[Windows] In-app Browser steals foreground focus when agent opens a new browser window
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.707.9981.0
What subscription do you have?
ChatGPT account; exact plan not relevant to the behavior.
What platform is your computer?
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro, version 10.0.26200, 64-bit.
What issue are you seeing?
When an agent invokes Codex's own in-app Browser and creates a new browser window, pane, or tab, the Codex desktop app forces itself into the foreground and steals OS focus from whichever application the user is actively using.
A common example is working interactively in Chrome while a Codex task continues in the background. As soon as that task initiates the in-app Browser, the Codex window pops in front of Chrome and interrupts the user's active work.
This report is specifically about Codex's built-in/in-app Browser. It is not about the Chrome extension, and it is not about Windows Computer Use taking over the pointer or keyboard.
The behavior has been observed repeatedly when a new in-app browser surface is initiated.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Start a task in Codex Desktop on Windows that will use the built-in Browser.
- Switch to Chrome or another application and continue working there while the Codex task runs.
- Let the Codex agent invoke the in-app Browser and create/open its browser surface.
- Observe that Codex brings its main window to the foreground, taking focus away from the active application.
What is the expected behavior?
Agent-initiated in-app Browser creation should happen without activating or foregrounding the Codex desktop window.
Codex should preserve the user's currently focused application. It should bring itself to the foreground only when the user explicitly initiates that action, such as manually opening Codex or manually opening the browser view.
Additional information
This makes background Codex tasks disruptive because the focus change can interrupt typing, clicking, and other work in the active application.
A user-facing workaround should not be required. The browser window/view should be created or shown without activating the Codex top-level window, preserving the current Windows foreground window unless the user initiated the navigation.