[macOS] System-wide left click stops working (trackpad + external mouse) while Codex is running; keyboard still works

[macOS] System-wide left click stops working (trackpad + external mouse) while Codex is running; keyboard still works

Summary

While the ChatGPT/Codex desktop app is running, left click repeatedly stops working across the whole system. Both the built-in trackpad and an external mouse are affected at the same time. The pointer still moves and the keyboard still works. This happened 4+ times in one evening (2026-09-16, ~21:30–22:05 ICT), including after a reboot, because Codex relaunched at login.

Computer Use had been turned off in the app, but the local config still shows the bundled Computer Use plugin enabled (see "Config state" below).

Environment

• Hardware: MacBook Pro, Apple Silicon (arm64)
• macOS: [fill in version/build]
• ChatGPT/Codex desktop app: 26.908.70816
• Codex CLI (from models_cache.json): 0.154.0
• Codex Computer Use helper: 26.913.1001067 (build 1001067)

Symptoms

• Left click does nothing anywhere on the system: Finder, Dock, menu bar, other apps.
• It affects the trackpad and an external mouse at the same time, so this is not a hardware issue.
• Pointer movement and keyboard input keep working.
• Esc alone did not fix it.
• Once, while the click was stuck, a screenshot showed the Codex window shifted partly off-screen with a black area beside it, as if a window drag were still in progress. Posting a synthetic left-mouse-up event restored normal behavior. The synthetic event was sent by another desktop automation tool (Claude desktop), which was used only to release the button.
• Quitting Codex once did not clear the state. After a reboot, Codex relaunched at login and the problem came back.

Config state observed in ~/.codex

config.toml:

notify = [ "/Users/<user>/.codex/computer-use/Codex Computer Use.app/Contents/SharedSupport/SkyComputerUseClient.app/Contents/MacOS/SkyComputerUseClient", "turn-ended" ]

[plugins."unified-computer-use@openai-bundled"]
enabled = true

[plugins."computer-use@openai-bundled"]
enabled = true

[plugins."browser@openai-bundled"]
enabled = true

[plugins."chrome@openai-bundled"]
enabled = true

[mcp_servers.computer-use]
command = "./Codex Computer Use.app/Contents/SharedSupport/SkyComputerUseClient.app/Contents/MacOS/SkyComputerUseClient"
args = ["mcp"]
cwd = "."
enabled = false

.codex-global-state.json:

"computer-use-bundled-plugin-auto-install-disabled": false,
"has-approved-computer-use-app": true

• ~/.codex/computer-use/config.json is rewritten every time the app launches.

Logs (logs_2.sqlite)

• Earlier that evening, cua_repl ("UI automation through cua_repl using the initialized cua API") and codex-browser-use were used heavily, until about 21:14 and 21:51 ICT.
• After relaunch, the cua_repl MCP server started again (21:50:59 and 21:51:03 ICT), even though mcp_servers.computer-use is enabled = false.
• In the ~15 minutes before the ~22:00 recurrence, the logs show no cua_repl or browser-use tool calls, only config, plugin and model loading. The stuck click therefore does not seem to require an active Computer Use tool call.

Expected

• Turning off Computer Use in the app should stop the Computer Use plugin and its helper, and the setting should stay off across restarts.
• A Codex helper should never leave the system in a state where physical left clicks are ignored.

Possibly related

• #34807: startup rewrites the computer-use MCP to enabled=false while the plugin stays enabled (the same state as here)
• #26115: the app force-enables the Browser plugin on launch
• #42911: SkyComputerUseService is active while idle; quitting the app or disabling computer-use@openai-bundled is the workaround
• #43824: Computer History accessibility traversal causes input lag in Mail
• #43047: native Computer Use drag loses held-button state
• #39183: SkyComputerUseService crashes during AX observer registration (drag/drop, app switching)
• #43159: Computer Use stays active after operations finish

Workarounds tried

• Esc: no effect.
• Quitting Codex once: did not clear the state.
• Reboot: temporary only, since Codex relaunches at login.
• Synthetic left-mouse-up: restored clicks at least once.

Start with logs_2.sqlite and the launch-time state in ~/.codex/config.toml, .codex-global-state.json, and ~/.codex/computer-use/config.json; compare the Computer Use startup behavior with related issues #34807, #42911, and #43159. Reproduce the system-wide left-click failure and trace whether the helper remains active or leaves a button-held state. Done means disabling Computer Use persists across restarts and physical left clicks remain usable.