Windows Computer Use returns apps: [] and cannot access native apps such as CapCut

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

26.908.9136.0 (CLI 0.154.0-alpha.6.2)

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

The Codex Windows app cannot discover or control native Windows applications through Computer Use. CapCut Desktop is open and visible to the user, and both @Computer and @Computer Management have been attached, but every Computer Use inventory check returns apps: []. Browser control remains available and Edge tabs are listed normally.

No explicit native-app error is shown; the only observable failure is the empty application inventory. Because of this, the agent cannot select CapCut, inspect its window, or continue an in-progress editing task. The same task previously had working native CapCut control before the connection failed.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open CapCut Desktop on Windows.
2. Open an existing Codex desktop task that uses Computer Use.
3. Attach @Computer and @Computer Management.
4. Ask Codex to inspect or control the open CapCut window.
5. Codex calls the Computer Use state/inventory method.
6. Observe that the response contains apps: [] while browser tabs are still returned.

Troubleshooting already attempted:

• Reattached @Computer and @Computer Management several times.
• Reset the Computer Use session and checked again.
• Restarted the Windows computer.
• Reopened CapCut and repeated the check.
• Repeated the test across multiple turns.

The result remains apps: []. No Windows application-permission prompt appears.

Feedback ID: 01a09166-3195-7f83-9e0a-8146d869eba8

What is the expected behavior?

Computer Use should list the open native Windows applications, expose CapCut as a targetable app/window, and allow the agent to select and control that window. If access is blocked, the app should return a specific actionable connection or permission error instead of an empty apps array.

Additional information

Impact: a long-running CapCut production task is blocked even though the project and application remain available locally. Browser automation continues to work, which suggests the failure is limited to native Windows application discovery/control.

Intermittent timeline: the native Computer Use problem has occurred off and on for approximately the last two to three days. Native app control was working again last night, but it stopped working this morning and has continued returning apps: [] throughout repeated checks.

The problem persisted after a full computer restart. The Codex task preserved its state and files, but native Computer Use did not reconnect. No sensitive credentials or paid actions are involved.

Local versions:

• Codex app package: 26.908.9136.0
• Codex CLI: 0.154.0-alpha.6.2
• Windows: Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

GitHub suggested #44878 as a potential duplicate. That report concerns missing native Computer Use on Intel macOS; this report is a Windows x64 reproduction where native access previously worked and then began returning apps: []. It may share an underlying managed-service or packaging failure, but the platform and failure history differ.

Start with the Computer Use state/inventory method and the Windows native-application discovery path, reproducing the issue with CapCut while comparing the working browser-tab inventory. Done means open native Windows applications are listed and targetable, or a specific actionable connection or permission error is returned instead of an empty apps array.