Codex Desktop for Windows starts WSL/Ubuntu even when Windows-native mode is selected

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

26.616.10790.0

What subscription do you have?

plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.22621.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Desktop starts WSL2 and launches my Ubuntu-24.04 distro during startup even though Windows-native mode is selected and runCodexInWindowsSubsystemForLinux = false.

After running wsl --shutdown and confirming that all distros are stopped, launching Codex causes WSL-related processes such as vmwp.exe, vmmemWSL, wslhost.exe, and WSLg to start. Ubuntu-24.04 then changes from Stopped to Running.

I expected Codex to remain fully Windows-native unless I explicitly open a WSL project, use a WSL terminal, or run a WSL-related command.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open Codex Desktop and select the Windows-native environment.

1. Confirm that the Codex configuration contains:

[desktop]
runCodexInWindowsSubsystemForLinux = false

1. Close all Codex Desktop windows.

1. Open PowerShell and run:

wsl --shutdown
wsl --list --verbose

1. Confirm that all WSL distros, including Ubuntu-24.04, are shown as Stopped.

1. Launch Codex Desktop.

1. Run the following command again:

wsl --list --verbose

1. Observe that Ubuntu-24.04 has changed from Stopped to Running.

1. Optionally, monitor processes during startup. WSL-related processes such as vmwp.exe, vmmemWSL, wslhost.exe, and WSLg-related msrdc.exe processes appear shortly after Codex starts.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex Desktop should remain fully Windows-native when Windows-native mode is selected and runCodexInWindowsSubsystemForLinux = false.

Launching Codex should not start WSL2, Ubuntu-24.04, WSLg, or related WSL processes unless I explicitly open a WSL project, select a WSL terminal, access a WSL path, or run a WSL-related command.

Additional information

After running wsl --shutdown, I confirmed that both docker-desktop and Ubuntu-24.04 were stopped before launching Codex.

Observed startup timeline:

T+00s Codex.exe starts
T+02s codex.exe app-server --analytics-default-enabled starts
T+06s vmwp.exe starts
T+06s vmmemWSL starts
T+08s wslhost.exe starts
T+15s msrdc.exe /wslg /silent ... starts
T+17s Windows-native node_repl.exe starts under the Codex app-server

After startup, docker-desktop remains stopped, but Ubuntu-24.04 changes to Running.

I did not capture a persistent wsl.exe process, so the trigger may be a short-lived helper process or a WSL API call.

This issue is reproducible. I can provide redacted diagnostic logs if needed. Local usernames, device names, paths, conversation IDs, installation IDs, and private workspace details have been removed.