permissions

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

Version 26.818.61809

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus.

What platform is your computer?

Windows

What issue are you seeing?

Title: Windows Codex desktop: every exec_command fails during unified-exec setup
Environment: Windows, Codex desktop, workspace C:\projects\achieve, 2026-08-24
Reproduction:

1. Open a local Codex task.
2. Run node --version.
3. Retry using the bundled Node executable.
4. Try any PowerShell command, such as reading a local file.

Actual result:
Failed to create unified exec process:
helper_unknown_error: setup refresh had errors
The failure occurs before the requested process starts. Even the bundled executable cannot run:
C:\Users\roger\.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime\
dependencies\node\bin\node.exe --version
Expected result: A PowerShell process starts and prints the Node version.
Impact: All terminal execution is unavailable, including diagnostics and reading local skill instructions. Non-shell app tools still work, so the issue appears isolated to unified-exec runtime initialization.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Local context: On Windows in Codex desktop:

1. Open a local Codex task with workspace C:\projects\achieve.
2. Ask Codex to execute:

node --version

1. The command never starts. exec_command fails while creating the unified execution process:

CreateProcess {
message: "Rejected(\"Failed to create unified exec process:
helper_unknown_error: setup refresh had errors\")"
}

1. Retry with the bundled Node executable:

& 'C:\Users\roger\.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime\dependencies\node\bin\node.exe' --version

1. The same setup error occurs. It also occurs for unrelated PowerShell commands, such as:

Get-Content -Raw -LiteralPath 'C:\Users\roger\.codex\skills\.system\openai-docs\SKILL.md'
Expected: PowerShell starts the requested process and returns its output.
Actual: Every shell command fails before execution because unified-exec runtime setup/refresh fails. Non-shell Codex app tools continue working, suggesting the problem is isolated to local unified-exec initialization.
Date: 2026-08-24
Platform: Windows, Codex desktop
Workspace: C:\projects\achieve
Session ID: Not exposed to the assistant in this task
Token-limit usage: Not exposed
Context-window usage: Not exposed

21:59

What is the expected behavior?

The unified execution environment should initialize successfully, start the requested PowerShell process, and return the command’s standard output.
For example:
node --version
should return an installed Node.js version such as:
v22.x.x
Commands using the bundled Node executable and ordinary PowerShell commands should likewise run normally without a setup refresh had errors or Failed to create unified exec process error.

Additional information

The failure occurs before the requested command starts, so it does not appear to be caused by Node.js or the workspace project. It reproduces with unrelated PowerShell commands and with the absolute path to Codex’s bundled Node executable.
The bundled dependency discovery tool succeeds and reports bundle version 26.819.11345, but every subsequent shell invocation fails during unified-exec setup with:
helper_unknown_error: setup refresh had errors
Non-shell Codex app tools continue working. This suggests the issue is specifically in the Windows unified-exec helper’s setup/refresh phase, possibly while initializing or refreshing the bundled PowerShell runtime.
Restarting or repairing the execution helper may be a useful workaround, but none was available to the assistant from within the affected task.