Codex Desktop crashes on startup after interrupted/unstable automatic update; manual latest install fixes it
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.623.5546.0
What subscription do you have?
plus
What platform is your computer?
- OS: Windows 10 Pro - Windows version: 22H2 - OS build: 19045.6466
What issue are you seeing?
Codex Desktop appears to enter a crash loop after an automatic update download is interrupted or left in an unstable state.
When Codex Desktop detects a new version, it starts downloading the update automatically. I currently cannot find an option in the app to disable automatic update downloads.
After my work was finished, I shut down my computer while Codex still showed "Downloading" / "正在下载". I do not know whether the update had completed.
The next day, when I opened Codex Desktop again, the app launched for a few seconds and then crashed. Reopening the app repeatedly produced the same result.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Open Codex Desktop on version
26.623.5546.0. - Let Codex detect a new version.
- Codex starts downloading the update automatically.
- Shut down the computer while the app is still showing "Downloading" / "正在下载".
- Start the computer again the next day.
- Open Codex Desktop.
- The app opens briefly, then crashes.
- Reopening the app repeats the crash.
What is the expected behavior?
Codex Desktop should recover safely from an interrupted, incomplete, or unstable update download.
For example, it should either:
- resume the update download,
- roll back to the previous working version,
- show an update repair prompt,
- or allow the user to skip/cancel the update.
The app should not become unusable on startup.
Additional information
Actual Behavior
Codex Desktop crashes a few seconds after launch every time.
Because version 26.623.5546.0 immediately triggers the automatic update flow and then crashes, I cannot use Codex Desktop at all until I manually install a newer build from an external mirror.
After manually updating to version 26.623.61825, the app works normally again.
Hypothesis
I suspect this issue may be related to an unstable, incomplete, or partially applied update state.
The reason is that every time this crash loop happens, manually installing the latest available Codex Desktop build from codex-app-mirror fixes the problem immediately. After updating to the latest build, Codex Desktop no longer crashes on startup.
This makes me suspect that the app may be starting from an inconsistent update/download state, or that the older version crashes while trying to continue or apply the automatic update.
Workaround
My current workaround is:
- Go to https://github.com/Wangnov/codex-app-mirror
- Download the latest available Codex Desktop build.
- Install/update manually.
- Codex Desktop works again after that.
In this case, manually updating from 26.623.5546.0 to 26.623.61825 fixed the crash.
However, this workaround depends on the mirror having the latest version. For example, today I was unable to use Codex for almost the whole day until the mirror published the newer version.
Impact
This is a fatal startup issue. The app becomes completely unusable after an interrupted or unstable automatic update.
It also creates a recovery problem because:
- I cannot disable automatic update download in the app.
- I cannot get into the app long enough to change settings.
- The app appears to crash before I can cancel or repair the update.
- The only workaround I found depends on a third-party mirror.
Environment
- Product: Codex Desktop
- OS: Windows 10 Pro
- Windows version: 22H2
- OS build: 19045.6466
- Windows install date: 2023-05-18
- Previous Codex version:
26.623.5546.0 - Current/recovered Codex version:
26.623.61825 - Approximate issue date: 2026-06-29
- Recovery method: manually installed latest build from
Wangnov/codex-app-mirror - Update status before shutdown: app kept showing "Downloading" / "正在下载"
- Network conditions: normal, but update may have been interrupted by system shutdown
Suggested Improvements
It would be helpful if Codex Desktop provided one or more of the following:
- an option to disable automatic update downloads,
- a safe rollback mechanism when update download/install is incomplete,
- a startup repair mode,
- a clear update status indicator,
- a way to launch without triggering update,
- official latest installer/download link independent of the app auto-update path.
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2 Comments
English translation:
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.623.5546.0
What subscription do you have?
plus
What platform is your computer?
What issue are you seeing?
Codex Desktop appears to enter a crash loop after an automatic update download is interrupted or left in an unstable state.
When Codex Desktop detects a new version, it starts downloading the update automatically. I currently cannot find an option in the app to disable automatic update downloads.
After my work was finished, I shut down my computer while Codex still showed "Downloading" / "Downloading". I do not know whether the update had completed.
The next day, when I opened Codex Desktop again, the app launched for a few seconds and then crashed. Reopening the app repeatedly produced the same result.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
26.623.5546.0.What is the expected behavior?
Codex Desktop should recover safely from an interrupted, incomplete, or unstable update download.
For example, it should either:
The app should not become unusable on startup.
Additional information
Actual behavior
Codex Desktop crashes a few seconds after every startup and cannot be used normally.
Because the old version triggers the automatic update process as soon as it is opened and then crashes, I cannot enter the app to turn off settings or recover it.
Guess
I suspect this issue may be related to an unstable update state, an incomplete update, or an abnormal update process.
The reason is: every time this startup crash issue occurs, as long as I manually install the latest version from
codex-app-mirror, Codex Desktop immediately returns to normal and no longer crashes.Therefore, I suspect the app may be in some inconsistent update/download state at startup, or that the old version crashes while trying to continue the automatic update or apply the update.
Current workaround
My current solution is:
However, this approach depends on the third-party mirror repository publishing the latest version in time, so there is no guarantee it will always be available. For example, today I was unable to use Codex for almost the entire day until a new version appeared in that mirror repository.
Impact
This is a fatal startup issue. After automatic update is interrupted or the update state becomes abnormal, Codex Desktop becomes completely unusable.
The issue also includes:
Environment
Suggestions
I hope Codex Desktop can add:
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