Windows Computer Use fails after trusted Node process exits; `setup refresh had errors` and native GUI APIs are unavailable

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

26.901.51231

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows 11 Home 10.0.26200 (AMD64)

What issue are you seeing?

Environment

• OS: Windows
• Codex Desktop / bundled plugin version: 26.901.51231
• Computer Use plugin: computer-use@openai-bundled
• Unified Computer Use plugin: unified-computer-use@openai-bundled
• Bundled Node.js: 24.19.0

Problem

Windows Computer Use cannot initialize. The following error is returned:

trusted Node process exited unexpectedly; kernel reset, rerun your request

A related Windows sandbox error was also observed:

helper_unknown_error: setup refresh had errors

Retrying after resetting the Node kernel, restarting Codex Desktop, and rebooting Windows produces the same result.

Actual behavior

After initialization:

cua.getState(): available
cua.listApps: undefined
cua.getApp: undefined

The in-app Browser surface is available, but Windows native application discovery and control are unavailable.

Diagnostics

The following files exist:

• node.exe
• node_repl.exe
• codex-computer-use.exe

All three bundled executables have valid OpenAI signatures. The configured native pipe endpoint also exists, but codex-computer-use.exe is not visible as a running process during the failure.

The installed runtime and plugin files appear intact. The failure appears to occur during the trusted Node / Windows sandbox / native pipe initialization path rather than during skill-file loading.

Attempts already made

• Restarted Codex Desktop
• Reset the Computer Use JavaScript session
• Rebooted Windows
• Uninstalled and reinstalled the Computer Use plugin
• Uninstalled and reinstalled the plugin through the available UI
• Confirmed that the Computer Use automatic installation flag is enabled
• Confirmed that the bundled runtime files and signatures are valid
• Confirmed that the issue persists after plugin reinstallation

Expected behavior

Computer Use should initialize successfully and expose Windows native application APIs such as:

• cua.listApps()
• cua.getApp()

Related reports

This appears related to the Windows sandbox and node_repl startup failures reported in:

• #26304
• #25012
• #25162
• #37415
• #41715
• #42754

Could you confirm whether this is a known Windows runtime / sandbox / native-pipe regression in version 26.901.51231, and advise whether a diagnostic build, supported runtime reset, or workaround is available?

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Use Codex Desktop on Windows 11 with Computer Use enabled.

2. Open a local Windows workspace and start a new task.

3. Ask Codex to initialize Computer Use or inspect the Windows desktop using the computer-use:computer-use skill.

4. Run the documented initialization:

   if (!globalThis.sky) {
     const { sky } = await import("@oai/sky");
     globalThis.sky = sky;
   }
   

5. Attempt to enumerate Windows applications or initialize the Computer Use bridge.

6. Observe that initialization fails with:
   trusted Node process exited unexpectedly; kernel reset, rerun your request

7. Reset the Node kernel and retry the same initialization. The same error occurs.

8. After initialization, cua.getState() is available, but cua.listApps and cua.getApp are undefined.

9. Restart Codex Desktop, reboot Windows, and uninstall/reinstall the Computer Use plugin. The issue remains reproducible.

10. The bundled runtime files exist and have valid OpenAI signatures, but Windows native Computer Use APIs remain unavailable.

What is the expected behavior?

Computer Use should initialize successfully without terminating the trusted Node process.

The documented initialization should expose the Windows native Computer Use APIs, including:

• cua.getState()
• cua.listApps()
• cua.getApp()

cua.listApps() should return the available Windows applications and windows, and cua.getApp() should allow selecting a returned application for subsequent GUI interaction.

Resetting the Node kernel or restarting Codex Desktop should not be required for normal initialization, and the native Computer Use bridge should remain available after initialization.

Additional information

Additional information

The issue is reproducible after:

• Restarting Codex Desktop
• Rebooting Windows
• Resetting the Node/Computer Use session
• Uninstalling and reinstalling the Computer Use plugin
• Confirming that automatic bundled plugin installation is enabled

The bundled runtime files are present:

• node.exe
• node_repl.exe
• codex-computer-use.exe

The bundled executables have valid OpenAI signatures. The configured native pipe endpoint also exists, but the native Windows application APIs are still unavailable.

The in-app Browser surface remains available, suggesting that the failure is specific to the Windows native Computer Use / trusted Node / sandbox initialization path.

Related Windows reports include:

• #25012
• #25162
• #26304
• #37415
• #41715
• #42754

No user files, credentials, private project contents, or personal documents are included in this report.

Related observation

A related Codex Windows environment reported that read operations and PowerShell execution were working, while only the Windows-side apply_patch helper failed with helper_unknown_error.

In that case, retrying through the normal apply_patch wrapper directly succeeded when using a small, controlled patch followed immediately by a diff check.

This may indicate that some helper_unknown_error failures are specific to an individual Windows helper path rather than the entire Codex environment. However, this workaround has not been verified as a solution for the Computer Use trusted Node / native GUI failure described in this issue.

Start with the documented @oai/sky initialization and inspect node.exe, node_repl.exe, and codex-computer-use.exe alongside the related Windows reports #26304, #25012, #25162, #37415, #41715, and #42754. Reproduce the trusted Node and native-pipe failure, then verify that initialization keeps the Node process alive and exposes cua.getState(), cua.listApps(), and cua.getApp().