[Bug Solved & Solution] VS Code codex extension blank sidebar in Remote SSH on version 26.707.91948

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#33,743 2 comments 4 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Assessment

Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Newbie friendliness
45/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
node.js, typescript, vscode
Domain
devtools

Research direction

Reproduce the blank Codex sidebar in a VS Code Remote-SSH window using extension version 26.707.91948, then inspect the bundled Zod v4 environment check and the Node.js remote extension host behavior described in the report. Done means the extension loads in the remote window and the Codex webview mounts without requiring the remote settings workaround.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

bug extension remote
What version of the IDE extension are you using?

26.707.91948

What subscription do you have?

Pro Max

Which IDE are you using?

VS Code

What platform is your computer?

No response

What issue are you seeing?

After updating the VS Code Codex extension to openai.chatgpt 26.707.91948, the Codex sidebar shows a blank panel when used in a VS Code Remote SSH window.

What steps can reproduce the bug?
  1. Open a project using VS Code Remote SSH.
  2. Install or update the Codex VS Code extension to 26.707.91948 on the remote SSH side.
  3. Open the Codex sidebar.
  4. Observe that the sidebar is blank.
What is the expected behavior?

No response

Additional information

Solution

I reproduced this with VS Code Remote-SSH and openai.chatgpt 26.707.91948.

The failure is caused by the bundled Zod v4 environment check accessing navigator inside the Node.js remote extension host:

typeof navigator !== "undefined"

This triggers VS Code’s PendingMigrationError and can leave the Codex webview blank or unresponsive.

Immediate workaround

Create ~/.vscode-server/data/Machine/settings.json on the remote host:

{
  "extensions.supportNodeGlobalNavigator": true
}

Then run Developer: Reload Window. Setting this only in the local VS Code user settings did not fix the remote extension host.

Required source fix

The extension/dependency should detect Node before accessing navigator:

const isNode =
  typeof process === "object" && process?.versions?.node;

if (
  !isNode &&
  typeof navigator !== "undefined" &&
  navigator?.userAgent?.includes("Cloudflare")
) {
  return false;
}

After applying the remote setting, the unmodified official extension loaded normally and the Codex webview mounted successfully.

Dominant language
Rust
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Merged PRs (30d)
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