[macOS] node_repl / Computer Use fails when CODEX_HOME is a symlink despite allow_symlinked_codex_home

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

Codex App 26.915.31945 / Codex CLI 0.155.0-alpha.9.2; also verified with a local debug build of main

What subscription do you have?

Pro 20x

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 24.6.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

When CODEX_HOME is a symlink, node_repl / Computer Use fails before the JS kernel starts even though allow_symlinked_codex_home = true is present in $CODEX_HOME/config.toml.

The failure is in Seatbelt preparation for codex sandbox launched through CODEX_CLI_PATH: writable roots under the symlinked CODEX_HOME are rejected before sandbox_apply.

Error (paths redacted):
writable root <CODEX_HOME>/visualizations/<id> contains symlink component <CODEX_HOME>; symlinked writable roots are not supported.

Root cause: codex-rs/cli/src/debug_sandbox.rs calls create_seatbelt_command_args(...), and that wrapper in codex-rs/sandboxing/src/seatbelt.rs hardcodes allowed_symlinked_codex_home = None. Normal execution paths thread this opt-out through SandboxManager::with_allowed_symlinked_codex_home, but the debug-sandbox / sandbox-state path used by node_repl does not.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Use a symlinked CODEX_HOME, e.g. CODEX_HOME=/tmp/codex-home-link -> /tmp/codex-home-real.
2. Set allow_symlinked_codex_home = true in $CODEX_HOME/config.toml.
3. Start any node_repl / Computer Use session, or run codex sandbox --sandbox-state-json with a writable root under $CODEX_HOME/visualizations/<id>.

A/B check against the same config:

• Original 0.155.0-alpha.9.2: fails with symlinked writable roots are not supported for both --sandbox-state-json and -c permissions.node_repl={filesystem = ...} forms.
• Patched build: passes writable-root validation and reaches sandbox_apply (or runs when not nested).

Minimal fix: add create_seatbelt_command_args_with_symlinked_home(...) and call it from debug sandbox with codex_config::allowed_symlinked_codex_home(&config.config_layer_stack, &config.codex_home).

What is the expected behavior?

With allow_symlinked_codex_home = true, writable roots beneath the opted-in symlinked CODEX_HOME should be accepted by every Seatbelt construction path, including codex sandbox --sandbox-state-json used by node_repl / Computer Use.

Additional information

Patch/diff: https://github.com/openai/codex/commit/403b6b06f57b22b4d90ab4cb5648bd3975dc411b

Files: codex-rs/cli/src/debug_sandbox.rs, codex-rs/sandboxing/src/seatbelt.rs, plus macOS integration test codex-rs/cli/tests/sandbox_symlinked_codex_home.rs.

The commit link is only for the exact diff; the repro above uses placeholders and contains no local paths.

Read codex-rs/cli/src/debug_sandbox.rs and the create_seatbelt_command_args wrapper in codex-rs/sandboxing/src/seatbelt.rs, then inspect the macOS integration test codex-rs/cli/tests/sandbox_symlinked_codex_home.rs. Verify the debug-sandbox path uses the configured symlink allowance and that the test accepts writable roots beneath a symlinked CODEX_HOME when enabled.