Codex Desktop freezes when using Browser plug-in / in-app browser; repeated app-server handshake timeout loops

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

Codex Desktop 26.623.70822 observed in current Chrome/Computer Use plugin/runtime context; About Codex dialog value not independently verified in this run.

What subscription do you have?

Unknown from local diagnostics; user is a heavy Codex Desktop power user. Please treat subscription value as not verified from this bug report.

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

I am a heavy Codex Desktop user on macOS using local repositories, Chrome, Browser/in-app browser, Computer Use, skills, MCP tools, and long-running project threads. The Browser plug-in / in-app browser repeatedly freezes Codex instead of failing gracefully. The user reports this has happened at least 8 times.

Current behavior:

• Codex attempts to use Browser / in-app browser.
• The app freezes or becomes unable to accept input.
• Recovery requires force quitting Codex and restarting.
• Local logs show repeated app-server initialize handshake timeout loops in recent sessions.

Local evidence observed on this machine:

• /Users/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex/2026/06/29/codex-desktop-8224ff2b-3d87-4828-91be-9bfea8758b58-657-t0-i1-013931-0.log: 12,510 occurrences of Codex app-server initialize handshake timed out.
• /Users/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex/2026/06/28/codex-desktop-7122a343-d39a-4031-9d27-69e4012ff09a-45701-t0-i1-000342-0.log: 12,425 occurrences.
• /Users/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex/2026/06/27/codex-desktop-326f7189-ddb3-470e-97b8-4eeac7a1e69c-74013-t0-i1-013204-0.log: 11,684 occurrences.

I do not have one clean stack trace that explicitly says "Browser plug-in caused freeze." The user-visible symptom is reproducible; the local evidence shows repeated app-server handshake/reconnect storms around recent Codex sessions.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Start a Codex Desktop task on macOS.
2. Ask Codex to use the Browser plug-in / in-app browser for local UI validation, public-site review, documentation browsing, or skills-directory inspection.
3. Codex attempts to open or control Browser.
4. Codex Desktop freezes or becomes unable to accept input.
5. Force quit Codex and restart to recover.
6. Repeat: user reports this has happened at least 8 times.

Concrete workflows where Browser/in-app browser is part of the user's normal Codex usage include local UI verification, public-site review, SharePoint/dashboard validation, Obsidian download/setup guidance, and agent skills directory review.

What is the expected behavior?

Browser failures should fail closed without taking down the main Codex app.

Expected behavior:

• Browser launch/control should time out cleanly.
• The composer and current thread should remain usable.
• App-server reconnect loops should have bounded retries and a visible diagnostic state.
• The app should provide recovery actions such as "detach Browser," "retry Browser," "switch to Chrome," or "export diagnostics."
• Browser tasks should never put the entire Codex app into a total input lock-out.

Additional information

Related public issues already visible in openai/codex on 2026-06-29:

• #30602 - Codex Desktop on macOS becomes completely unable to accept input; only Force Quit restores it.
• #30605 - In-app browser screenshot capture times out when Codex app is minimized.
• #30608 - macOS Computer Use damaged and verification hangs after 26.623.70822 update.
• #30623 - Remote Control-created target thread hits Chrome Browser Use enterprise-policy block while target-local thread passes.
• #30562 - Browser/Chrome plugins installed and runtime present, but node_repl js tool is not exposed.
• #30558 - Codex App crashes/hangs when opening local HTML with the built-in browser on Windows.
• #30542 - Codex Desktop freezes while running new-worktree environment setup command.

Suggested labels: bug, app, browser, performance, app-server, macOS.

This report was prepared from a local review and has not attached raw logs to avoid over-sharing local data. I can provide a redacted diagnostic bundle if that would help.