Codex Desktop 26.818.5229.0 repeatedly crashes on Windows while Codex CLI remains stable

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

26.818.5229.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.19045.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

The issue is still present on the latest Codex Desktop build.

I updated the Windows Codex Desktop App to:

Version: 26.818.5229.0

Unfortunately, the application still crashes shortly after opening/using it and remains unstable enough to be effectively unusable.

Versions tested

The same crashing behavior has now occurred on multiple recent builds:

• 26.818.3698.0
• 26.818.4152.0
• 26.818.5229.0

The latest update did not resolve the issue.

Important comparison

Codex CLI continues to work normally and remains fully stable on the same machine, account, network connection, and projects.

This strongly suggests that the problem is specific to the Windows Codex Desktop App, rather than the Codex service itself, the account, network connection, or project environment.

Current status

As of August 22, 2026, version 26.818.5229.0 is still crashing and the Desktop App remains unusable for normal work.

The issue originally started after one of the recent Codex Desktop updates and has persisted across several subsequent updates.

Please investigate this as a possible Windows Desktop regression.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Open the Codex Desktop App on Windows.
Sign in normally.
Open an existing project/session and start normal Codex work.
After a short period of use, the app becomes unstable and crashes unexpectedly.
Reopen the app and repeat the same workflow.
The crash occurs repeatedly and makes the Desktop App effectively unusable.
The same behavior has occurred on versions 26.818.3698.0, 26.818.4152.0, and 26.818.5229.0.
Codex CLI remains stable on the same computer, account, network, and projects.

What is the expected behavior?

The Codex Desktop App should remain stable during normal use and allow sessions to continue without unexpected crashes.
Codex CLI works reliably on the same system, so I expect the Desktop App to provide comparable stability.

Additional information

No response

Start by reproducing the crash on Windows with Codex Desktop 26.818.5229.0 using the listed sign-in, project, and normal-workflow steps, then compare the behavior with Codex CLI on the same machine. Done means identifying the Desktop-specific regression and verifying that the app remains stable across the reproduction workflow.