Windows 26.915.4065.0: main process stays alive, but no renderer spawns and no window is created

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

26.915.4065.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 | True | AMD64

What issue are you seeing?

Codex Stable 26.915.4065.0 launches several ChatGPT.exe background processes, but no visible window is created.

The main/browser process, Crashpad, GPU process, NetworkService, and StorageService all remain alive and responding, but no process with --type=renderer is ever spawned.

All observed ChatGPT.exe processes report MainWindowHandle = 0.

Codex Beta launches normally on the same machine, account, and network.

A separate cua_node runtime issue was already resolved before investigating this problem. The runtime is currently complete and was verified file-for-file, including matching SHA256 hashes for manifest.json, bin\node.exe, and bin\node_repl.exe. This headless startup failure persists after that repair and appears to be independent of the runtime issue.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Launch Codex Stable 26.915.4065.0 on Windows.
2. Wait for the application to start.
3. No visible window appears.
4. Inspect running ChatGPT.exe processes.
5. Multiple background processes remain alive, including the main/browser process, Crashpad, GPU process, NetworkService, and StorageService.
6. No process with --type=renderer is created.
7. All ChatGPT.exe processes report MainWindowHandle = 0.
8. Closing all Codex processes and launching Stable again reproduces the same behavior.

Codex Beta launches normally on the same machine.

What is the expected behavior?

Launching Codex Stable should create the renderer process and display the main Codex window normally.

The application should not remain running only as background ChatGPT.exe processes with MainWindowHandle = 0.

Additional information

Additional diagnostics:

• Package state:

  • OpenAI.Codex
  • Version: 26.915.4065.0
  • Status: Ok

• Observed process types:

  • main/browser process
  • --type=crashpad-handler
  • --type=gpu-process
  • --type=utility --utility-sub-type=network.mojom.NetworkService
  • --type=utility --utility-sub-type=storage.mojom.StorageService

• No --type=renderer process is present.

• All observed ChatGPT.exe processes have:

  • Responding = True
  • MainWindowHandle = 0

• No Crashpad dump or sidecar files were found for the failed launch.

• Windows Application Event Log contains no corresponding Codex/ChatGPT crash event.

• Chromium is launched with:
  --user-data-dir=%APPDATA%\Codex\web\Codex

• A separate cua_node runtime issue had already been resolved before this startup problem was investigated.

• The current cua_node runtime was verified independently:

  • Missing files: 0
  • Extra files: 0
  • matching SHA256 hashes for manifest.json, bin\node.exe, and bin\node_repl.exe

• The current headless startup failure persists with a complete and verified runtime, so it appears to be independent of the earlier runtime issue.

• Codex Beta launches normally on the exact same Windows installation, machine, account, and network.

• This may look similar to earlier Windows headless-startup reports, but in this case the cua_node runtime has already been fully restored and verified file-for-file with matching SHA256 hashes. The current failure persists independently of the previous runtime issue.

No source files or tests are named. Start by tracing the Windows startup path and the Chromium launch using --user-data-dir=%APPDATA%\Codex\web\Codex, comparing Stable with Beta. Done means Stable creates a renderer process and displays the Codex window instead of leaving only background ChatGPT.exe processes with MainWindowHandle = 0.