Windows: Codex runtime `cua_node` consumed 323GB under AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex

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

26.609.71450

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Windows runtime cua_node consumed 323GB under AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex

Summary

After using Codex on Windows, my C drive usage increased dramatically. I previously had around 400GB of free space, but it dropped to around 70GB.

Using a disk usage analyzer, I found that almost all of the unexpected usage is under:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node
````

The directory size is approximately **323.4GB**.

This seems abnormal for a local runtime directory. It looks like Codex may be repeatedly downloading, extracting, copying, or failing to clean up runtime/cache files.

## Disk usage evidence

From disk analyzer:

```text
Users                                            592.8 GB
└── <username>\AppData                           323.4 GB
    └── Local                                    323.4 GB
        └── OpenAI                               323.4 GB
            └── Codex                            323.4 GB
                └── runtimes                     323.4 GB
                    └── cua_node                 323.4 GB

Available disk space dropped from about 400GB free to about 70GB free.

Expected behavior

Codex runtime/cache files should not grow to hundreds of gigabytes.

Old runtime versions, failed downloads, temporary files, browser profiles, logs, and extracted artifacts should be cleaned up automatically or capped by a reasonable storage limit.

Actual behavior

The Codex runtime directory:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node

grew to around 323GB, consuming most of my C drive.

Environment

• OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11
• Codex client: Codex Windows app
• Installation path: default
• Runtime path affected:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node

Impact

This caused my system drive to nearly run out of space. It is difficult for users to notice because the storage usage is inside AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes.

Additional notes

Please consider:

1. Adding automatic cleanup for old/failed runtime files.
2. Adding a maximum cache/runtime size limit.
3. Showing Codex local storage usage in settings.
4. Allowing users to move runtime/cache directories to another drive.
5. Documenting whether it is safe to delete:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node

I can provide more details if needed.

<img width="1362" height="225" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/02d98b53-406d-4b31-bee1-14af053b85f8" />

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Just use codex app

What is the expected behavior?

C drive abnormal occupancy

Additional information

_No response_