[Windows][Pets] Transparent overlay captures a large screen area, blocks Codex controls, and pet cannot be dragged

What version of the Codex App are you using?

Microsoft Store package OpenAI.Codex 26.825.6671.0 x64.

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 25H2, build 26200.9168, x64.

What issue are you seeing?

The floating pet is visible but does not respond to left-click, right-click, or drag. This affects every tested pet. The same behavior was also observed on a second Windows PC.

This reproduction differs from the common click-through reports: the transparent pet overlay captures mouse input across a large invisible area. It blocks controls behind it, including the Codex window's maximize/close area, while the visible pet itself still does nothing.

Steps to reproduce

1. Launch Codex Desktop on Windows.
2. Wake/show any pet.
3. Try to left-click, right-click, or drag the visible pet.
4. Try to click Codex controls that lie behind the transparent portion of the overlay, such as maximize or close.
5. Switch to another pet and repeat.

Expected behavior

• The visible pet and its activity controls receive pointer input and the pet can be dragged.
• Transparent overlay areas pass clicks through to the desktop or Codex window behind them.
• Codex window controls remain usable.

Actual behavior

• The pet cannot be clicked, right-clicked, or dragged.
• Transparent areas of the overlay swallow clicks.
• Codex window controls behind the overlay cannot be used.
• Switching pets does not change the behavior.

Native Windows diagnostics

One affected machine uses a 2880×1800 display at 200% scaling (logical 1440×900).

The pet overlay was inspected in the broken state:

• Physical bounds: 1376,0 1504×1800 (logical 688,0 752×900)
• Extended styles: WS_EX_TOPMOST | WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW | WS_EX_LAYERED; WS_EX_TRANSPARENT was not set
• GetWindowRgnBox returned RegionType=0, indicating no restricted native input region
• Direct WM_NCHITTEST returned HTCLIENT throughout the overlay, including fully transparent points
• At physical point (2870,20), the overlay returned HTCLIENT, while the underlying Codex main window returned HTCLOSE

The main Codex window was responsive and actually maximized (Zoomed=True, ShowCmd=3); its controls were being occluded by the overlay's input handling.

This suggests the native input shape was not applied, leaving the entire layered overlay interactive, while the renderer's pet hit target still did not process click/drag actions.

Troubleshooting already attempted

• Updated and fully restarted the desktop app
• Switched between pets
• Confirmed all ChatGPT/Codex processes were responsive
• Confirmed no local mouse hook or Codex package modification was active

The current workaround is to tuck the pet away with /pet, which restores access to the blocked UI.

Related reports

These appear related but primarily describe the opposite failure mode, where clicks pass through the pet:

• #41513
• #41506
• #41465
• #41501

No conversation contents, local paths, raw logs, screenshots, or account identifiers are included in this report.

Start with the Windows Codex Desktop pet overlay shown by waking any pet, then inspect its native WM_NCHITTEST handling and input-region setup. Reproduce the issue with the reported 2880×1800 display at 200% scaling and verify that transparent areas pass through, the visible pet accepts click, right-click, and drag input, and Codex window controls remain usable.