Windows Desktop: shell_command always times out, even for "echo TEST"

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

26.623.31921

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Environment

• Operating System: Windows 11 x64
• Codex Desktop Version: 26.623.31921
• Subscription: ChatGPT Plus
• Downloaded from the official OpenAI website

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Summary

Every shell command executed by the Codex Desktop App times out.

This happens even for the simplest commands.

Examples:

echo TEST

powershell -NoProfile -Command "exit 7"

Both commands always timeout.

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Expected behavior

echo TEST

should immediately return

TEST

powershell -NoProfile -Command "exit 7"

should immediately return exit code 7.

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Actual behavior

Every shell command times out.

The command runner never returns any output or exit code.

Examples tested:

• echo TEST
• powershell -NoProfile -Command "exit 7"

Both timeout.

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Workspace Dependencies

Settings always show:

Current version:
Not installed

Reinstall always fails with

Couldn't reinstall Codex dependencies

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Diagnostics

I checked the runtime.

Node runtime exists.

npm works.

Network access works.

The runtime manifest exists.

Browser plugin works correctly.

The issue only affects shell_command execution.

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What I have already tried

• Reinstalled Codex Desktop
• Reinstalled Chrome plugin
• Reset Workspace Dependencies
• Restarted Windows
• Disabled Windows Defender restrictions
• Verified Node runtime
• Verified npm runtime
• Verified network connectivity

None of these solved the problem.

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Suspected cause

It appears that the Desktop command runner is hanging before launching PowerShell.

The problem does not appear to be caused by Node, npm, network connectivity, or Windows Defender.

This looks like a Desktop runtime / shell runner issue.

This issue prevents Codex Desktop from executing any shell commands, making coding tasks impossible on this machine.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

This issue prevents Codex Desktop from executing any shell commands, making coding tasks impossible on this machine.

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_