Codex Desktop (Windows Store, 26.825.4187.0) hangs on launch — main process spins, window never created

OpenAI Codex Desktop hangs on startup (Windows Store build)

Environment

• App: OpenAI Codex Desktop (Microsoft Store build)
• Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.825.4187.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Executable: app/ChatGPT.exe
• OS: Windows 10 Pro, build 19045
• Architecture: x64
• System locale: zh-CN

Symptom

Launching the app spawns 6 ChatGPT.exe processes (main + GPU + network utility + storage utility + crashpad + renderer), but the main window never appears. Uninstall/reinstall from the Store multiple times does not help.

Reproduction

1. Install OpenAI Codex Desktop from the Microsoft Store.
2. Launch it from the Start menu or via AUMID OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App.
3. Observe processes and window state.

Confirmed technical details

Process snapshot (~30 s after launch)

Main       PID 27208   240–474 MB   CPU 252 s   Threads 52   Handles 1097
GPU        PID 10820    54 MB       CPU   2 s
Network    PID 16024    34 MB       CPU   6 s
Storage    PID 18128    21 MB
Renderer   PID  ????    18 MB
Crashpad   PID  8024     9 MB

Main-process threads

Thread 11248 : TotalProcessorTime 00:04:00 , ThreadState = Running   ← busy loop
All other threads : ThreadState = Wait (UserRequest)

One thread stays in Running (not Wait) for 4+ minutes — the main-process JS logic is spinning.

Window handles

For all 6 processes, MainWindowHandle = 0 and MainWindowTitle = ''. No window is ever created.

Log file (identical 421 bytes / 3 lines on every launch)

Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Local\Codex\Logs\<date>\codex-desktop-<uuid>-<pid>-t0-i1-<time>-0.log

2026-08-29T06:09:38.753Z info [sparkle] in_app_updates_policy_wait_started timeoutMs=300000
2026-08-29T06:09:38.755Z info Launching app agentRunId=null allowDebugMenu=false allowDevtools=false allowInspectElement=false buildFlavor=prod enableSparkle=false enableUpdater=true nodeEnv=undefined packaged=true platform=win32
2026-08-29T06:09:38.987Z info Appshot hotkey inactive configured=true enabled=false platform=win32

Nothing else is ever written, even though the main process keeps burning CPU.

Network

• Backend service dove-core.exe (PID 24908) is listening normally on 127.0.0.1:17897.
• Network-utility child process has 127.0.0.1:52957 → 127.0.0.1:17897 in state Established — IPC to the backend is up.
• No outbound network requests are hanging.

System events

• No Application Error / .NET Runtime / AppModel crash events.
• Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeploymentServer/Operational: no errors.
• No Crashpad dumps generated.

Fixes attempted — none worked

1. Killed all ChatGPT.exe processes and relaunched.
2. Deleted lockfile and stray *.tmp files from the user-data dir.
3. Cleared GPUCache, ShaderCache, GrShaderCache, GPUPersistentCache, Code Cache, Cache.
4. Renamed the entire Default profile directory (forcing a fresh profile).
5. Renamed Local State (forcing regeneration).
6. Multiple uninstall/reinstall cycles from the Microsoft Store (Store uninstall does not wipe LocalCache; even after fixes 4 & 5, behavior is unchanged).

Ruled out

• Not data corruption — behavior is identical after a full profile reset.
• Not misplaced window bounds — MainWindowHandle = 0, i.e. no window is ever created.
• Not lockfile residue — cleared it, no change.
• Not a network wait — backend IPC is connected, no outbound requests pending.
• Not a Sparkle update wait — enableSparkle=false in logs, and the main process is busy-looping rather than idle-waiting.
• Not a GPU driver issue — GPU child process is healthy.
• Not a crash — zero crash events or dumps.

Conclusion

The main process enters a busy loop during startup, after the Appshot hotkey inactive log line and before the main BrowserWindow is created. The behavior is fully deterministic across relaunches and across complete data resets, which points to a bug inside the shipped app package rather than to any environmental factor on this machine.

Suggested attachments if OpenAI asks for more

• The full log directory %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Local\Codex\Logs\
• dxdiag output (if they want to rule out GPU)
• winver screenshot (Windows build)

codex-bug-report.zip

Start with the packaged Windows entry point around the Appshot hotkey log and the first BrowserWindow creation; the issue does not identify a source file or test. Reproduce the launch with the listed process and log observations, then trace why the main process spins before creating a window. Done means the Store build launches a window without the sustained CPU loop.