Windows Codex crashes during Work Mode and becomes unrecoverable ("This app can't open")

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

26.721.4979.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

"$([Environment]::OSVersion.VersionString) $($(if ([Environment]::Is64BitOperatingSystem) { "x64" } else { "x86" }))"

What issue are you seeing?

The issue is fully reproducible.

Environment:

• Windows 11 Home 25H2 (Build 26200.8875)
• Codex App 26.721.4979.0 (Microsoft Store)
• ChatGPT Pro

Steps to reproduce:

1. Launch Codex normally.
2. Start a Work Mode research task.
3. The task runs normally for several minutes.
4. Without any warning or error message, Codex suddenly closes.
5. After the crash, the application cannot be opened anymore.

Windows immediately displays:

"This app can't open"

At this point the application is completely unusable.

The only way to open Codex again is to completely uninstall and reinstall the application.

After reinstalling, the same problem happens again when Work Mode is used.

Additional observations:

• Yesterday I used Work Mode continuously for about 6 hours without any problems.
• The issue started recently.
• It is NOT limited to one conversation. Creating a completely new Work Mode research task also reproduces the crash.
• Event Viewer contains no Application Error or Windows Error Reporting entry for the crash.
• Repair, Reset and reinstall do not permanently solve the problem.
• After reinstalling, the app works only until another Work Mode crash occurs.

Expected behavior:
Codex should either continue running or recover normally after a crash.

Actual behavior:
Work Mode crashes, then the application enters an unrecoverable state where Windows only shows "This app can't open" until the app is reinstalled.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Install and launch Codex for Windows from the Microsoft Store.
2. Sign in with a ChatGPT Pro account.
3. Open a new conversation.
4. Start a Work Mode task that performs a long-running blockchain wallet investigation, including:

• researching Solana or EVM wallet activity,
• following related wallets,
• making multiple web/API requests,
• and generating or updating local files.

1. Let Work Mode run for several minutes.
2. Codex suddenly closes without showing any error message.
3. Try to reopen Codex.

Actual result:
Windows immediately shows "This app can't open", and Codex cannot be launched again.

The only temporary recovery is:

1. Uninstall Codex completely.
2. Reinstall it from the Microsoft Store.
3. Launch it again.

After starting another Work Mode research task, the same crash happens again and the app returns to the unrecoverable "This app can't open" state.

This is not tied to one specific conversation. I reproduced it in a completely new chat with a new Solana wallet research task.

No code snippet is required to reproduce the issue because the crash occurs inside the Codex Windows app during normal Work Mode usage.

Example prompt that triggered it:

"Investigate these Solana wallets, find connected wallets and wallets they trade from, follow fund flows, and identify any bridges to Ethereum."

The crash also occurred with a similar EVM wallet research task.

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_