On the same machine:

• Codex GUI works correctly under the English account
• Codex GUI immediately exits under the Korean account

CLI works correctly in both accounts.

Runtime Behavior

Under the Korean profile, Codex repeatedly creates staging directories:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node

Examples:

.staging-789504f803e82e2b-12Mxqj
.staging-789504f803e82e2b-88KOd3
.staging-789504f803e82e2b-rshvii

No final runtime directory is ever created.

Log Observation

Sandbox logs show corrupted user path encoding.

Expected:

C:\Users\김혜진\.codex\...

Observed:

C:\Users\源?쒖쭊\.codex\...

This suggests a Unicode/path encoding issue during runtime setup.

Expected Behavior

Codex GUI should launch normally regardless of whether the Windows user profile path contains non-ASCII characters.

Actual Behavior

GUI exits immediately while CLI continues to function correctly.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Create or use a Windows 11 account whose profile path contains Korean characters.

Example:
C:\Users\김혜진

1. Install Codex from Microsoft Store.

1. Launch Codex from the Start Menu.

1. Observe that Codex briefly appears in Task Manager and then exits immediately.

1. Open PowerShell and run Codex CLI directly:

& "C:\Users\김혜진\AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\bin\<version>\Codex.exe"

1. Observe that the CLI works correctly.

1. Create a new Windows account with an ASCII-only profile path.

Example:
C:\Users\codextest

1. Install and launch Codex under the new account.

1. Observe that the GUI launches successfully.

Additional observation:

• Under the Korean profile, Codex repeatedly creates:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node\.staging-*

• No final runtime directory is created.
• Sandbox logs show corrupted path encoding for the user profile directory.

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_