[Windows][26.820] In-app Browser entry disappeared; Ctrl+Shift+B no-op and open requests stay queued

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

Codex Desktop 26.820.9563.0 on Windows.

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT account in Codex Desktop.

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro, version 10.0.26200, build 26200, x64.

What issue are you seeing?

After updating Codex Desktop to 26.820.9563.0, the built-in in-app Browser has disappeared from the UI entirely.

The right-side pane picker now offers only:

• Review
• Terminal
• Files
• Side chat

There is no Browser entry. The documented Windows shortcut Ctrl+Shift+B does nothing. Agent-directed attempts to open a local URL in the Codex Browser return queued, but no Browser pane or tab ever appears. This happened three consecutive times in the same task.

This is not a dead-localhost issue: once the local server was running, http://127.0.0.1:8736/mobile.html returned HTTP 200 and was capturable in an external Playwright browser. The missing surface is specifically the Codex in-app Browser.

The official Browser documentation still says the built-in browser is available in the desktop app and can be opened with Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows:
https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/browser

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Update or install Codex Desktop 26.820.9563.0 on Windows 11.
2. Open a local Codex project/task.
3. Open the right-side pane picker.
4. Observe that only Review, Terminal, Files, and Side chat are listed; Browser is absent.
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+B.
6. Observe that no Browser pane opens.
7. Ask the agent to open a valid local URL in the in-app Browser.
8. Observe that the request remains queued and no Browser UI appears.

What is the expected behavior?

The Browser entry should remain available in the desktop UI, and Ctrl+Shift+B or an agent open request should display a Browser pane bound to the active task.

If the Browser was intentionally relocated, the documented shortcut and toolbar entry should work, and the right-side pane picker should provide a discoverable route to it.

Additional information

• The Browser worked in this same Codex workflow before the app update.
• The current app still exposes Browser-related bundled capability to the agent, but the visible pane cannot be created or attached.
• A screenshot of the current pane picker confirms the missing Browser entry and can be provided if needed.
• Related issue: #21440. This report captures a newer regression signature on 26.820.9563.0: the Browser UI entry itself is gone, the documented shortcut is a no-op, and open requests remain queued rather than the plugin bundle being absent.

Reproduce on Windows 11 using the right-side pane picker, Ctrl+Shift+B, and an agent open request for the valid local URL described in the report. Trace why the Browser entry and shortcut no longer create a pane while requests remain queued; done means the Browser is discoverable, opens from the shortcut, and accepts an agent open request.