codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Browser Use can list in-app tabs, but external navigation fails with failed to start codex app-server [1 comments, 2 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
openai/codex#19314Fetched 2026-04-24 10:38:40
View on GitHub
Comments
1
Participants
2
Timeline
7
Reactions
0
Author
Timeline (top)
labeled ×5commented ×1cross-referenced ×1

Error Message

Error: failed to start codex app-server: The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3) When it tries to navigate, it fails with the app-server path error above. with the same error: failed to start codex app-server: The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3)

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

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

26.422.21637

What subscription do you have?

most expensive one

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.22631.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

In Codex Desktop on Windows, the browser-use:browser plugin is only partly working.

It can connect to the in-app browser and list the current tab, but it cannot open an external website like https://example.com/.

The failure happens before the page opens, during the safety/permission check for the outside website.

Error:

failed to start codex app-server: The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3)

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Open Codex Desktop on Windows. Make sure the Browser Use plugin is enabled. Open the in-app browser. Leave it on a blank page. Ask Codex to open a site, for example https://example.com/. Browser Use loads successfully and can list the current tab. When it tries to navigate, it fails with the app-server path error above.

What is the expected behavior?

No response

Additional information

Environment details seen locally:

OS: Windows Codex CLI: codex-cli 0.124.0-alpha.2 Browser Use plugin: openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha1 In-app browser tab before navigation: about:blank Useful checks:

codex app-server --help works.

The Browser Use plugin file also exists:

%USERPROFILE%.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\browser-use\0.1.0-alpha1\scripts\browser-client.mjs A direct Browser Use tab list succeeds, but this direct check fails:

await nodeRepl.fetch("https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/aura/site_status?site_url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com") with the same error:

failed to start codex app-server: The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3) One suspicious detail: nodeRepl.homeDir reports null, so this may be a missing or incorrectly passed local path in the Node REPL/app-server bridge.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The issue is likely due to a missing or incorrectly passed local path in the Node REPL/app-server bridge, causing the codex app-server to fail, and can be mitigated by investigating the nodeRepl.homeDir value.

Guidance

  • Investigate why nodeRepl.homeDir reports null and ensure it is correctly set to a valid directory path.
  • Verify the existence and accessibility of the codex app-server executable and its dependencies.
  • Check the environment variables and configuration files for any inconsistencies or missing values that might affect the codex app-server startup.
  • Test the codex app-server command with the --help flag outside of the Codex Desktop environment to isolate the issue.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue seems to be related to environment configuration and path resolution.

Notes

The issue might be specific to the Windows environment or the openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha1 plugin version. Further investigation is needed to determine the root cause.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Investigate and fix the nodeRepl.homeDir value to ensure it points to a valid directory, as this seems to be a crucial factor in the codex app-server startup failure.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING

codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Browser Use can list in-app tabs, but external navigation fails with failed to start codex app-server [1 comments, 2 participants]