ChatGPT Desktop (OpenAI.Codex) fails to start after update with "spawn EINVAL" on Windows 10

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Assessment

Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Newbie friendliness
42/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Needs clarification
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
rust

Research direction

No source file, test, or entry point is named. Start by reproducing the launch failure with OpenAI.Codex 26.707.12708.0 on Windows 10 and tracing the desktop startup path around the reported spawn EINVAL error; done means the app launches successfully after an update.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

app bug windows-os
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

6.707.12708.0

What subscription do you have?

chatgpt plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 10 22H2

What issue are you seeing?
Image
Summary

After updating from the previous Codex desktop app to the new ChatGPT Desktop app, the application can no longer start.

The only error shown is:

ChatGPT failed to start.
spawn EINVAL

The application has never launched successfully after the update.

Environment

OS:

  • Windows 10 22H2
  • Build 19045.6466
  • x64

App:

  • Package: OpenAI.Codex
  • Version: 26.707.12708.0

Package status:

Status: Ok

Install location:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.707.12708.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

What I've tried
  • Uninstall and reinstall from the official OpenAI download page
  • Microsoft Store reports the app is fully up to date
  • Reboot Windows
  • Reset Microsoft Store cache (wsreset)
  • Package status is "Ok"
  • LocalState and LocalCache are empty
  • Windows Event Viewer contains no related Application Error entries
PowerShell

Get-AppxPackage OpenAI.Codex

Result:

Name: OpenAI.Codex
Version: 26.707.12708.0
Status: Ok

USERNAME=user
USERPROFILE=C:\Users\user

Expected behavior

ChatGPT Desktop should launch normally.

Actual behavior

Immediately shows:

"ChatGPT failed to start"
"spawn EINVAL"

and exits.

Additional information

The previous Codex desktop app worked correctly before updating.
The issue started immediately after the update to the new ChatGPT Desktop app.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

This error message appears when you try to start the program, preventing you from proceeding to the next step.

What is the expected behavior?

No response

Additional information

No response

Dominant language
Rust
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