Windows Computer Use Cannot Enumerate Any Application Windows

English translation:

Title: Windows Computer Use Cannot Enumerate Any Application Windows

Computer Use cannot control any Windows applications, including Notepad, WeChat, DingTalk, and NetEase Cloud Music.

Consistently reproducible error:

EnumWindows failed: The system cannot find the path specified. (0x80070003)

The following troubleshooting steps have already been completed:

• ChatGPT Desktop is already the latest version provided by the Microsoft Store
• An in-place repair installation has been performed
• The Computer Use plugin has been uninstalled and reinstalled
• Computer Use Server and Skill are both enabled
• The cua_node runtime cache has been rebuilt
• The Windows desktop is active and unlocked
• The issue still occurs after restarting ChatGPT Desktop
• sky.list_apps() and sky.list_windows() both fail

System: Windows, Asia/Shanghai
Date of issue: 2026-08-06

Please help investigate the EnumWindows path resolution or window enumeration issue in the Windows Computer Use runtime.

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

• #37215
• #37043

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I can provide a related same-build observation from another Windows task: attempting to open NetEase Cloud Music failed before any reliable desktop app interaction, and retries plus a Computer Use reset did not make sky.list_apps() or sky.list_windows() usable. The error in that task was spawn EPERM, not 0x80070003, so I am not claiming an identical failure mode; it may be an earlier-stage failure in the same Windows helper/enumeration path. Environment: Codex Desktop 26.730.8199.0, Computer Use plugin 26.730.61639, @oai/sky 0.6.2, Windows x64.

我和你遇到的问题一摸一样,请问你解决了吗?

这个已经在 #37043 里定位得比较清楚了：不是某个文件夹没建，也不是重装能解决。helper 跑在 CodexSandboxOffline 的 private desktop 里，EnumWindows 看到的是隔离桌面，不是你正在用的桌面；外层又把残留的 GetLastError 包成了 0x80070003。

有人临时设了：

[windows]
sandbox = "elevated"
sandbox_private_desktop = false

完全退出再启动后，list_windows() 能恢复，但截图接着会报 0x80070424，而且关 private desktop 会削弱隔离，所以这只能用来验证根因，不算真正修好。

BitFun 的 Windows Computer Use 这块正好可以给上游当个实现对照：桌面宿主直接 EnumWindows，先拿 hwnd/pid/title，再 best-effort 解析 exe；解析失败就回退窗口标题，不让一次路径失败把整个 list_apps 带崩。代码就这一小段：https://github.com/GCWing/BitFun/blob/e640aa402023792a5fd6568f445ece1a81013085/src/apps/desktop/src/computer_use/windows_list_apps.rs#L51-L75

长期修法还是把窗口枚举和截图放到可信的交互桌面 broker，模型写的 shell 继续留在 private desktop。

I can reproduce the same Windows Computer Use failure on a newer build, and it is still present after a clean reinstall.

Environment

• ChatGPT/Codex app: 26.803.5235.0
• Computer Use plugin: 26.803.41515
• Windows 11 Home 25H2, build 26200.8875
• Windows x64

History / behavior

• Computer Use worked normally on this same PC approximately three weeks ago. It successfully controlled and read desktop applications, including KakaoTalk.
• The initial reproducible failure was EnumWindows failed ... (0x80070003), matching this issue.
• During later troubleshooting the failure also appeared as EnumWindows failed / Access denied (0x80070005).
• Other plugins such as Gmail work normally, so this does not appear to be a general plugin failure.

Troubleshooting already performed

• Completely uninstalled and clean-installed the Windows app.
• Reinstalled/refreshed Computer Use and recreated the cua_node runtime.
• Rebooted Windows and confirmed the desktop was active and unlocked.
• Confirmed Computer Use server/skill and app access are enabled.
• Verified the Computer Use/sandbox processes are created and remain in the same interactive Windows session.
• Tested the Window Station/Desktop ACL hypothesis; granting the current Computer Use logon SID access did not change the failure, so I reverted/cleared that test via reboot.

The issue still reproduces with app 26.803.5235.0 and Computer Use 26.803.41515.

The recent discussion about the Computer Use helper running on a private desktop looks consistent with what I observed: changing WinSta0/Default ACLs alone did not resolve enumeration. I have stopped making further Windows permission changes and can provide additional diagnostics if useful.

Confirming the same issue on a second Windows installation. This is fully reproducible and blocks all Computer Use functionality.

Environment:

• Codex Desktop: 26.803.5235.0
• Computer Use plugin: 26.803.41515
• @oai/sky: 0.6.2
• Windows: 25H2, build 26200.8655, x64
• Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.803.5235.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Package status: Ok
• Microsoft Store reports no newer update available

Exact failures:

sky.list_apps()
EnumWindows failed: The system cannot find the path specified. (0x80070003)

A fresh Node REPL followed by a direct launch attempt also fails:

sky.launch_app({ app: "notepad.exe" })
GetCursorPos failed: Access is denied. (0x80070005)

Additional API mismatch:

• The bundled Computer Use skill requires sky.documentation("guidance" | "api" | "confirmations").
• The active sky object has no documentation method.

Recovery attempts already completed without improvement:

• Windows Repair / MSIX package re-registration
• Multiple prior full application reinstalls
• Full machine restart
• Computer Use plugin remove/reinstall
• cua_node runtime cache reset and regeneration attempt
• Clean Node REPL initialization
• Rebuilt and re-registered openai-bundled marketplace from the official MSIX package instead of the temporary .codex\.tmp source
• Verified computer-use@openai-bundled is installed and enabled

Not completed because the native helper fails first:

• Notepad launch confirmation
• Window acquisition
• Screenshot capture
• Approval/elicitation validation

Please escalate this urgently to the Windows Computer Use/runtime owners. The public API instructions and shipped runtime are also out of sync, and the issue remains after all supported repair paths.

Same issue, feedback ID - 019fe2c0-f468-73b3-b3bf-bccf44f2d8af