Intel macOS: Computer Use startup fails after 26.803.61601 (250 ms native-pipe timeout; managed helper absent)

OpenAI feedback thread

019ff0ed-18c7-7983-a939-09d9e861e0ec (submitted with no diagnostic-log upload)

What version of the Codex App are you using?

ChatGPT/Codex desktop 26.803.61601 (build 6396), with a valid OpenAI Developer ID signature.

Bundled runtime:

• @oai/sky 0.6.6
• cua_node Node 24.14.0
• target darwin-x64

What subscription do you have?

Not included in this public report.

What platform is your computer?

macOS 14.8.8 (23J620), Intel x86_64.

What issue are you seeing?

Computer Use could not initialize after the desktop update.

The app log reported:

Failed to reconcile managed Computer Use service
Failed to spawn managed Computer Use service

Two direct calls through the currently bundled package:

await (await import("@oai/sky")).sky.list_apps()

both failed with:

Sky Computer Use service startup request failed

Screen Recording, Accessibility, event-post, and event-listen permissions were granted, and the console session was unlocked.

The signed x86_64 app bundle contains @oai/sky, but it does not contain:

• Codex Computer Use.app
• a bundled computer-use plugin
• the older @oai/cua package

This leaves the managed-service fallback with no helper payload to spawn.

Steps to reproduce

1. Install/update the Intel macOS desktop app to 26.803.61601.
2. Enable Computer Use and grant Screen Recording and Accessibility.
3. Fully relaunch the desktop app.
4. Invoke Computer Use or call sky.list_apps().
5. Observe Sky Computer Use service startup request failed.
6. Inspect the signed x86_64 app resources and observe that the managed helper/plugin payload is absent.

Expected behavior

Computer Use should initialize and list/capture approved apps on a supported Intel Mac after permissions are granted. If Intel is no longer supported, the app should report that explicitly instead of installing a darwin-x64 runtime that falls through to a missing managed service.

Root cause found locally

The @oai/sky 0.6.6 native-pipe path gives the first connect-and-ping attempt a 250 ms budget.

A local Intel compatibility service performs Security.framework peer validation before handling requests:

• same UID
• peer PID
• OpenAI Team ID 2DC432GLL2
• expected signed Codex/Node identity and trusted ancestor

A real ping took 287 ms. The client therefore timed out, invoked the host's managed-service path, and then failed because this x86_64 build has no managed helper to spawn.

Local compatibility repair

The repair preserved authorization for every operation and changed only the harmless handshake path:

1. Parse only the first framed JSON-RPC message.
2. If it is a valid CodexComputerUseIPC-2 ping, immediately return serverApiVersion. This response exposes no app data and performs no action.
3. Pause and buffer all remaining frames.
4. Run the unchanged Security.framework fd-peer authorization.
5. Process list/state/action requests only after authorization succeeds.
6. If the first message is not a ping, keep it buffered and authorization-gated for backward compatibility.
7. Update the compatibility skill bootstrap from the removed @oai/cua plus initialize() path to:

globalThis.sky ??= (await import("@oai/sky")).sky;

No authentication, app-policy, screenshot, or input-event check was bypassed.

Validation after the repair

• A deterministic regression delays peer authorization by 600 ms while requiring the ping response within 250 ms.
• Source and installed plugin-cache suites: 16/16 tests passed.
• Real ping latency: 287 ms before, 25 ms after.
• The official bundled @oai/sky client returned six valid app IDs from list_apps().
• A read-only Finder get_app_state returned a file screenshot and 12,351 characters of accessibility text.
• No click or keyboard input was used, and the temporary screenshot was removed.

Suggested product fixes

• Bundle and sign an x86_64 or universal Codex Computer Use.app plus the computer-use plugin in the Intel desktop build, or make the managed-service path discover an already-running compatible service.
• Increase the initial direct-connect/ping budget above realistic code-signing verification latency, or explicitly support a data-free unauthenticated ping followed by authenticated request processing.
• Keep the helper payload, plugin catalog, runtime package, and bundled skill/docs consistent when moving from @oai/cua to @oai/sky.
• Preserve the nested startup cause in the user-visible error.

Start at the desktop app's managed Computer Use startup path and the @oai/sky sky.list_apps() entry point; inspect how the darwin-x64 bundle discovers the helper and handles the 250 ms ping timeout. Compare the bundled helper, plugin, runtime, and compatibility skill bootstrap during the @oai/cua-to-@oai/sky transition. Done means Intel startup succeeds with authorization preserved, or explicitly reports unsupported Intel, with a regression covering delayed peer authorization.