Windows Computer Use cannot access native apps: empty app inventory and sky RPC unavailable

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

Windows Computer Use cannot access native apps: empty app inventory and sky RPC unavailable

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?

Computer Use can access connected Chrome tabs but cannot discover or control any native Windows applications. The native-app inventory is always empty, so an open Notepad window cannot be read.

Observed diagnostics:

getState() returns apps: [].

Chrome and the Codex in-app browser are returned normally.

getApp and listApps are undefined.

Calling cua.getApp("Notepad") fails with cua.getApp is not a function.

Initialising the documented native backend fails with Trusted RPC service is not configured: sky.

Resetting and reinitialising the Computer Use session does not help.

Notepad is running, visible on the active desktop, not elevated, and not running as administrator.

The Computer Use plugin is installed and its skill is enabled.

The plugin page contains “Skills 1” and “Hooks” but no “MCP servers” section or Computer-use server switch.

The official documentation depicts both a server and a skill switch, which does not match the installed Windows plugin UI.

The local configuration contains [features] js_repl = false; no user-level or system-level requirements.toml was found disabling Computer Use.

The issue persisted across multiple new Codex tasks and after updating the app/plugin. Browser automation remains functional throughout, indicating that the failure is specific to the native Windows provider.

Steps to reproduce the bug

Install and enable the Computer Use plugin in the Windows ChatGPT desktop app.

Enable the Computer Use skill.

Open Settings → Computer Use and enable “Any App.”

Fully quit and restart the ChatGPT desktop app.

Restart Windows.

Open Notepad normally—not as administrator—and leave it visible on the active, unlocked desktop.

Start a new local Codex task.

Ask: @Computer Read and transcribe the entire contents of the open Notepad window.

Observe that Computer Use returns an empty native-app inventory and cannot access Notepad.

Repeat in a new task or reset the Computer Use session; the result remains unchanged.

Chrome tabs continue to be listed and accessible.

Additional troubleshooting already attempted:

Selected “Try now.”

Toggled “Any App” off and on.

Updated from an earlier Computer Use plugin build, 26.901.22334, to 26.901.51231.

Tested with GPT-5.6 Terra using High reasoning.

Confirmed Notepad is not elevated.

Confirmed no Notepad-specific permission is available.

Repeated the test across five tasks.

Feedback ID: 01a07da9-462d-7052-9c89-6e2ff6fafb04

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feedback ID: 01a07da9-462d-7052-9c89-6e2ff6fafb04

What is the expected behavior?

Computer Use should discover the visible Notepad window, request application approval if necessary, and provide access to its contents. Native methods such as getApp and listApps should be available, and the trusted sky native backend should initialise successfully.

If the native server is managed implicitly by the desktop app, it should be registered automatically. Otherwise, the plugin page should expose the server control shown in the official documentation.

Additional information

No response

Reproduce the failure on Windows using the listed Notepad steps, then trace the Computer Use native-provider registration and the documented sky RPC initialization path. Compare the installed plugin UI with the documented server and skill controls. Done means native apps appear in the inventory, native methods are available, and Notepad contents can be read while browser automation still works.