Chrome plugin writes invalid WSL-style path in Windows native host manifest

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 18, 2026 by xiaohanzhu

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

Version 26.616.30709, Windows Codex Extension Version v1.1.5

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Windows, using codex in native Windows UI with environment set to WSL

What issue are you seeing?

Summary

Codex Chrome plugin cannot attach to Chrome on Windows because the Chrome Native Messaging Host manifest points to a WSL-style path that Windows cannot resolve.

The Codex Chrome extension is installed and enabled, but Codex sees zero controllable Chrome sessions and reports:

Browser is not available: extension

### What steps can reproduce the bug?

Reproduction Steps
Install/reinstall the Codex Chrome plugin from Codex Plugins.
Install/enable the Codex Chrome Extension in Chrome.
Use a WSL workspace where plugin cache paths are under /mnt/c/....
Ask Codex to use Chrome, e.g. chrome open united.com.
Codex fails to attach with:
Browser is not available: extension

### What is the expected behavior?

What I Expected
After installing the Chrome plugin and Codex Chrome Extension, Codex should attach to Chrome and open/control tabs.
What Happened
The extension is installed/enabled and the native host manifest exists, but Chrome cannot start the native host because the manifest path is invalid on Windows.
Manifest file:
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json
The manifest currently contains this native host path:
\\mnt\\c\\Users\\<user>\\.codex\\plugins\\cache\\openai-bundled\\chrome\\latest\\extension-host\\windows\\x64\\extension-host.exe
Windows cannot resolve that path:
NativePathExists=false
But the Windows-equivalent path does exist:
C:\Users\<user>\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\chrome\latest\extension-host\windows\x64\extension-host.exe
WindowsEquivalentExists=true
Reproduction Steps
Install/reinstall the Codex Chrome plugin from Codex Plugins.
Install/enable the Codex Chrome Extension in Chrome.
Use a WSL workspace where plugin cache paths are under /mnt/c/....
Ask Codex to use Chrome, e.g. chrome open united.com.
Codex fails to attach with:
Browser is not available: extension
Diagnostics Already Checked
Chrome installed: yes
Chrome running after plugin launch: yes
Codex Chrome Extension installed: yes
Codex Chrome Extension enabled: yes
Selected Chrome profile: Profile 1
Native host manifest exists: yes
Manifest allowed origin matches extension ID: yes
Native host manifest path exists from Windows: no
Correct Windows-equivalent executable path exists: yes
Codex-visible browser sessions: zero
Notes
This does not appear to be a conflict with another Chrome extension. The concrete failure is that the native host manifest uses a WSL-style path instead of a Windows-native executable path.

### Additional information

Environment
OS: Windows with WSL workspace
Codex app: Windows app, observed package version 26.611.8604.0
Chrome plugin cache version: 26.611.62324
Codex Chrome Extension version: 1.1.5_0
Chrome version: 149.0.7827.115
Chrome profile: Profile 1

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