Windows ARM64 desktop app exits immediately after loading main screen
What version of Codex CLI is running?
0.130.0
What subscription do you have?
ChatGPT Prolite
Which model were you using?
gpt-5.6-sol
What platform is your computer?
Windows 11 ARM64 running in Parallels Desktop on macOS
What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?
Windows Terminal with Windows PowerShell (x86)
Codex doctor report
Not available in Codex CLI 0.130.0What issue are you seeing?
The Codex desktop app loads the main screen and shows my conversations, then exits within a few seconds without an error message. Windows Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor do not record an application crash.
I tested app repair, reset, uninstall followed by reboot and reinstall, a fresh config.toml, and launching ChatGPT.exe with --disable-gpu. The behavior remained the same.
I also restored a Time Machine backup of the entire Windows VM from two days earlier, when Codex had worked normally. Offline, the app remains on a white screen. After connecting to the internet, it loads the main screen and then exits. Codex CLI continues to work normally.
Affected desktop package observed:
OpenAI.Codex 26.707.12708.0 ARM64
What steps can reproduce the bug?
Uploaded thread: 019f6a77-d811-7601-afd2-44d7c4cf4381
What is the expected behavior?
The Codex desktop app should remain open and allow me to continue local coding sessions.
Additional information
The issue reproduces even in a restored VM backup that previously worked. The behavior appears to be triggered after the app connects to OpenAI services. Codex CLI works with the same account and local project. Uploaded feedback thread ID: 019f6a77-d811-7601-afd2-44d7c4cf4381
5 Comments
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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Downgrading to earlier version ( OpenAI.Codex_26.707.9564.0_arm64) resolved the issue. It worked flawlessly before, but even after latest vesion update, it immediately closes without any message.
Can you send me a link where to download this version?
Possible workaround (worked for me on ARM64)
I wanted to share what finally resolved this for me in case it helps someone else.
Environment
Surface Pro 11 (Snapdragon X Elite)
Windows 11 Insider Beta 26220.8764 (ARM64)
Microsoft Store version of ChatGPT
Existing Codex installation migrated to ChatGPT
Symptoms
Codex worked previously.
After the migration to ChatGPT, the app would either:
display the "What's New"/onboarding screen for a few seconds and exit, or
exit immediately after launch.
Browser ChatGPT worked normally.
During troubleshooting I also noticed Microsoft Store crashing, although I'm not certain whether that was related.
What finally fixed it
A normal uninstall/reinstall was not enough.
The important difference was completely removing all remaining user data.
I manually deleted every remaining OpenAI/Codex folder I could find, including:
%USERPROFILE%\.codex
%USERPROFILE%\.cache
%USERPROFILE%\.agents
%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI
Any remaining OpenAI/Codex folders under %LOCALAPPDATA%
Any remaining OpenAI package data I could locate
Only after removing all of the above did I reinstall ChatGPT.
The key observation
Every previous reinstall preserved my login and immediately returned to the existing state.
After deleting all remaining folders, ChatGPT behaved like a completely fresh installation:
prompted me to sign in again
displayed the full first-run onboarding
requested Windows integration permissions
completed setup successfully
now launches normally
This makes me suspect that some migration/profile state survives uninstall and can prevent the new ChatGPT desktop app from starting correctly.
I can't say with certainty which folder contained the problematic state, but removing all remaining OpenAI/Codex user data before reinstalling resolved the issue for me.
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/33381
This is the source and the previous version's URL is
https://github.com/Wangnov/codex-app-mirror/releases/tag/codex-app-26.707.71524
Anything, above, including uninstall and deleting all codex related data (I used claude code to reset and analyze everything) and then installing the newest chatgpt app did not help me at all.
Using Win11 ARM native (Snapdragon X) with 16GB of RAM.
Worked flawlessly before, but crashed, could not do anything.
Now I rolled back, and works.