[Windows App] ChatGPT Project collection shows only Retry after direct navigation or reload

Summary

In the Windows Codex app, opening the ChatGPT Project collection URL directly or reloading it can leave the built-in browser with only a Retry button. The same Project loads successfully when reached by clicking the Project link from an already loaded chat.

Environment

• Codex app: 26.901.6511.0
• Built-in browser: ChatGPT web tab
• Windows
• Project URL: a ChatGPT Project collection (private URL omitted)

Reproduction

1. Open a working ChatGPT conversation inside a Project in the Codex built-in browser.
2. Navigate to the Project collection page, or reload the collection page.
3. The page becomes blank and shows only Retry; retrying does not recover it.
4. Navigate back to the working conversation and click its Open project link.
5. The same Project collection loads, showing the chat list and new-chat composer.

Observed behavior

A direct/reload navigation fails, while an in-app link navigation succeeds. The Codex desktop log records the browser sidebar reaching dom-ready for the Project URL, but the page exposes only the Retry button. No network, certificate, or authentication failure was found in the available logs.

Expected behavior

Project collection pages should load consistently on direct navigation, reload, and in-app link navigation. If initialization fails, the page should expose an actionable error instead of only Retry.

Additional evidence

The browser console exposed a MutationObserver TypeError during diagnostics, but the same error was also present after a normal chat loaded successfully, so it may be incidental. The failure is reproducible specifically on the Project collection full-load path.

Start with the Windows Codex built-in browser's full-load path for ChatGPT Project collection pages, reproducing both direct/reload navigation and navigation from an already loaded chat. Use the desktop log around the browser sidebar's dom-ready event and compare the two paths; done means the collection loads consistently or exposes an actionable error instead of only Retry.