Codex Desktop crashes or becomes unstable when the in-app browser is initialized - native serialport.node failure

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

OpenAI.Codex_26.707.12708.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

What subscription do you have?

PRO

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro, version 10.0.26200, build 26200, 64-bit

What issue are you seeing?

Subject: Codex Desktop crashes or becomes unstable when the in-app browser is initialized - native serialport.node failure

Hello OpenAI Support,

Codex Desktop on Windows becomes unstable and can close when the in-app browser / Browser Use surface is initialized. I avoided further reproduction after collecting the existing logs and Windows crash dumps.

Environment

• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro, version 10.0.26200, build 26200, 64-bit
• Current Codex package: OpenAI.Codex_26.707.12708.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• ChatGPT.exe / Chromium file version: 150.0.7871.115
• The same failure also occurred with package 26.707.9981.0 before the update.

Observed native failure

• Windows exception code: 0xc06d007f
• Win32 last error: 127 / ERROR_PROC_NOT_FOUND
• Failing native addon: @worklouder/device-kit-oai -> @serialport/bindings-cpp -> serialport.node
• Delay-loaded library name: node.exe
• Missing procedure: napi_module_register
• Application log message: "A dynamic link library (DLL) initialization routine failed."
• The failure is logged as an unhandled rejection from the Electron message/RPC path.

The minidump's DelayLoadInfo points to serialport.node and shows that it attempts to resolve napi_module_register from node.exe, but the export is unavailable in the current Electron host. This looks like a native addon packaging, rebuild, or host ABI compatibility issue. Five self-consistent dumps were already produced on package 26.707.9981.0, so the later side-by-side package update may amplify the behavior but is not the original cause.

The in-app browser lifecycle itself reaches startup-ready and webview attachment. I found no IAB-specific failure, WebView2 application error, GPU-process crash, did-fail-load, or browser webview crash in the correlated evidence. Therefore the browser action appears to be a trigger for application/service activity, while the native Work Louder serial-port addon is the failing component.

No present Work Louder / VID_303A device was detected on this computer, so the optional hardware integration is loading even without a matching device attached.

Requested investigation

1. Verify that serialport.node is rebuilt for the Electron/Node/N-API ABI used by this Codex build.
2. Verify the Windows delay-load hook and availability of napi_module_register in the intended host.
3. Guard the optional Work Louder service import so failure to load serialport.node cannot destabilize the main Codex process.
4. Consider avoiding the serial-port binding entirely until a matching device or DFU workflow actually requires it.
5. Check behavior on Windows build 26200; the package manifest reports MaxVersionTested 10.0.26100. This may be relevant environmental context, although it does not by itself explain the missing native export.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Opening internat browser in Codex and accesing any website.

What is the expected behavior?

Crash and close.

Additional information

I previously submitted this report through the Codex in-app feedback flow, but I no longer have the feedback reference number.