Windows app launches ChatGPT.exe processes but never creates a window — v26.908.4834.0

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

26.908.4834.0

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?

The Windows Codex/ChatGPT app launches successfully in the background, but no application window is ever created.

After launching the app, multiple ChatGPT.exe processes remain alive and responsive. However, every process reports:

MainWindowHandle : 0
MainWindowTitle  :
Responding       : True

The active Chromium process tree includes:

ChatGPT.exe
ChatGPT.exe --type=crashpad-handler
ChatGPT.exe --type=crashpad-handler
ChatGPT.exe --type=gpu-process
ChatGPT.exe --type=utility --utility-sub-type=network.mojom.NetworkService
ChatGPT.exe --type=utility --utility-sub-type=storage.mojom.StorageService

No --type=renderer process is observed.

The app processes remain alive and consume CPU and memory, but no visible top-level window is ever created.

The Beta version launches normally on the same Windows installation.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Launch the stable Windows Codex app (26.908.4834.0) normally.

2. Wait for startup.

3. The app never creates a visible window, but multiple ChatGPT.exe processes remain running in the background.

4. Running:

Get-Process ChatGPT |
Select Id, CPU, WorkingSet, Responding, MainWindowHandle, MainWindowTitle

shows that all ChatGPT processes remain responsive, but every process has:

MainWindowHandle : 0
MainWindowTitle  :

5. Inspecting the process command lines shows the following Chromium processes:

ChatGPT.exe
ChatGPT.exe --type=crashpad-handler
ChatGPT.exe --type=crashpad-handler
ChatGPT.exe --type=gpu-process
ChatGPT.exe --type=utility --utility-sub-type=network.mojom.NetworkService
ChatGPT.exe --type=utility --utility-sub-type=storage.mojom.StorageService

No --type=renderer process is observed.

6. I also tested with a completely fresh app profile. I terminated all ChatGPT processes and renamed:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Roaming\Codex\web\Codex

to:

Codex.backup

7. After launching the app again, it successfully created a brand-new Codex profile directory.

8. The exact same issue still occurred with the fresh profile:

   • background processes started normally
   • GPU process started
   • NetworkService started
   • StorageService started
   • no renderer process was observed
   • all MainWindowHandle values remained 0
   • no visible application window appeared

9. I restored the original profile after the test.

Reinstalling the stable app also does not resolve the issue.

The Beta version launches normally on the same Windows installation.

What is the expected behavior?

Launching the Windows Codex app should create and display the main application window normally.

After the Chromium services initialize, the app should start the renderer process and create a visible top-level window instead of remaining indefinitely as background processes.

Additional information

The issue persists after reinstalling the stable app and after testing with a completely fresh app/Chromium profile.

The MSIX package reports Status: Ok.

The Beta version launches normally on the same Windows installation.

The stable build can initialize the main process, Crashpad, GPU process, NetworkService, and StorageService, but no --type=renderer process is observed and all ChatGPT processes have MainWindowHandle = 0.

The Chromium version reported in the process arguments is 152.0.7977.83.

App version: 26.908.4834.0

I can provide additional logs or diagnostics if needed.

Start by reproducing stable version 26.908.4834.0 on Windows and inspect the ChatGPT.exe process tree with the provided PowerShell command. Compare the stable launch with the working Beta version and the fresh Codex profile, focusing on the missing renderer process. Done means the stable app creates a renderer process and displays its main window.