Windows Codex 26.901.4073.0: In-app browser plugin unavailable after fresh install

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

26.901.4073.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

The Codex in-app browser is unavailable on Windows.

In Codex, open Settings > Browser. The page displays:

In-app browser plugin unavailable

This remains unresolved after:

• Freshly installing the Codex Windows app.
• Fully closing Codex and related processes.
• Deleting %USERPROFILE%\.codex.
• Restarting Windows.
• Reopening Codex normally and waiting several minutes.

The bundled plugin cache is never recreated:

%USERPROFILE%\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled

Running:

codex plugin marketplace list

shows only:

openai-primary-runtime
openai-curated

The openai-bundled marketplace is missing.

The installed app package does contain the bundled plugin files under:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.901.4073.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled

The configuration also references a browser service under:

%USERPROFILE%\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\browser\26.901.31953\scripts\browser-service.mjs

but that file does not exist.

I attempted to register the bundled marketplace manually with:

codex plugin marketplace add "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.901.4073.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled"

but received:

Error: marketplace `openai-bundled` is reserved and cannot be added from this source

As a result, Codex knows that browser support should be available, but the app-managed openai-bundled marketplace and Browser plugin are not being provisioned or registered.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Install or update the Codex Windows app from the Microsoft Store.
2. Fully close Codex and all related processes.
3. Delete %USERPROFILE%\.codex.
4. Restart Windows.
5. Open Codex normally, not as Administrator.
6. Wait several minutes for the app to initialize.
7. Open Settings > Browser.
8. Observe that the page shows “In-app browser plugin unavailable”.
9. Run codex plugin marketplace list.
10. Observe that openai-bundled is not listed.
11. Attempt to register the bundled marketplace manually:

codex plugin marketplace add "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.901.4073.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled"

The command fails with:

Error: marketplace `openai-bundled` is reserved and cannot be added from this source

### What is the expected behavior?

```markdown
The Codex Windows app should automatically provision and register its bundled `openai-bundled` marketplace.

The Browser plugin should become available in Settings > Browser without requiring manual changes to `config.toml` or CLI marketplace commands.

The following directory should be created automatically:

`%USERPROFILE%\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled`

The in-app browser should then be usable.

### What is the expected behavior?

The Codex Windows app should automatically provision and register its bundled `openai-bundled` marketplace.

The Browser plugin should become available in Settings > Browser without requiring manual changes to `config.toml` or CLI marketplace commands.

The following directory should be created automatically:

`%USERPROFILE%\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled`

The in-app browser should then be usable.

### Additional information

The issue persists after a fresh installation, deleting `%USERPROFILE%\.codex`, restarting Windows, and reopening Codex.

The command:

```powershell
codex plugin marketplace list

returns only:

MARKETPLACE             ROOT
openai-primary-runtime  C:\Users\<user>\.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime\plugins\openai-primary-runtime
openai-curated          C:\Users\<user>\.codex\.tmp\plugins

The openai-bundled marketplace is missing.

However, the installed Codex app package contains the bundled files under:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.901.4073.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled

For example:

• .agents\plugins\marketplace.json
• plugins\browser\.codex-plugin\plugin.json

The Codex configuration references the browser service:

%USERPROFILE%\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\browser\26.901.31953\scripts\browser-service.mjs

but this path does not exist because the bundled cache is never created.

The bundled files inside the Microsoft Store package have the Windows attributes Archive, Encrypted. This may indicate a failure while Codex copies or stages the bundled marketplace.

The Browser settings page screenshot is attached.

This appears related to:
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/41164

Start with the bundled marketplace metadata in .agents\plugins\marketplace.json and plugins\browser\.codex-plugin\plugin.json, then reproduce the failure with codex plugin marketplace list after clearing %USERPROFILE%\.codex. Check why the packaged openai-bundled marketplace is not provisioned and why browser-service.mjs is absent; done means automatic registration, cache creation, and an available Browser plugin.