Codex suddenly won't open; only the animation plays

English translation:

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

26.820.7780.0

What subscription do you have?

Pro 20x

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

After opening Codex, it keeps displaying the startup animation, but I can't get into the app.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8922eea9-622e-4e9f-b157-876030dcff82

What steps can reproduce the bug?

I currently can't see anything. I also tried using the Windows app repair feature, but it didn't help.

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_

<!-- codex-issue-translator -->

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

• #40878
• #39966

Powered by Codex Action

检测到可能重复的问题。请核实并关闭您的问题。 [[Windows] 客户端区域空白，IP 地址为 26.820.7780.0；禁用直接合成参数可恢复渲染效果 #40878](https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/40878) [[Windows][26.818.3698.0] 高子代理并发下桌面应用程序无限 OAuth 失效循环、渲染器死锁和黑屏 #39966](https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/39966) _由Codex Action提供支持_

怎么解决也没说啊

I had the same issue but now solved it. In my case, C:\Users\<username>\.codex\config.toml was corrupted (filled entirely with NUL bytes).

Renaming config.toml and creating a new empty one fixed Codex immediately.

Rename-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\config.toml" "config.toml.bad"
New-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\config.toml" -ItemType File

我之前也遇到过同样的问题，不过现在已经解决了。我的情况是C:\Users\<username>\.codex\config.toml文件损坏了（完全被空字节填充）。 重命名config.toml并创建一个新的空文件后，Codex 的问题立即得到解决。 Rename-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\config.toml" "config.toml.bad" New-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.codex\config.toml" -ItemType File

我上午也解决了 我把config.toml删了，然后重新生成就好了，但是我的项目跟对话都没了，然后又重新修复才找回来 心累啊

I am adding a detailed Windows timeline because this is now the third separate breaking Codex/ChatGPT Desktop regression I have encountered in less than one week. This is not one corrupted installation that has remained broken the entire time. Different updates produced different failures, and rolling back previously restored functionality.

August 22: authentication/login-loop regression (#40036)

I originally reported #40036 after an update to About version 26.818.32112.

The application initially appeared signed in, but opening an existing conversation or creating a new conversation immediately logged me out and returned me to the sign-in screen.

Important details from that incident:

It occurred with both the Native Windows and WSL2 backends.
Browser authentication completed successfully, but the desktop application returned to sign-in when opening or creating a conversation.
Uninstalling the application and purging its local directories did not fix it.
Repeated sign-in attempts did not fix it.
Feedback ID: no-active-thread-01a026cd-3636-70c3-9f59-c08885c736c2
The issue was not caused by the account, network, or selected backend.

I eventually force-installed the official signed package version 26.810.7004.0. That rollback restored normal operation immediately.

That result was significant: the same Windows installation, account, network, conversations, and computer worked on 26.810.7004.0 but failed after updating. This isolated the original problem to the newer desktop-app release.

August 23–26: bad versions repeatedly returned through automatic updates

After restoring 26.810.7004.0, the Microsoft Store repeatedly delivered newer builds again.

The observed package sequence included:

26.818.5229.0
26.818.8289.0
26.820.7780.0

I had to roll back to 26.810.7004.0 more than once because the Store restored a broken release after the rollback.

I disabled the app’s built-in updater using:

C:\ProgramData\OpenAI\Codex\requirements.toml

with:

in_app_updates = false

That did not control Microsoft Store updates, so I also had to set the Microsoft Store AutoDownload policy to stop the Store from immediately replacing the working package again.

This created a situation where using the application required repeatedly force-installing an older signed MSIX and then blocking two separate update mechanisms.

August 26: blank-window/rendering regression (#40878)

The Study PC was subsequently moved to package version 26.820.7780.0, corresponding to the blank-client regression reported in #40878.

This was different from the earlier login loop:

The application process launched.
A normal Windows frame appeared.
The client area remained blank or failed to finish rendering.
The application never became usable.
This was no longer an authentication redirect. The interface itself was not painting/loading correctly.

The --disable-direct-composition workaround discussed in #40878 was later tested directly against the signed executable. It did not resolve my current failure.

The NVIDIA driver is not a valid explanation for the original onset. The Codex failure began before the NVIDIA driver was updated. Other applications on the computer continued rendering normally.

August 27: new permanent-startup-animation failure (#41015)

Today I attempted a completely clean Store reinstall to determine whether a newer package had fixed the previous problems.

The repair procedure:

Terminated every ChatGPT and Codex process.
Removed the previous OpenAI.Codex AppX package.
Removed the temporary Codex in-app update restriction.
Removed the Microsoft Store AutoDownload restriction.
Reinstalled Microsoft Store product 9PLM9XGG6VKS using winget.
Confirmed that installation completed successfully.
Confirmed that Windows reports the newly installed package status as Ok.

The Microsoft Store supplied this exact package:

Name: OpenAI.Codex
Version: 26.820.10647.0
PackageFullName: OpenAI.Codex_26.820.10647.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
PackageFamilyName: OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0
Architecture: X64
Status: Ok
InstallLocation: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.820.10647.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
Executable: app\ChatGPT.exe
Embedded Chromium version: 151.0.7922.170

System:

Windows 11 25H2
Build 26200.9168
x64

The new behavior is:

The application opens a window.
The centered OpenAI startup logo appears.
The startup animation never finishes.
No conversation list, settings, login screen, or usable interface ever appears.
Waiting does not resolve it.
Killing every process and reopening does not resolve it.
A complete package removal and Store reinstall does not resolve it.
Windows still reports the AppX package as healthy.
Launching the signed executable directly with --disable-direct-composition produces the same permanent startup screen.

The current system also confirms that neither update restriction remains:

Microsoft Store AutoDownload policy: not set
C:\ProgramData\OpenAI\Codex\requirements.toml: missing

Therefore, this is not the result of the rollback policy or a stale requirements.toml file interfering with startup.

Working comparison PC

I have a second Windows computer, the HUB PC, using the same ChatGPT account.

Its ChatGPT About screen reports:

Version 26.820.80927
Released Aug 27, 2026
Powered by Codex & OWL

That installation is currently working.

I have deliberately not modified or uninstalled the working HUB installation.

This is an important comparison:

Study PC: Store supplied OpenAI.Codex 26.820.10647.0; permanently stuck on the startup logo.
HUB PC: About version 26.820.80927; currently working.
Both are Windows installations used by the same person/account.
The Store is apparently not serving the same build to both computers.

The working HUB installation strongly suggests that a newer or differently flighted Aug 27 build may already contain a fix, but the broken Study PC is still being served 26.820.10647.0. Winget reports the Store product version as Unknown, so there is no visible way to confirm or request 26.820.80927 specifically before reinstalling.