[Windows + WSL2] Unable to create any Local Project – "Failed to create project" on 26.908.9136.0

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

26.908.9136.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 Pro x64, build 10.0.26200

What issue are you seeing?

I am unable to create any new Local Project in the Codex Windows desktop application when the Agent Environment is configured to use WSL.

Existing projects are still visible and usable, but creating a new project always fails.

The UI only displays the red error message:

Failed to create project

This happens regardless of the project name. I reproduced it with a very simple project name such as test.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open Codex Desktop on Windows.
2. Agent Environment is configured as Windows Subsystem for Linux.
3. Go to Projects → ... → Create new project.
4. Select Local.
5. Enter a project name, for example test.
6. Add a valid source folder.
7. Click Create project.
8. Codex displays Failed to create project.

Troubleshooting already performed:

• Restarted Codex.
• Restarted Windows.
• Installed all available Windows updates.
• Updated Codex Desktop to 26.908.9136.0.
• Ran Codex as Administrator.
• Used different/simple project names such as test.
• Windows Repair was run on the Codex/ChatGPT application.
• Codex global state JSON was checked and is valid.
• A temporary clean global-state test was also performed and the original state was restored afterwards.
• Network/authentication checks from codex doctor succeed.
• Codex state SQLite databases pass their integrity checks.
• The problem still occurs after all of the above.

What is the expected behavior?

Creating a Local Project should work while the Codex Agent Environment is configured for WSL2. Windows/WSL paths should be normalized to the appropriate representation before being passed to the project backend.

Additional information

My Codex configuration contains existing projects represented using a mixture of Windows and WSL paths, including paths in forms such as:

C:\Users......

/mnt/c/Users/.../...

/home/.../...

The Agent Environment is intentionally configured to use WSL, and I would prefer not to switch the development environment back to Windows Native as a workaround.

I also tried configuring the Agent Environment as Windows Native, but Windows environment setup itself failed with:

setup_failed

This may or may not be related.

codex doctor reports the installation as degraded but with no fatal failures. Authentication and network connectivity are working.

Actual behavior:

The source folder can be selected successfully, but clicking Create project always results in:

Failed to create project

No actionable error details are displayed in the UI.

Possibly related issues:

#45394
#45008
#44507
#42461
#43628
#41290

My symptoms appear especially close to #45394 and #45008.

No source files or tests are named. Start by reproducing local project creation with the Codex Desktop app configured for WSL2, then compare the behavior with related issues #45394 and #45008. Done means a valid local project can be created with Windows and WSL paths, with actionable error details if creation still fails.