Codex CLI incorrectly reports bubblewrap missing even when it is installed and available on PATH
Open 💬 1 comment Opened Jul 22, 2026 by wolfalphacloud
What version of Codex CLI is running?
0.145.0
What subscription do you have?
ChatGPT Plus
Which model were you using?
gpt-5.5
What platform is your computer?
Linux 6.12.95+deb13-amd64 x86_64
What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?
OpenSSH session from Windows Terminal to a Debian 13 server (bash). No tmux, screen or zellij.
Codex doctor report
2026-07-22 11:12 alpha@alpha-m5:/srv$ codex doctor --json
{
"schemaVersion": 1,
"generatedAt": "1784715232s since unix epoch",
"overallStatus": "ok",
"codexVersion": "0.145.0",
"checks": {
"app_server.status": {
"id": "app_server.status",
"category": "app-server",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "background server is running",
"details": {
"app-server version": "0.144.6",
"control socket": "/home/alpha/.codex/app-server-control/app-server-control.sock",
"daemon state dir": "/home/alpha/.codex/app-server-daemon",
"mode": "ephemeral",
"pid file": "/home/alpha/.codex/app-server-daemon/app-server.pid (missing)",
"settings": "/home/alpha/.codex/app-server-daemon/settings.json (missing)",
"status": "running",
"update-loop pid file": "/home/alpha/.codex/app-server-daemon/app-server-updater.pid (missing)"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 49
},
"auth.credentials": {
"id": "auth.credentials",
"category": "auth",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "auth is configured",
"details": {
"auth file": "/home/alpha/.codex/auth.json",
"auth storage mode": "File",
"stored API key": "false",
"stored ChatGPT tokens": "true",
"stored agent identity": "false",
"stored auth mode": "chatgpt"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"config.load": {
"id": "config.load",
"category": "config",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "config loaded",
"details": {
"CODEX_HOME": "/home/alpha/.codex",
"config.toml": "/home/alpha/.codex/config.toml",
"config.toml parse": "ok",
"cwd": "/srv",
"enabled feature flags": "shell_tool, unified_exec, shell_snapshot, code_mode_host, terminal_resize_reflow, sqlite, hooks, enable_request_compression, multi_agent, apps, tool_search_always_defer_mcp_tools, tool_suggest, plugins, in_app_browser, browser_use, browser_use_full_cdp_access, browser_use_external, computer_use, remote_plugin, plugin_sharing, image_generation, resize_all_images, skill_mcp_dependency_install, skill_search, mentions_v2, steer, guardian_approval, goals, collaboration_modes, tool_call_mcp_elicitation, auth_elicitation, personality, fast_mode, tui_app_server, remote_compaction_v2, workspace_dependencies",
"feature flag overrides": "none",
"feature flags enabled": "36",
"log dir": "/home/alpha/.codex/log",
"mcp servers": "0",
"model": "gpt-5.5",
"model provider": "openai",
"sqlite home": "/home/alpha/.codex"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"git.environment": {
"id": "git.environment",
"category": "git",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "git version 2.47.3",
"details": {
"PATH git #1": "/usr/bin/git",
"PATH git #2": "/bin/git",
"PATH git entries": "2",
"git build options": "git version 2.47.3; cpu: x86_64; no commit associated with this build; sizeof-long: 8; sizeof-size_t: 8; shell-path: /bin/sh; libcurl: 8.14.1; zlib: 1.3.1",
"git exec path": "/usr/lib/git-core",
"git version": "git version 2.47.3",
"repo detected": "false",
"selected git": "/usr/bin/git"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 35
},
"installation": {
"id": "installation",
"category": "install",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "installation looks consistent",
"details": {
"PATH codex #1": "/usr/local/bin/codex",
"current executable": "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/bin/codex",
"install context": "npm (package /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl, bin /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/bin, resources /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/codex-resources, path /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/codex-path)",
"managed by bun": "false",
"managed by npm": "true",
"managed by pnpm": "false",
"managed package root": "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex",
"npm update target": "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 308
},
"mcp.config": {
"id": "mcp.config",
"category": "mcp",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "no MCP servers configured",
"details": {},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"network.env": {
"id": "network.env",
"category": "network",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "network-related environment looks readable",
"details": {
"proxy env vars": "none"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"network.provider_reachability": {
"id": "network.provider_reachability",
"category": "reachability",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "active provider endpoints are reachable over HTTP",
"details": {
"ChatGPT base URL": "https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/ reachable (HTTP 404)",
"reachability mode": "ChatGPT auth"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 134
},
"network.websocket_reachability": {
"id": "network.websocket_reachability",
"category": "websocket",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "Responses WebSocket handshake succeeded",
"details": {
"DNS": "2 IPv4, 2 IPv6, first IPv4",
"auth mode": "chatgpt",
"connect timeout": "15000 ms",
"endpoint": "wss://chatgpt.com/backend-api/<redacted>",
"handshake result": "HTTP 101 Switching Protocols",
"model provider": "openai",
"models etag present": "true",
"provider name": "OpenAI",
"proxy env vars": "none",
"reasoning header": "false",
"server model present": "false",
"supports websockets": "true",
"wire API": "responses"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 1787
},
"runtime.provenance": {
"id": "runtime.provenance",
"category": "runtime",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "running npm on linux-x86_64",
"details": {
"commit": "unknown",
"current executable": "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/bin/codex",
"install method": "npm (package /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl, bin /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/bin, resources /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/codex-resources, path /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/codex-path)",
"platform": "linux-x86_64",
"version": "0.145.0"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"runtime.search": {
"id": "runtime.search",
"category": "search",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "search is OK (bundled)",
"details": {
"search command": "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex/node_modules/@openai/codex-linux-x64/vendor/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/codex-path/rg",
"search command readiness": "file exists",
"search provider": "bundled"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"sandbox.helpers": {
"id": "sandbox.helpers",
"category": "sandbox",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "sandbox configuration is readable",
"details": {
"approval policy": "OnRequest",
"codex-linux-sandbox helper": "/home/alpha/.codex/tmp/arg0/codex-arg0TaLHks/codex-linux-sandbox",
"execve wrapper helper": "/home/alpha/.codex/tmp/arg0/codex-arg0TaLHks/codex-execve-wrapper",
"filesystem sandbox": "restricted",
"network sandbox": "restricted"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"state.paths": {
"id": "state.paths",
"category": "state",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "state paths and databases are inspectable",
"details": {
"CODEX_HOME": "/home/alpha/.codex (dir)",
"active rollout files": "10 files, 12690906 total bytes, 1269090 average bytes",
"archived rollout files": "0 files, 0 total bytes, 0 average bytes",
"goals DB": "/home/alpha/.codex/goals_1.sqlite (file)",
"goals DB integrity": "ok",
"log DB": "/home/alpha/.codex/logs_2.sqlite (file)",
"log DB integrity": "ok",
"log dir": "/home/alpha/.codex/log (dir)",
"memories DB": "/home/alpha/.codex/memories_1.sqlite (file)",
"memories DB integrity": "ok",
"sqlite home": "/home/alpha/.codex (dir)",
"state DB": "/home/alpha/.codex/state_5.sqlite (file)",
"state DB integrity": "ok",
"thread history DB": "/home/alpha/.codex/thread_history_1.sqlite (missing)",
"thread history DB integrity": "skipped (missing)"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 70
},
"state.rollout_db_parity": {
"id": "state.rollout_db_parity",
"category": "threads",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "rollout files and state DB thread inventory agree",
"details": {
"default model provider": "openai",
"rollout DB active files": "10",
"rollout DB active rows": "10",
"rollout DB archive mismatches": "0",
"rollout DB archived files": "0",
"rollout DB archived rows": "0",
"rollout DB duplicate DB paths": "0",
"rollout DB duplicate rollout thread ids": "0",
"rollout DB malformed file names": "0",
"rollout DB missing active rows": "0",
"rollout DB missing archived rows": "0",
"rollout DB model providers": "openai=10",
"rollout DB rows": "10",
"rollout DB scan cap reached": "false",
"rollout DB scan errors": "0",
"rollout DB sources": "vscode=10",
"rollout DB stale rows": "0"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 40
},
"system.environment": {
"id": "system.environment",
"category": "system",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "OS language en-GB",
"details": {
"EDITOR": "not set",
"LANG": "en_GB.UTF-8",
"VISUAL": "not set",
"os": "Debian 13.0.0 (trixie) [64-bit]",
"os language": "en-GB",
"os type": "Debian",
"os version": "13.0.0"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 7
},
"terminal.env": {
"id": "terminal.env",
"category": "terminal",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "terminal metadata was detected",
"details": {
"SSH_CLIENT": "present",
"SSH_CONNECTION": "present",
"SSH_TTY": "present",
"TERM": "xterm-256color",
"color output": "enabled",
"effective locale": "en_GB.UTF-8",
"stderr is terminal": "true",
"stdin is terminal": "true",
"stdout is terminal": "true",
"terminal": "unknown",
"terminal size": "120x30"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"terminal.title": {
"id": "terminal.title",
"category": "title",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "terminal title default",
"details": {
"terminal title activity": "true",
"terminal title items": "activity, project-name",
"terminal title project source": "cwd",
"terminal title project value": "srv",
"terminal title source": "default"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 0
},
"updates.status": {
"id": "updates.status",
"category": "updates",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "update configuration is locally consistent",
"details": {
"cached latest version": "0.145.0",
"check for update on startup": "true",
"last checked at": "2026-07-21T22:31:00.454690043Z",
"latest version": "0.145.0",
"latest version status": "current version is not older",
"npm update target": "/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@openai/codex",
"update action": "npm install -g @openai/codex",
"version cache": "/home/alpha/.codex/version.json"
},
"remediation": null,
"durationMs": 620
}
}
}
2026-07-22 11:13 alpha@alpha-m5:/srv$What issue are you seeing?
Every time Codex CLI starts it prints the following warning:
⚠ Codex could not find bubblewrap on PATH.
Install bubblewrap with your OS package manager.
Codex will use the bundled bubblewrap in the meantime.However, bubblewrap is already installed and available:
which bwrapreturns
/usr/bin/bwrapand
bwrap --versionreturns
bubblewrap 0.11.0The PATH contains /usr/bin:
/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/gamesI also ran:
codex doctor --jsonThe report completed successfully:
- overallStatus: ok
- 18 checks
- 0 warnings
- 0 failures
The warning appears every time Codex starts, regardless of the working directory.
Although Codex continues to function normally using the bundled sandbox, the warning appears to be incorrect because bubblewrap is installed, available on PATH, and no related problems are reported by codex doctor.
Possibly related to #30691 and #25404.
However, this report was reproduced on Debian 13 using Codex CLI 0.145.0 with a successful codex doctor --json report and bubblewrap correctly installed on PATH.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Install bubblewrap using the Debian package:
sudo apt install bubblewrap- Verify that it is available:
which bwrap
bwrap --version- Start Codex:
codexor
codex -m gpt-5.5Observed result:
Codex always prints:
Codex could not find bubblewrap on PATH.even though bubblewrap is installed and available.
What is the expected behavior?
Codex should detect the system-installed bubblewrap and avoid displaying the warning.
If Codex intentionally chooses to use the bundled version, the warning should not state that bubblewrap could not be found on PATH when it is actually installed.
Additional information
Additional observations:
- Debian 13 (Trixie)
- Linux 6.12.95+deb13-amd64 x86_64
- bubblewrap 0.11.0
- Codex CLI 0.145.0 (installed globally via npm)
codex doctor --jsonreports:- overallStatus: ok
- no failed checks
- no warnings
- The sandbox helper is also reported as correctly configured.
The warning is reproducible from multiple working directories:
/tmp~/codex-test/srv/srv/alpha-lab/alpha-core-agent
This report only concerns the incorrect bubblewrap detection message.
During a previous audit I also observed a one-time sandbox failure, but I have not yet been able to reproduce it consistently, so I am intentionally not reporting it as part of this issue.
1 Comment
I traced the warning path on current
main, and there is a testable explanation that also fits the older reports.The TUI can automatically connect to an existing app-server daemon when its default socket is present (source). The app-server independently evaluates
system_bwrap_warning()(source), sends the result as aConfigWarningduring initialization (source), and the TUI renders that notification as a warning (source).That means the visible warning may describe the persistent daemon's environment rather than the shell environment of the newly launched CLI. The doctor output here is especially suggestive:
0.145.00.144.6The same mismatch appears in #30691 (CLI
0.142.4, app-server0.142.2). It would also explain the apparently contradictory strace in #25404: one Codex process finds and executes/usr/bin/bwrap, while an already-running daemon can still forward a cached startup warning from a differentPATH.Could you run this diagnostic and report whether the warning disappears?
The exact “could not find bubblewrap on PATH” text is only selected when the lookup returns
None; a found binary whose namespace probe fails produces a different warning (source). So if stopping the daemon removes the warning, the likely fix area is daemon restart/environment freshness or deduplicating the remote startup warning against the TUI’s local probe—not the existing multi-entryPATHlookup.