Codex Desktop @chrome fails before bootstrap: node_repl/js missing sandboxPolicy

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 20, 2026 by Astra-Ranger

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

Codex Desktop 26.616.41845, build 4198 Bundled CLI: codex-cli 0.142.0-alpha.6

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Mcp error: -32602: js: codex/sandbox-state-meta: missing field sandboxPolicy
This blocks @chrome / chrome@openai-bundled even though the local Chrome side appears healthy.

Local checks:

Google Chrome is installed and running.
The Codex Chrome Extension is installed and enabled in the selected Chrome profile.
The native messaging host manifest exists and has the expected extension origin.
The failure happens before the Chrome client can bootstrap, so this does not appear to be caused by a webpage, login state, or Chrome extension setup.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Open Codex Desktop 26.616.41845 on macOS.
Ensure the bundled Chrome plugin / chrome@openai-bundled is enabled.
Ensure the Codex Chrome Extension is installed and enabled in Chrome.
Start a Codex thread and ask Codex to use @chrome.
The Chrome bootstrap fails because the underlying node_repl/js tool fails before any JS runs.

What is the expected behavior?

A minimal nodeRepl.write('ping') call should return ping.

After that, @chrome / chrome@openai-bundled should be able to bootstrap the Chrome extension connection, or Codex should return a clear actionable error if the current Desktop build cannot provide the required MCP sandbox metadata.

Additional information

This appears consistent with a Desktop/app-server/MCP metadata regression rather than a Chrome installation problem.

The failing field is sandboxPolicy inside codex/sandbox-state-meta. Public reports suggest the current Desktop/app-server/runtime stack may be passing sandbox metadata in a shape that no longer matches what bundled node_repl/js expects.

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