Windows Computer Use: sky.list_windows() fails with "codex app-server exited before returning response 1" after successful initialization

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

Exact desktop app version was not captured. The user updated the Windows Codex desktop app and restarted it before testing.

The Computer Use plugin manifest inspected during diagnosis reports:

• Plugin: computer-use@openai-bundled
• Version: 26.903.71938

What subscription do you have?

Not captured.

What platform is your computer?

Windows desktop running Codex, with the affected task using a WSL/Linux project environment. Exact Windows edition/build was not captured.

What issue are you seeing?

The bundled Computer Use JavaScript package initializes successfully, but the first read-only Windows window enumeration fails with:

codex app-server exited before returning response 1

This prevents obtaining a target window, so screenshots and input actions cannot be tested.

In the observed node_repl response, the initialization marker was returned alongside the error, and isError was true. Resetting the JavaScript kernel succeeded, but reinitializing and retrying the same call reproduced the identical error.

The user later supplied a screenshot of another attempt using the prompt “@컴퓨터 현재 열린 창 목록을 확인해줘” (“@Computer, check the currently open windows”). That attempt also reported that the connection ended and the retry failed with the exact same error.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Start the Codex desktop app on Windows.
2. Have the bundled Computer Use plugin enabled, with its server and skill enabled.
3. In a task, initialize Computer Use through the provided node_repl tool and call:

if (!globalThis.sky) {
  const { sky } = await import("@oai/sky");
  globalThis.sky = sky;
}
nodeRepl.write("Computer Use initialized");
globalThis.checkWindows = await sky.list_windows();
nodeRepl.write(JSON.stringify(checkWindows));

4. Observe the initialization marker, followed by codex app-server exited before returning response 1, without a window list.
5. Reset the JavaScript kernel, run the initialization and enumeration again, and observe the same failure.

Troubleshooting confirmed by the user or directly observed:

• Full Windows reboot.
• Codex app update followed by app restart.
• Computer Use server and skill toggles verified enabled.
• JavaScript kernel reset and reinitialization; identical failure directly observed.
• A further user retry still failed after plugin reinstallation was recommended. The failure is confirmed by the screenshot; the exact reinstall steps were not independently recorded.

What is the expected behavior?

sky.list_windows() should return the current targetable Windows windows, or an actionable error identifying the failing runtime component. A successful package import should not be followed by an unexplained app-server exit on the first read-only enumeration.

Additional information

Related reports found before filing:

• #28250 and #28479 describe similar app-server-exit symptoms on macOS with older Computer Use integrations.
• #37043 and #37255 describe Windows window-enumeration failures, but report EnumWindows / 0x80070003, which was not observed here.

This report records the Windows JavaScript API failure with plugin version 26.903.71938; the root cause has not been established. No conclusion about macOS entitlements, missing environment variables, or a particular Windows permission failure is being asserted.

Additional duplicate check before submission: #34458 and #42924 concern Windows/WSL Computer Use, but reject sandboxCwd before user JavaScript executes. In this reproduction, the initialization marker is printed and failure occurs when calling sky.list_windows(). These may be related, but an identical Windows failure was not found in the reviewed issue bodies/comments. Please consolidate with a canonical issue if maintainers determine that this shares the same cause.

Reproduce the failure through the node_repl entry point using the bundled Computer Use plugin and @oai/sky, then call sky.list_windows() after initialization. Compare the repeated app-server exit with the expected current window list or an actionable runtime error; the issue does not identify a source file or established root cause.