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Codex Issues / #28493

Windows Computer Use backend works, but computer tool is not exposed to model

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 16, 2026 by ccbili30-collab
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

What happened?

On Windows Codex Desktop, Computer Use appears enabled and the native backend is alive, but the model never receives a computer tool in the Responses API tool list.

From the user experience, Computer Use is unavailable / not usable. Typing @Computer or asking the model to use the computer does not expose a native Computer Use tool.

Evidence

  • Codex Desktop feature flags include ComputerUse in logs.
  • codex-computer-use.exe exists under the bundled cua_node runtime.
  • The named pipe exists, e.g. \\.\pipe\codex-computer-use-....
  • Directly importing and using @oai/sky from the bundled Node REPL succeeds for read-only backend calls:
const { sky } = await import('@oai/sky');
await sky.list_apps();

This successfully returned a list of installed/running apps, so the Windows backend is not completely dead.

However, parsing the actual /responses request payload sent by Codex Desktop shows the model receives tools such as shell_command, apply_patch, codex_app, tool_search, etc., but no computer / Computer Use tool:

tool_count: 14
0: type='function' name='shell_command'
...
11: type='namespace' name='codex_app'
12: type='tool_search'
13: type='web_search'
has_computer_type: False

Additional observation

Trying to work around this by calling @oai/sky through node_repl is not a reliable replacement for the native tool. Some calls work, such as list_apps() / list_windows(), but app launching or manipulation can fail with:

Computer Use requires app approval but elicitations are unavailable

So the native backend can be partially reached, but the normal model-facing Computer Use tool is not available.

Expected behavior

If Computer Use is installed/enabled and the backend is reachable, Codex Desktop should include a model-facing Computer Use tool in the Responses API request so the model can use it normally.

Environment

  • OS: Windows 11
  • Codex Desktop: 26.609.30741 / Windows package 26.609.3341.0 observed in process path
  • Model: gpt-5.5
  • Provider: custom Responses-compatible proxy
  • Runtime: bundled cua_node runtime with @oai/sky

Related symptoms

This looks similar to other Windows reports where Browser/Chrome/Computer Use features are enabled or the backend becomes ready, but the model-facing tool is not exposed in the current thread.

View original on GitHub ↗

2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

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

  • #26929
  • #28275
  • #27907
  • #28481

Powered by Codex Action

2038125347 · 13 days ago

Additional current reproduction: Windows x64, Codex Desktop 26.810

I can reproduce the same model-facing Computer Use failure on a newer Windows build, after independently verifying that the bundled plugin and dedicated runtime are intact.

Environment
  • Windows 11 x64: 10.0.26200
  • Codex Desktop AppX: 26.810.6296.0
  • Bundled Browser / Chrome / Computer Use plugins: 26.810.50856
  • @oai/sky: 0.6.11
  • Computer Use runtime archive: 0.0.8/20260812163607-f77e89a843fc
Observed behavior
  • computer_use=true
  • Computer Use plugin is installed and enabled.
  • CODEX_ELECTRON_ENABLE_WINDOWS_COMPUTER_USE=1
  • The Browser, Chrome, and Computer Use plugin trees match the Microsoft Store package source.
  • The dedicated CUA runtime critical files match the package source by SHA-256.
  • Importing @oai/sky from the dedicated CUA runtime succeeds.
  • Immediately after an offline repair and before restart, the post-repair audit is healthy and electron-openai-mcp-form-elicitations-enabled is absent.
  • After a full Codex restart, that persisted state is automatically recreated as false.
  • The managed node_repl / Computer Use tool is then not exposed to the task.
  • Attempts to use the fallback path produce:
Computer Use requires app approval but elicitations are unavailable

A secondary fallback through the primary workspace runtime can also produce:

ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND: Cannot find package '@oai/sky'

That second error is not caused by a missing package in the dedicated CUA runtime; it occurs because the managed Computer Use runtime/tool was never registered.

Packaged-app read-only inspection

Read-only inspection of the installed app.asar shows:

  1. The packaged local default is openAIMcpFormElicitations: true.
  2. Startup reads electron-openai-mcp-form-elicitations-enabled and otherwise uses that default.
  3. The renderer obtains the value from Statsig gate 4167858931.
  4. The renderer sends openAIMcpFormElicitations to the main process, which persists it to global state.
  5. CODEX_ELECTRON_DESKTOP_FEATURE_OVERRIDES is applied only to a Dev build, so it is not a supported production override.

This explains why deleting the persisted key or reinstalling the plugin only helps until the remote gate is evaluated and writes false again.

Recovery attempts already completed
  • Full Codex exits and fresh tasks
  • Reinstalled/rematerialized Browser, Chrome, and Computer Use from the current bundled marketplace
  • Rematerialized the dedicated CUA runtime
  • Verified source/target file counts, byte totals, and critical SHA-256 hashes
  • Verified @oai/sky import from the dedicated runtime
  • Removed the stale persisted gate value for cold-start reevaluation
  • Isolated a legacy Codex CLI path while preserving the files for rollback
  • Repeated cold-start verification

The plugin/runtime/config layers remain healthy after restart; only the form-elicitation gate is reset to false, and the model-facing tool remains absent.

Expected behavior

When Computer Use is installed, enabled, eligible, and its dedicated runtime is healthy, Codex Desktop should expose the managed Computer Use tool and allow the documented per-app approval prompt. A remote form-elicitation gate should not silently disable the approval channel while leaving Computer Use otherwise available.

Please check the Windows Codex Desktop Statsig assignment/persistence path for gate 4167858931, especially why it evaluates to false on this current build and suppresses managed node_repl registration.

All user names, account IDs, installation IDs, local paths, project data, session contents, and browser contents have been omitted.