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Codex Issues / #29227

Chrome plugin / node_repl broken after Codex Desktop update: missing sandboxPolicy and dependencies cannot reinstall

Open 💬 6 comments Opened Jun 20, 2026 by JohnJJGGG
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

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

149.0.7827.115

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Summary

After today's Codex Desktop update, the Chrome plugin / node_repl integration stopped working. It had been working normally for several days before the update.

This does not appear to be caused by my previous API provider / ChatGPT login switch, because the Chrome plugin continued to work for days after that change. The issue started suddenly after the Codex Desktop update.

Symptoms

  1. Chrome plugin / browser automation fails before opening or controlling any page.
  2. node_repl tool calls fail immediately with:
Mcp error: -32602: js: codex/sandbox-state-meta: missing field `sandboxPolicy`
3. Codex Settings shows:
  Codex dependencies may need repair
4. Workspace dependencies show:
    Current version: Not installed
5. Clicking reinstall shows:
      Unable to reinstall Codex dependencies

### What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: 019eda2c-8e7e-7020-9279-5e3955494d15

### What is the expected behavior?

The bundled Codex workspace dependencies should reinstall successfully, and Chrome plugin / node_repl should work after the update.

### Additional information

Troubleshooting already tried
Restarted Codex Desktop.
Restarted macOS.
Checked Chrome extension installation and native host manifest.
Confirmed Chrome is installed and running.
Checked local Codex processes and found node_repl / MCP processes being spawned again by Codex.
Tried the Settings → Reinstall dependencies button, but it fails with “Unable to reinstall Codex dependencies”.
Environment
OS: macOS
Device: Mac mini, Apple Silicon
Codex Desktop version: 149.0.7827.115
Chrome version: 149.0.7827.115
Issue started after today's Codex Desktop update.
Notes
This looks like a version/protocol mismatch between Codex Desktop, bundled workspace dependencies, node_repl, and the Chrome/Browser plugin after the update. One component appears to expect codex/sandbox-state-meta.sandboxPolicy, but another component is not providing it.

View original on GitHub ↗

6 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 1 month ago

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

  • #29214
  • #29213
  • #29219
  • #29226
  • #29215

Powered by Codex Action

zoulux · 1 month ago

019ee57f-2928-7782-b530-93e8bcea0e24

Neel-Error404 · 1 month ago

I am facing the same issue.. it was all operational. It broke after some update today. Unable to fix this

emailconor · 1 month ago

Same Issue

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
Version 26.616.41845

What subscription do you have?
Plus

What platform is your computer?
Apple M3 MacBook Air, OS 26.2 (25C56), Darwin 25.2.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?
Title: Chrome control cannot initialize because sandboxPolicy metadata is missing

Session/thread ID:
019ee67c-5857-7f03-80eb-6a8ca11555f7

Environment:

Codex Desktop: 26.616.41845, build 4198
Bundled Codex CLI: 0.142.0-alpha.6
Chrome plugin: 26.616.41845
Google Chrome: 149.0.7827.115
macOS: 26.2, build 25C56
Problem:
Codex cannot initialize Chrome control. The browser bootstrap fails immediately at the mcp__node_repl__js tool boundary, before it can communicate with the Chrome extension.

Exact error:
tool call error: tool call failed for node_repl/js

Caused by:
Mcp error: -32602: js: codex/sandbox-state-meta: missing field sandboxPolicy

Steps to reproduce:

Open Codex Desktop.
Enable the Chrome plugin.
Install and enable the Codex extension in Google Chrome.
Start a Codex thread.
Enter: test chrome
Codex attempts to initialize browser control through mcp__node_repl__js.
The request fails immediately with the missing sandboxPolicy error.
Expected result:
Codex should connect to the Chrome extension and access the available Chrome tabs.

Actual result:
The browser execution request is rejected because sandboxPolicy is missing from codex/sandbox-state-meta.

Troubleshooting already completed:

Quit and restarted Codex.
Checked Codex for updates.
Uninstalled the Chrome plugin and reactivated it.
Disabled the Codex Chrome extension.
Reinstalled and re-enabled the Chrome extension.
Retried Chrome initialization.
Confirmed the Chrome plugin’s scripts/browser-client.mjs file is installed.
The same error persists.
Additional diagnostic detail:
The local Codex session metadata contains a sandbox policy, but the node_repl/js MCP request reports that the expected sandboxPolicy field is absent. This suggests the failure is in Codex Desktop’s MCP request metadata propagation or serialization, rather than Chrome or the Chrome extension.

Please investigate the Codex Desktop-to-node_repl metadata path for Chrome browser-control requests.

Feedback ID: 019ee67c-5857-7f03-80eb-6a8ca11555f7

What steps can reproduce the bug?
Feedback ID: 019ee67c-5857-7f03-80eb-6a8ca11555f7

What is the expected behavior?
No response

Additional information
No response

stridr5555 · 1 month ago

Browser Chrome CDP Skill working as a backup with cloned chrome profile.

iantimes · 1 month ago

I am seeing the same failure on Windows, and I was able to narrow it down to the MCP metadata shape before any Chrome/browser-client code runs.

Environment:

Codex Desktop package: OpenAI.Codex_26.616.5445.0_x64
Codex app bundled CLI: codex-cli 0.142.0-alpha.6
cua_node runtime: node_repl_archive_path 20260609.1/node_repl-20260609.1-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip
Chrome plugin cache observed: openai-bundled/chrome/26.611.61753
OS: Windows

Minimal symptom from Codex tool call:

tool call error: tool call failed for `node_repl/js`

Caused by:
    Mcp error: -32602: js: codex/sandbox-state-meta: missing field `sandboxPolicy`

Direct MCP reproduction against the bundled node_repl.exe:

  • tools/call with _meta["codex/sandbox-state-meta"].sandbox = "danger-full-access" fails with:
js: codex/sandbox-state-meta: missing field `sandboxPolicy`
  • The same tools/call with _meta["codex/sandbox-state-meta"].sandboxPolicy = { type: "danger-full-access" } succeeds and returns the expected JS output.
  • A tools/call with no codex/sandbox-state-meta also succeeds.

This makes it look like a Codex Desktop/app-server-to-node_repl metadata serialization mismatch: one side is still sending the older sandbox field, while the bundled node_repl expects sandboxPolicy.

Chrome extension/native-host state does not appear to be the root cause here; the failure occurs at node_repl/js before browser-client bootstrap or Chrome communication.