ChatGPT Chrome extension had a nodePath bug and cannot be opened

also have this bug

<img width="479" height="908" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/decdda1a-4f76-408e-a8f5-d78482929700" />

Hi there! I have managed to solve this problem somehow. I deleted the .codex folder and Codex folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% and then reinstalled the GPT Chrome extension and restarted it, then the whole thing was fixed. Oh yes, also change your system variable "Path" to the one end with node.js.

Hi there! I have managed to solve this problem somehow. I deleted the .codex folder and Codex folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% and then reinstalled the GPT Chrome extension and restarted it, then the whole thing was fixed. Oh yes, also change your system variable "Path" to the one end with node.js.

Could you please explain step by step, to solve this for beginners?

I’m experiencing the same issue on Windows. The Chrome extension works only while the ChatGPT desktop app is running. Once I launch the app, the extension starts working normally.

> Hi there! I have managed to solve this problem somehow. I deleted the .codex folder and Codex folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% and then reinstalled the GPT Chrome extension and restarted it, then the whole thing was fixed. Oh yes, also change your system variable "Path" to the one end with node.js. Could you please explain step by step, to solve this for beginners?

Firstly open your settings, find system variables, change "Path" from that default one to the node.js one. Then, use Win + R and type %LOCALAPPDATA% to open your Appdata folder in Admin, find Codex folder and get rid of it. After that, get into Admin folder, delete that .codex folder. Remove the old extension and reinstall it. Bingo.

Chrome extension is completely unusable for me. This error keeps happening

I have this issue also

Same here

I ran into this Windows Codex/Chrome error:

"Unable to start ChatGPT"
"Codex app-server manifest entry is missing required path nodePath"

In my case, "nodePath" was actually present in:

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\chrome-native-hosts-v2.json"

The real problem was that the manifest contained stale paths from an older Codex installation after an update.

What I checked in Powershell window:

Test-Path "<nodePath-from-chrome-native-hosts-v2.json>"
Test-Path "<resourcesPath-from-chrome-native-hosts-v2.json>"

Both returned "False".

Then I checked the currently installed Codex version:

Get-AppxPackage -Name "Codex" |
Select-Object Name, Version, InstallLocation

And I checked which Codex Node runtimes still had a valid "node.exe":

Get-ChildItem "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\OpenAI\Codex\runtimes\cua_node" -Directory |
ForEach-Object {
$node = Join-Path $_.FullName "bin\node.exe"

[PSCustomObject]@{
Runtime = $_.Name
NodeExists = Test-Path $node
NodePath = $node
}
}

The manifest was pointing to an old runtime where "node.exe" no longer existed, and "resourcesPath" was pointing to an older Codex AppX version that had already been removed.

Fix that worked for me:

1. Back up:

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\chrome-native-hosts-v2.json"

1. Update these entries to the current valid paths:

• "nodePath"
• "nodeModuleDirs"
• "resourcesPath"

1. Fully close Codex and Chrome.

1. Restart Codex first, then Chrome.

After updating the stale paths, the Chrome integration started working again.

So if you see the “missing required path nodePath” error, don’t assume the field is literally missing. Check whether the path exists and whether the manifest still points to an older Codex version/runtime.

This looks like a stale native-host manifest left behind after an update, at least in my case.

The latest report here strongly matches one of the local Windows state failures that WinBridge Recovery is intended to diagnose: a stale chrome-native-hosts-v2.json entry whose nodePath / nodeModuleDirs / resourcesPath still point at a removed Codex runtime or older AppX package after an update.

I maintain WinBridge Recovery: https://github.com/zemeng5208/winbridge-recovery

For this specific error, the useful local checks are not just whether the nodePath field exists, but whether the paths recorded in the v2 native-host state actually resolve to the currently installed Codex package/runtime. WinBridge can help inspect/recover the local Chrome Native Host layer (v2 state, manifest/registration consistency, current runtime/resource paths, and related bundled cache/version drift) without modifying the protected WindowsApps source package.

A practical distinction for this issue is:

• If chrome-native-hosts-v2.json contains paths to an AppX/runtime that no longer exists, that is a local stale-state case and is within WinBridge's repair/diagnostic scope.
• If the v2 entry is current, all referenced files exist, the native-host manifest/registry state is valid, and the extension still rejects nodePath, then the remaining failure is likely in the current Codex/native-host handshake or manifest-generation logic upstream. WinBridge cannot guarantee a fix for that case.

So I would recommend checking path existence and version alignment before deleting the entire .codex / %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex state, since a full reset is much more destructive than repairing the stale native-host entry itself.