[Windows][Remote SSH] Codex Desktop times out during "codex path probe" although SSH and remote Codex work normally

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

ChatGPT Powered by Codex & OWL Version 26.825.51511, released on August 30, 2026, by OpenAI.

What subscription do you have?

Free

What platform is your computer?

win10 X86

What issue are you seeing?

Environment

• Codex Desktop version: 26.825.51511
• Platform: Windows
• Remote OS: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
• Remote architecture: x86_64
• Remote Codex CLI: codex-cli 0.153.4
• Remote Codex path: /usr/local/bin/codex
• Connection: SSH over Tailscale

Problem

Codex Desktop cannot establish a Remote SSH connection to my Ubuntu server.

The Desktop application consistently reports:

SSH: codex path probe timed out after 60000ms

However, the same SSH connection and all relevant Codex commands work normally from Windows PowerShell.

Verified working from Windows PowerShell

The SSH connection succeeds:

ssh wangtao@100.104.71.16 "echo SSH_OK && whoami && hostname"

Output:

SSH_OK
wangtao
admin001-X7840H0

The remote Codex executable is found successfully:

ssh wangtao@100.104.71.16 "command -v codex && codex --version"

Output:

/usr/local/bin/codex
codex-cli 0.153.4

The Codex app-server command also executes successfully:

ssh wangtao@100.104.71.16 "codex app-server --help"

The SSH config alias also works:

ssh ubuntu_tailscale "echo TAILSCALE_OK && whoami && command -v codex && codex --version"

Output:

TAILSCALE_OK
wangtao
/usr/local/bin/codex
codex-cli 0.153.4

SSH configuration

The SSH alias is configured as:

Host ubuntu_tailscale
    HostName 100.104.71.16
    Port 22
    User wangtao
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Expected behavior

Codex Desktop should be able to use the existing SSH configuration and connect to the remote Codex installation, since the SSH connection and remote Codex CLI are both functioning correctly from the same Windows environment.

Actual behavior

Codex Desktop waits for approximately 60 seconds and then reports:

SSH: codex path probe timed out after 60000ms

This happens consistently.

Additional testing

I previously tested the same remote Ubuntu server through another SSH endpoint (cpolar). The same Codex Desktop timeout occurred.

I then switched to Tailscale to eliminate the public SSH/tunneling layer.

With Tailscale:

• Windows → Ubuntu SSH works
• SSH authentication works
• Remote shell commands work
• command -v codex works
• codex --version works
• codex app-server --help works

Only Codex Desktop's Remote SSH connection fails.

This strongly suggests that the problem is inside the Codex Desktop Remote SSH implementation rather than the SSH server, Tailscale connection, or remote Codex installation.

Reproduction steps

1. Configure an SSH host in Windows OpenSSH.

2. Verify that ssh ubuntu_tailscale "command -v codex && codex --version" succeeds.

3. Open Codex Desktop on Windows.

4. Open Settings → Connections.

5. Add the SSH connection for the remote Ubuntu server.

6. Attempt to connect.

7. Wait approximately 60 seconds.

8. Codex Desktop reports:

   SSH: codex path probe timed out after 60000ms
   

Request

Please investigate the Remote SSH "codex path probe" / remote Codex version detection logic in the Windows Codex Desktop application.

It appears that the Desktop application is unable to complete a remote Codex probe even though the exact SSH connection and remote Codex commands work immediately from the Windows command line.

I can provide additional Codex Desktop logs if needed.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. On Windows, configure an SSH host for a remote Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS server using the Windows OpenSSH configuration.

2. Verify that the SSH connection works normally from PowerShell:
   ssh ubuntu_tailscale "echo SSH_OK && whoami && hostname"

3. Verify that Codex is installed and accessible on the remote server:
   ssh ubuntu_tailscale "command -v codex && codex --version"

   The command returns:
   /usr/local/bin/codex
codex-cli 0.153.4

4. Verify that the remote Codex app-server command also works:
   ssh ubuntu_tailscale "codex app-server --help"

5. Open Codex Desktop on Windows (version 26.825.51511).

6. Go to Settings → Connections and add the remote Ubuntu server as an SSH connection.

7. Attempt to connect to the remote server.

8. Codex Desktop waits for approximately 60 seconds and then fails with:
   SSH: codex path probe timed out after 60000ms

9. The problem is reproducible every time, even though the same SSH connection and remote Codex commands work immediately from PowerShell.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex Desktop should successfully establish the Remote SSH connection to the Ubuntu server and start the remote Codex session.

Since the same SSH connection works normally from Windows PowerShell, and the remote Codex installation is accessible (/usr/local/bin/codex, codex-cli 0.153.4), Codex Desktop should be able to detect the remote Codex executable and complete the connection without timing out.

Expected result:

• SSH connection succeeds.
• Remote Codex path is detected successfully.
• Remote Codex version is detected successfully.
• The remote Codex session starts normally.

Additional information

No response

Start by reproducing the Windows Remote SSH connection with the supplied PowerShell commands, then inspect the Remote SSH “codex path probe” and remote Codex version detection logic. Compare the Desktop probe with the commands that succeed from PowerShell; done means the remote path and version are detected and the session starts without the 60-second timeout.