codex mcp-server on Windows rejects in-workspace apply_patch under :workspace as outside the project

What version of Codex CLI is running?

`codex-cli 0.145.0`

What subscription do you have?

Plus

Which model were you using?

gpt-5.6-luna, gpt-5.6-terra, gpt-5.6-sol

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

Windows Terminal

Codex doctor report

<details>
<summary>Codex doctor report json</summary>

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  }

</details>

What issue are you seeing?

On native Windows, codex mcp-server rejects file writes inside the active workspace even when the built-in :workspace permission profile explicitly grants write access to that directory.

The issue reproduces with the npm-installed codex.cmd mcp-server directly. No wrapper script, sandbox-helper override, or environment-variable modification is used.

The MCP call uses:

{
  "cwd": "D:\\codex-test",
  "approval-policy": "never",
  "config": {
    "default_permissions": ":workspace",
    "model_reasoning_effort": "low"
  }
}

The effective permission configuration reports:

• managed, restricted filesystem;
• write access to D:\codex-test and temporary directories;
• read-only access to .git, .agents, and .codex;
• approval policy never.

Despite this, creating D:\codex-test\a.txt with apply_patch is rejected with:

patch rejected: writing outside of the project; rejected by user approval settings

The workspace permission layer therefore recognizes the directory as writable, while the apply_patch/approval layer incorrectly treats a direct child of the same directory as outside the project.

Reproduction thread ID:

019fa882-b73f-7a32-a7aa-fc5b9edb6719

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Install Codex CLI 0.145.0 through npm on native Windows.

1. Create or use a Git repository at:

D:\codex-test

1. Start the npm-installed MCP server directly, without a wrapper:

codex.cmd mcp-server

1. Connect an MCP client to the server and invoke the codex tool with:

{
  "prompt": "Please perform the following task. This is for verifying the Codex MCP-server functionality.\n\n1. Write \"a\" to a.txt\n2. Delete a.txt\n\nIf any file operation is rejected, report the exact rejection reason and current permission profile.",
  "cwd": "D:\\codex-test",
  "approval-policy": "never",
  "config": {
    "default_permissions": ":workspace",
    "model_reasoning_effort": "low"
  }
}

1. Observe that the session reports D:\codex-test as writable.

1. Observe that creation of a.txt is nevertheless rejected:

patch rejected: writing outside of the project; rejected by user approval settings

1. Confirm that a.txt was not created. The deletion step is not reached because creation fails.

What is the expected behavior?

When default_permissions is set to :workspace, file writes and apply_patch operations targeting paths beneath the active workspace root should succeed without requesting escalation.

With approval-policy: "never", operations that remain within the declared writable workspace must not be treated as outside-project writes requiring approval.

codex mcp-server should apply the same workspace boundary consistently across:

• the session permission profile;
• sandboxed shell commands; and
• the built-in apply_patch tool.

Additional information

<img width="1883" height="557" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f180e901-f82f-4d0e-971f-def3b1da0da9" />

Minimal reproduction using the raw npm-installed codex mcp-server, without the custom wrapper. The effective permission profile reports D:\codex-test as writable, but apply_patch rejects D:\codex-test\a.txt as outside the project.