Desktop app crashes with "Codex app-server websocket closed (code=3221225501)" while CLI works normally on Windows 11 25H2

Open 💬 5 comments Opened Jul 2, 2026 by pooopi1943

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

Codex App version: 26.623.70822

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Home 25H2 (Build 26200.8655) Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX x64

What issue are you seeing?

Summary

The Codex Desktop application consistently crashes immediately after startup with:

[```](url)
Codex app-server websocket closed (code=3221225501)


The issue is **100% reproducible**.

Interestingly, the bundled **Codex CLI works normally** on the same machine, so the problem appears to be isolated to the Desktop application (or its internal app-server).

---

## Environment

| Item | Value |
|------|------|
| Codex Desktop | 26.623.70822 |
| OS | Windows 11 Home 25H2 |
| Build | 26200.8655 |
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX |
| WSL | Ubuntu (WSL2, stopped) |
| VPN | Astrill installed (OpenWeb) |

---

## Expected behavior

Desktop launches normally and allows ChatGPT sign-in.

---

## Actual behavior

Immediately after launching Desktop:

Codex app-server websocket closed
(code=3221225501)


Desktop cannot be used.

---

## Reproduction

1. Launch Codex Desktop.
2. Desktop immediately displays:

Codex app-server websocket closed
(code=3221225501)


This happens every time.

---

## What works

The bundled CLI works correctly.

Running:

```powershell
C:\Users\ALIENWARE\AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\bin\<version>\codex.exe

opens the normal login screen:

Welcome to Codex
Sign in with ChatGPT

The bundled Node runtime also works:

node.exe --version

returns

v24.14.0

---

Troubleshooting already performed

I spent several hours troubleshooting before opening this issue.

Confirmed:

Rebooted Windows
Completely exited Astrill (not only disconnected)
Rebooted without Astrill running
Verified config.toml (default configuration)
Verified WSL (Ubuntu WSL2 installed but stopped)
Deleted all local Codex SQLite databases

Removed:

state_5.sqlite
logs_2.sqlite
goals_1.sqlite
memories_1.sqlite
all corresponding -wal and -shm files

Desktop recreated the database but the crash still occurs.

Also verified:

Bundled Node runtime works
Bundled CLI works
No configuration corruption found

---

Event Viewer

No corresponding crash entry appears under:

Application Error
Windows Error Reporting

No CrashDump is generated.

---

Additional observations

The Desktop error specifically reports:

Codex app-server websocket closed

This suggests that the Desktop process starts but its internal app-server exits unexpectedly before a normal crash report is generated.

Since:

CLI works
bundled Node works
configuration is valid
deleting the local databases has no effect

the issue appears to be isolated to the Desktop application's app-server rather than authentication, networking, or the runtime.

---

Related issue

This may be related to:

#23672

However, in my case the CLI works perfectly while only the Desktop application fails.

---

Attachments

Attached:

Screenshot of the Desktop error
Screenshot showing the CLI launching successfully

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Steps to reproduce

Install and launch Codex Desktop on Windows 11 25H2.
Sign in with ChatGPT / or start the app normally.
The Desktop app immediately shows:

```text
Codex app-server websocket closed
(code=3221225501)

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

If the development team needs any additional logs, environment information, or testing on this machine, I'm happy to provide them.

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