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Codex Issues / #34372

Codex Chrome plugin bootstrap fails: Cannot redefine property: process

Resolved 💬 6 comments Opened Jul 20, 2026 by garlos Closed Aug 6, 2026
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

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

ChatGPT/Codex app 26.715.52143 ; Chrome extension: 1.2.27221.15725_0 Bundled Chrome plugin/browser-client: 26.707.41301 Chrome: 150.0.7871.129

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 24.6.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Feedback ID: 019f4257-c746-74e2-b013-7cc4000632a3

After the 2026-07-20 update, Codex still cannot connect to the Chrome plugin.

Environment:

  • ChatGPT/Codex app: 26.715.52143
  • ChatGPT Chrome Extension: 1.2.27221.15725_0
  • Local bundled Chrome plugin: 26.707.41301
  • Chrome is running
  • Extension installed/enabled in Default profile
  • Native host manifest is correct

Failure:
setupBrowserRuntime({ globals: globalThis }) fails before agent is created:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process

Observed:

  • hasAgent: false
  • hasBrowsers: false
  • agent.browsers.get("extension") is never reached

Impact:
This blocks Codex from attaching to Chrome for local app debugging/testing.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: 019f4257-c746-74e2-b013-7cc4000632a3

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_

View original on GitHub ↗

6 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 1 month ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • ##33290
  • ##33408

Powered by Codex Action

garlos · 1 month ago

Thanks. I reviewed the suggested duplicates.

This may share the same browser-client bootstrap root cause as #33290, but I don’t think this should be closed as a duplicate yet because this is a macOS/Darwin repro, not Windows.

Key difference from #33408:

  • My Chrome extension is installed/enabled.
  • Chrome shows Connected in Settings > Computer use > Google Chrome.
  • Native host manifest is correct.
  • The failure still occurs before agent is created.

After support asked me to delete:
~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/

Codex repopulated the same bundle:
26.707.41301

The failure remains:

TypeError: Cannot redefine property: process
at /Users/glosito/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/26.707.41301/scripts/browser-client.mjs:33:22

Observed:

  • hasAgent: false
  • hasBrowsers: false

Feedback ID:
019f4257-c746-74e2-b013-7cc4000632a3

Support has also escalated this to a specialist.

BrianCroninCD · 1 month ago

I have the same issue. I submitted a /feedback using Codex: 019f8140-b259-7452-ac93-02f0144bd8e0

Tqsh · 1 month ago

This looks very similar to the stale managed bundled-marketplace problem tracked in #33738 (Windows/Browser) and #33248 (macOS Chrome/Computer Use).

The important clue is that deleting only:

~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/

causes Codex to recreate the same old 26.707.41301 version. That suggests the cache is only a symptom: Codex may be reinstalling Chrome from a stale managed marketplace snapshot under:

~/.codex/.tmp/bundled-marketplaces/openai-bundled

In our reproduction, the current app already contained a newer fixed plugin, but the managed marketplace and cache both remained old. Replacing the stale marketplace copy with the current app-bundled copy, then reinstalling the plugin, restored browser automation.

Temporary workaround

This is a manual workaround, not an official fix. Back up ~/.codex first, and only continue if the plugin manifest inside the currently running app is newer than the managed-marketplace manifest.

  1. Fully quit ChatGPT/Codex Desktop and Google Chrome.
  2. Compare the version fields in these manifests:

``text
/Applications/ChatGPT.app/Contents/Resources/plugins/openai-bundled/plugins/chrome/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
~/.codex/.tmp/bundled-marketplaces/openai-bundled/plugins/chrome/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/26.707.41301/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
``

If the running application is installed as Codex.app or in another location, use that app bundle instead. Make sure you inspect the app that is actually running.

  1. If the app-bundled Chrome manifest is newer, uninstall the Chrome plugin from Codex Settings.
  2. Replace only this stale managed-marketplace plugin directory:

``text
~/.codex/.tmp/bundled-marketplaces/openai-bundled/plugins/chrome
``

with the unmodified chrome directory from the current application bundle.

  1. Relaunch Codex and reinstall Chrome from Settings.
  2. Confirm that the newly created cache directory version now matches the app-bundled manifest, rather than 26.707.41301.
  3. Open Settings → Computer Use → Google Chrome and run Connect again so the native-host registration points to the current plugin helper.
  4. Start a fresh Codex task and test Chrome attachment again.

Do not modify the plugin files themselves or copy an older package over a newer one. If the app-bundled manifest is not newer, this workaround does not apply.

This worked for the same version-selection failure in #33738: deleting/reinstalling the cache alone kept selecting the stale marketplace version, while correcting the managed marketplace source first allowed Codex to install and run the fixed plugin.

Ideally Codex should compare the app-bundled manifest against the managed marketplace on startup and refresh the managed snapshot automatically before reinstalling any bundled plugin.

BrianCroninCD · 1 month ago

FWIW, I followed Tqsh's advice and now have it working. I hope the Codex team will solve the underlying issue though.

garlos · 1 month ago

Update: Tqsh’s diagnosis appears to match my environment.

I checked the three manifests:

/Applications/ChatGPT.app/Contents/Resources/plugins/openai-bundled/plugins/chrome/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
version: 26.715.72359

~/.codex/.tmp/bundled-marketplaces/openai-bundled/plugins/chrome/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
version: 26.707.41301

~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/26.707.41301/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
version: 26.707.41301

So the current ChatGPT.app bundle contains a newer Chrome plugin, but the managed bundled-marketplace snapshot is stale and keeps reinstalling the older 26.707.41301 plugin into the cache.

That explains why deleting ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/chrome/ alone did not fix it: Codex recreated the same stale 26.707.41301 cache.

I went ahead and tested it, Tqsh’s workaround appears to have fixed this on my macOS environment.

After replacing the stale managed marketplace Chrome plugin copy with the current app-bundled plugin, the versions now match:

App-bundled Chrome plugin: 26.715.72359
Managed marketplace Chrome plugin: 26.715.72359
Installed cache: 26.715.72359 / latest

Chrome-side checks still pass:

  • Chrome running
  • Extension installed/enabled in Default profile
  • Native host manifest correct

Retest result:
agent.browsers.list() now includes Chrome with type "extension", and Codex successfully opened https://example.com/ through the Chrome plugin.

The stale managed marketplace snapshot was the issue in my case. Deleting only the plugin cache was not enough because Codex kept recreating the old 26.707.41301 plugin.