Windows Desktop UI freezes after typing a prompt (Application Hang: Top level window is idle / Quiesce)

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

26.623.19656.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Summary

The Codex Desktop application consistently freezes after I start typing or editing a prompt.

The backend process continues running and consuming CPU, but the UI becomes completely unresponsive and never recovers.

Developer Tools (Ctrl+Shift+I) also cannot be opened after the freeze.

Windows itself remains responsive (Explorer, taskbar and Alt+Tab continue working normally).

Steps to reproduce

1. Launch Codex Desktop.
2. Open or create a conversation.
3. Start typing a prompt.
4. After a short time, the UI freezes completely.

Expected behavior

The application should remain responsive while editing prompts.

Actual behavior

• Entire Codex window freezes.
• UI stops responding.
• Backend process is still alive.
• CPU usage continues.
• Developer Tools cannot be opened.
• Force-killing Codex is required.

Troubleshooting already performed

• Reinstalled Codex.
• Deleted auth.json.
• Deleted the entire package directory under:

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0

• Codex recreated a fresh package directory.
• Issue still occurs.
• Backend logs show successful initialization.
• No backend crash appears in the logs.

Windows Event Viewer

Windows reports Event ID 1002 (Application Hang).

Example 1

Application:
Codex.exe

Version:
149.0.7827.197

HangType:
Top level window is idle

Example 2

Application:
Codex.exe

Version:
149.0.7827.197

HangType:
Quiesce

No Application Error events are generated.

Only Application Hang.

Additional information

• Installed from the official OpenAI website.
• Docker Desktop installed.
• WSL2 installed.
• Backend detects Ubuntu and docker-desktop correctly.
• Backend continues running while UI is frozen.
• Windows remains responsive.
• This does not appear to match issues #31236 or #31444 because Explorer, taskbar and Alt+Tab do not freeze.

If needed, I can provide application logs and additional diagnostics.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Launch Codex Desktop.

1. Open an existing conversation or create a new one.

1. Start typing or editing a prompt.

1. After a short time, the entire Codex UI freezes.

1. The window becomes unresponsive.

1. Backend processes remain alive and continue consuming CPU.

1. Developer Tools (Ctrl+Shift+I) cannot be opened after the freeze.

Additional observations:

• Reinstalled Codex.
• Deleted auth.json.
• Deleted the entire package directory under:

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0

• Codex recreated a fresh package directory.
• The issue still occurs.
• Backend logs show successful initialization.
• Windows Event Viewer reports Event ID 1002 (Application Hang).
• HangType observed:
• Top level window is idle
• Quiesce

What is the expected behavior?

The Codex Desktop application should remain responsive while typing or editing prompts.

The UI should continue accepting input, Developer Tools should remain accessible, and the application should not require force-closing.

Windows itself remains responsive during the issue, so only the Codex renderer appears to hang.

Additional information

_No response_