Windows Desktop: show visible update progress while app is upgrading in the background

Summary

On Windows, when the ChatGPT/Codex Desktop app updates itself, the app may exit and continue the upgrade in the background. During that period, launching the app again can appear to do nothing: background processes are present, but no UI is shown. Once the upgrade finishes, the client window opens automatically.

The update itself may be working correctly, but there is no visible indication that an upgrade is in progress.

User impact

This is easy to misdiagnose as a startup failure or headless-app regression. A user may reasonably assume the client is broken because:

• clicking the app icon shows no visible window;
• Task Manager shows ChatGPT/Codex-related processes running in the background;
• there is no progress bar, status window, toast, tray message, or other indication that an update is being installed;
• after waiting for the background upgrade to finish, the client eventually opens normally on its own.

This can lead users to unnecessarily:

• kill ChatGPT/Codex processes;
• repair/reset or reinstall the Microsoft Store app;
• change CLI or environment-variable settings;
• troubleshoot GPU/rendering or BrowserWindow creation;
• assume the update caused a broken build when the updater is actually still running.

Expected behavior

When a Windows desktop update is actively being installed, the user should see a clear status such as:

Updating ChatGPT…
Installing version …
This may take a moment. The app will reopen automatically when the update is complete.

Ideally this could be exposed as one of:

• a small update progress window;
• a Windows notification/toast;
• a tray status indicator;
• a lightweight splash screen with progress or indeterminate loading;
• or a launch-time message when the user clicks the app icon while the updater is already running.

If exact progress cannot be measured, even an indeterminate progress indicator would be substantially better than a completely silent background process.

Suggested UX behavior

1. App begins update and exits/restarts as needed.
2. A visible updater/splash state remains available while installation is in progress.
3. If the user clicks the app icon during the update, focus the updater/status UI instead of appearing to do nothing.
4. When the update finishes, automatically launch the client as it does today.
5. If the update fails, show an actionable error instead of silently disappearing.

Why this matters

The current behavior can look almost identical to a real Windows startup failure: background processes exist, but there is no client window. A visible update state would make it much easier to distinguish a healthy in-progress update from an actual startup regression.

This is primarily a UX/diagnostics improvement request, not a report that the updater itself necessarily failed.

Start by tracing the Windows desktop update and relaunch flow described in the issue, including what happens when the app is launched while the updater is already running. Review how the current background installation and automatic reopen are coordinated. Done means users can see an update-in-progress state, are directed to it on relaunch, and receive actionable feedback if the update fails.